Grangers has now launched the results of its sustainability Wear and Care survey as part of plans to continue to champion environmentally-responsible aftercare.

A first, in analysis, of the outdoor industry, this survey was launched in partnership with the research organisation, Women in Adventure, in order to better understand the outdoor community's wear, care and repair habits and to discover what more we can all do to live sustainably. 

Knowing that increasing a garment's or footwear's lifetime is one of the most effective means of reducing our environmental footprint, and that there is limited information on aftercare habits within the outdoor industry, Grangers 'Wear & Care Survey' is a natural extension of these efforts.

Aligned with The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, the survey provides insight into the value we place on sustainability and how our habits impact the world around us. Through openly sharing this data, Grangers hopes that it can use this information to discover more ways that we can all work together as an industry, as brands, as consumers and as retailers to reduce our impact and protect our future adventures to come. 

Some of the key findings from the survey included the following:

• Three in five of us throw our hiking boots away, however, lifespan increases when shoes are cleaned and reproofed. 
• Over 55% of us stopped wearing our insulated jacket because it lost loft, didn't keep us warm or was damaged.
• One in two of us throw our jackets away because they don't keep us dry. 
• 50% of us own more than 10 sports tops – half of these end up in landfill. Only 14.3% of us use a specific sports wash.

In reviewing the survey results, Grangers discovered that a lot of us are already motivated to live sustainably or keen to learn more about how to positively impact the world around us. Three in five people 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' that their purchasing habits had changed as a result of environmental awareness. One in two people also strongly agreed that environmentally-responsible packaging was important. 

Despite this, we can also see that there is a lot more we can do to make a difference. 82% of us are keen to look after our clothing and footwear but what if all of us took steps to clean, reproof, repair and repurpose? 

This survey shows that aftercare helps to make our outdoor clothing and footwear last longer. It also shows that as a community we care deeply about supporting the environments we love to explore. 

There is a lot we can all do to minimise our impact by repairing, repurposing, reusing, purchasing sustainably, and by making small changes to be eco-responsible. Now is the time to take action, to work together and to make a difference.