120 Million Unused Items: France’s Wardrobe Crisis

A new study from France’s Ademe environmental agency reveals that more than 50% of clothing in the average person’s wardrobe remains unworn.

This phenomenon is largely fueled by the rise of ultra fast fashion platforms such as Shein, Temu, and Boohoo, which entice consumers with low prices, flashy ads, and constantly rotating styles.

From January 2024 to February 2025, Ademe and Obsoco examined the wardrobes of 4,000 participants and discovered an alarming 120 million pieces of unused clothing in French households.

Despite these findings, only one-third of participants felt they owned too much. The study differentiates between “first-generation” fast fashion (Zara, H&M, Primark) and the newer, purely digital ultra-fast platforms, which are particularly popular among young women from modest, often rural households.

Even second-hand apps like Vinted show that many resold items have barely been worn, as 55% of shoes listed had been used fewer than five times. The report highlights how marketing pressure and disposable fashion culture are distorting shopping habits, generating excessive waste, and challenging the sustainability of the textile industry.