Finland is crowned Europe's most sustainable shopping country

Finland is Europe’s most sustainable destination for shoppers according to new research. The Northern European nation ranks the highest in a Sustainable Development Report of all UN member states, scoring 86.51 out of a possible 100.

Research from Savoo measured the country’s recycling rate, consumption footprint, waste per capita, and the number of flea/street markets and antique stores. While its consumption footprint was down 20 percent between 2010 and 2020, Italy, Sweden and Greece had greater reductions.

In its methodology, Savoo said a country’s consumption footprint refers to the size of the area needed to produce the materials it consumes, combined with the area needed to absorb the waste.

Denmark places second in the ranking, having reduced its consumption footprint by 14.26 percent between 2010 and 2020 and scores 85.63 out of 100 in the Sustainable Development Report. In 2020, more than half (53.9 percent) of Denmark’s waste was recycled. Textile waste is also relatively low in comparison to other countries with the country producing 18,134 tonnes each year.

When it comes to flea markets and antique stores, Denmark’s second-hand scene is slightly better than Finland’s, with 89 of these types of outlets compared with Finland’s 53.

The UK has the most flea markets and second-hand stores

Slovenia, Austria and Sweden complete the top five, with the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany rounding out the top ten. In sixth place is the UK, while despite not scoring the highest on the Sustainable Development Report, it has the most flea markets and antique shops per capita, 1,300 for a population of 68 million.

Europe’s least sustainable shoppers can be found in Malta

Malta has the lowest recycling rate with just 10.5 percent of its total waste saved from landfill in 2020 and tops the list of Europe's least sustainable shoppers. Other nations that need to improve their shopping habits include Ireland, Greece, Luxembourg and Romania.

Data shows Ireland to be the country with the largest increase in consumption (-42.86 percent) in the 10 years leading up to 2020. Not surprisingly, Ireland is the founder home of fast fashion chain Primark.

Greece is Europe’s third worst culprit for unsustainable practices with household waste estimated to be 142 kg per capita per year. The country scores low on the availability of pre-owned fashion and goods, with just 53 flea markets and antique stores.

In Savoo’s analysis of second-hand marketplaces Nike scored highest as the most popular brand. This was followed by Adidas, Levi’s, Zara and Rolex. The research was gathered across Depop, eBay, Etsy, and ASOS Marketplace.

How to become a more sustainably-minded shopper

Savoo suggest shoppers to use the 30 wears test as a benchmark. “Next time you see an on-trend item that you can’t wait to add to your basket, think about whether you’d wear it a minimum of 30 times before getting rid of it. This is a great test for making sure you're thinking consciously about textile waste while helping you get the most out of your money.”

“Shopping is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and we’d never want to deprive ourselves of that new jeans feeling. But that doesn’t mean everything we buy has to be brand new. You can get high quality items for an affordable price by purchasing on reseller platforms like Vinted or using a clothing rental service for special occasions rather than heading to the high street. It’s also worth searching for online discount codes to see if you can cut the prices down by a few pounds.”

Underpinning its research Savoo ranked the 30 most populous European countries across their Sustainable Development Report ranking, recycling rate, consumption footprint, waste per capita, and the number of flea/street markets and antique stores.

Article source: www.savoo.co.uk/resources/sustainable-shoppers