US Tops Countries In Food And Clothes Wastage, Hoarding: Study

A new study that looked into the gap between perception and reality when it comes to wastage of food and clothes, and of hoarding possessions, revealed that people in the United States have the highest levels of food waste and unused belongings, and the second highest percentage of unused clothes.

According to the study by Movinga, an online moving and relocation company, people in the U.S. wasted 24 percent of their grocery shopping, 35 percent of their belongings remained unused when they shift from one place to another, and 82 percent of their clothes from the previous year remained unworn.

As part of its larger study on relocation trends, which will be released later this year, the company conducted surveys in order to understand the difference in perceived and actual reality of a person when it comes to food and belongings. The results were much higher than anticipated and threw light on why topics such as consumption, consumerism and how much a person really needs should be discussed more.

The polls were conducted in 20 countries. The heads of houses were asked about their perception of the amount of things they used. It was compared to the actual usage of the same materials. The comparison gave the level of delusion each person lived in. Three categories from each household were looked upon: Food, clothing and household possessions.

The results were surprising, to say the least.

The U.S. had the fifth highest average delusion rate at 22.67 percent. The highest average delusion was found in Switzerland at 26.33 percent and the lowest in Russia at 3.33 percent.

Regarding the amount of clothes that were not worn in the past year, U.S. ranked number two, right after Belgium which was at 88 percent. People in U.S., on average thought they did not use 43 percent of their clothes in the past year, but in reality, the figure was at 82 percent. The delusion rate was calculated at 39 percent.

Belgium also showed the highest delusion rate under the category at 62 percent. Russia has the lowest percent of clothes not worn and delusion rate, at 53 and 62 percent respectively.

Twenty-four percent of food people in the U.S. buy go to waste, contrary to the 15 percent people presumed. The delusion stood at nine percent, and the U.S. also had the highest amount of food wasted.

Japan and Denmark had the lowest amount of food wasted at 4 percent. The delusion under the category was the highest in Switzerland at 13 percent and the lowest in Denmark at 6 percent.

The delusion level regarding the amount of unused belongings was 20 percent in the U.S. Thirty-five percent of the belongings remained unused in reality, but the perceived amount was 15 percent. The U.S. had the second highest delusion and the highest actual rate under the category and Japan had the lowest amount at 6 percent. The United Kingdom and Canada had the highest delusion level at 21 percent, whereas in Sweden the delusion gap was zero percent, with the amount perceived by the people and the actual amount were the same at 12 percent).

The final conclusion of the study was that 22 percent of things moved in each relocation were not re-used. Food, clothing and other items can leave a footprint behind, with their production requiring resources that are slowly running out.

With a booming fast fashion trend throughout the world, where frequent new trends replace old styles, the effects this has on the environment are often overlooked. It causes negative environmental impact, water pollution, use of toxic chemicals and increasing levels of textile waste. It also leaves a significant amount of carbon, water and waste footprint, according to a study.

For the purpose of the survey, householders between the age of 22 and 60 were considered. The margin of error was said to be at +/- 5 percent.