A LEADING environmental charity is warning against the purchase of Christmas jumpers this year after a study revealed the majority are made using plastic.
Research conducted by Hubbub found that up to 95% of the seasonal garments being sold contain plastic.
It is estimated that shoppers in the UK alone will purchase as many as 12 million festive jumpers this year, despite an estimated 65 million already in circulation.
According to a survey of 3,000 adults, one in three people under 35 buy a jumper every year, but just 29% knew these garments contain plastic.
A total of 108 jumpers from 11 different High Street and online retailers– including Primark, George at Asda and Topshop/Topman –were tested as part of the research.
They found 95% of those tested were either wholly or partly made of plastic materials.
Three-quarters contained acrylic, the most commonly used plastic fibre, while 44% were made entirely from acrylic.
Worse still, the charity found two-fifths of Christmas jumpers are worn just once over the Christmas period.
A spokeswoman for Hubbub described the Christmas jumper as "one of the worst examples of fast fashion" and warned these consumer habits represent a "major threat" to the planet.
Hubbub project co-ordinator Sarah Divall said: “We don’t want to stop people dressing up and having a great time at Christmas but there are so many ways to do this without buying new.
"Fast fashion is a major threat to the natural world and Christmas jumpers are problematic as so many contain plastic.
"We’d urge people to swap, buy secondhand or rewear, and remember a jumper is for life not just for Christmas.”
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