Christmas jumpers: Environmental charity issues warning about festive plastic

Have you got a Christmas jumper stashed in your cupboard? Well one charity wants you to think twice before getting another one.

An environmental charity says people are set to buy 12 million new Christmas jumpers this year, despite there already being around 65 million stashed away in wardrobes from previous years.

Hubbub says the Christmas jumper is one of the worst examples of fast fashion.

Christmas jumpers often contain a lot of plastic, something that many people don't realise.

Research conducted by the charity into 108 jumpers available this year from 11 different high street and online retailers found that 95% of them were made completely or partly of plastic materials.

Only 29% of those surveyed realised that most Christmas jumpers contain plastic.

The most common plastic fibre used is acrylic, which was found in three quarters of the jumpers tested, with 44% made entirely from acrylic.

A study by Plymouth University found that acrylic was responsible for releasing nearly 730,000 microfibres per wash - tiny bits of plastic than can find their way into the oceans and even end up in the food chain.

Christmas jumper tips

• Check what you already own. Have you got last year's Christmas jumper lurking in the cupboard?

• Swap with family or friends

• Hand on outgrown jumpers to friends or family

• Hold a Christmas jumper stall at your school's Christmas fair

• Go DIY - Add some decoration to it

• Get more use out of it by wearing it every day - a jumper's not just for Christmas!