Your clothing tag might be changing soon. Here’s how one number could expose fast fashion’s hidden cost
A new study put the cost per wear trend to the test, and the findings could change the way people shop for new clothes and how brands market their products.
The research was conducted by Dr. Lisa Eckmann (University of Bath, School of Management and Bath Retail Lab) and Lucia Reisch (Cambridge Judge Business School), and published in the journal Psychology & Marketing.
Across six online experiments, the researchers showed participants a cheaper lower-quality item such as a sweater alongside a pricier higher-quality version. Adding cost per wear (CPW) information made shoppers more likely to pick the more expensive option, even with a higher upfront price.
The effect was strongest when people could directly compare the CPW of two items and when buying everyday clothing rather than occasion wear.
Trust mattered too. The information was more persuasive when certified by an independent third party, which could outperform a general durability claim from the brand itself. Reference points like the market average CPW for a product category made the comparison more effective still.
“Cost per wear reframes sustainability as smart spending,” Eckmann said in a press release. “Cheap fast fashion suddenly appears more expensive due to its higher cost per wear and quality pieces are viewed as better financial investments - not just greener choices.”
Why cost per wear could reshape sustainable fashion
Clothing is a consumable good that wears out, so it can reasonably be judged on a unit-price basis. That framing carries weight. The fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for up to 8% of global carbon emissions and millions of tons of textile waste, according to the Geneva Environment Network.
“Using cost per wear in shops or online retail spaces could reduce the environmental impact of fashion,” Eckmann wrote in an article for The Conversation. The longer a garment stays in use, the less often it needs replacing.
The tools to label clothes this way already exist. Standardized fabric-durability tests measure how many abrasion cycles a fabric withstands before showing wear, and textile-testing services could use them to estimate garment longevity and generate CPW labels next to the price.
“Cost per wear could be used much like unit pricing in supermarkets, and could be a low cost, high impact tool for retailers and policymakers to reduce textile waste and the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion,” Eckmann added.
Unlike shopping for groceries, most shoppers do not know how long a garment will last, and many never weigh longevity at the point of sale. CPW on the label can be a simple solution.
But don’t expect immediate changes. Without regulation, brands have to choose to display the labels, and high-quality brands have more incentive than fast fashion ones.
And even if changes happen, that doesn’t mean it will matter. CPW can make quality sustainable clothing look more affordable, yet plenty of consumers still cannot cover the higher upfront cost, even when it makes long-term sense.
For now the findings point one way: the next time you weigh a cheap buy against a lasting one, calculating the cost per wear might influence your decision.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
