BHF shops
62 per cent of the nation throwing away homeware items in good enough condition to donate to charity
The rise of 'fast homeware' has led to one in six people changing their decor every year and millions of usable items ending up in landfill.
Our One Poll survey of 2,000 adults revealed 62 per cent have thrown away homeware in good enough condition to donate to charity.
The survey found that a quarter (26 per cent) of respondents also feel that homeware trends are changing at an increasingly fast pace.
More than half (57 per cent) of those surveyed said they regularly buy new items with keep styling fresh (38 per cent), a mood boost (23 per cent) and trend driven purchases (13 per cent) the main reasons for buying them.
The rise of ‘slow-ware’
Despite an increase in purchase frequency, four in 10 said they don’t consider the environmental impact when buying new homeware products.
The study comes as we are encouraging the nation to adopt ‘slow-ware’ - buying pre-loved homeware before buying new and donating what you no longer use.
Allison Swaine-Hughes, our Retail Director, said: “Most of us are aware of the impact that fast fashion has on the environment but don’t think about this when it comes to homeware. Items like mirrors and sideboards might fall out of favour in your home, but they’re that missing piece in someone else’s home.
“When refreshing your homeware, consider buying second hand first – our home stores are continually restocked and could have just what you’re looking for.
“We’ve made it easy to stop quality pieces from going into the bin. These days you can book home collections, post them to us or drop them into your local shop – and the best bit, you’ll be funding lifesaving research.
“And when considering your next purchase, always consider shopping second hand before buying new. It’s a better decision for your wallet and the environment.”
Shop pre-loved
We spoke to Sarah Cromwell, 51, a freelance art director from London, who has a home packed full of colour and pre-loved items found in charity shops.
Sarah looks to create colour themes in each room in her home, picking up interesting smaller homeware pieces, accessories and textiles to tell a specific story. Whether it’s a throw, a cushion, vintage curtains, a picture frame or a quirky trinket, she looks for anything unusual which catches her eye.
Sarah said: “With a neutral bedroom, I re-purposed my yellow accent pieces, lampshades, bowls and other trinkets with some bold vintage purple curtains, to create a whole new 60’s pop guest room.
“My boho 70’s luxe living room has peach, cream and damson with a touch of whisky orange. It showcases how a unique colour palette mixes together for a distinctive warm cosy space – which is really brought together by the small items in the room.
“One tip I’d give is to have an exact shade in mind, so ‘yellow’ could be mustard, or neon yellow, or pastel yellow.
“If you know the exact shade and only shop to that shade, you know things will go, regardless of what room you put them in. It’s a ready-made story ready to rewrite.”