The Know Daily - Thursday 16 July 2026

_{Read in 4m 11s ∙ Listening to The Script ∙}

We’ve been brushing up on our collective nouns and can’t quite believe how adorable some of them are (a mischief of mice? I mean…🥹)

👗 Clothing lifespans

Small changes to how we buy, care for and pass on clothes could help reduce the environmental impact of fashion waste around the world.

What’s the issue?
Most of us have a few bits and pieces sitting at the back of our wardrobes gathering dust – but multiplied by millions, those numbers start to stack up. Around 300,000 tonnes of clothing end up in household bins each year in the UK instead of being reused or recycled. Making new clothes also requires water, energy and raw materials, which is why the conversation around extending the life of clothing is growing amongst charities and policymakers.

What about second-hand shopping?
Giving clothes a second life is one of the simplest ways to keep them in use for longer. Whether it's donating to charity, selling on Vinted or giving them to your bestie, reuse helps reduce waste and gets more wear out of the resources already used to make them. That said, it's not a complete solution. According to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the volume of clothing produced means charities and resale markets can't absorb everything, so some items are still exported, turned into other products or ultimately thrown away.

So, what’s being done about it?
Governments are increasingly looking beyond recycling bins and focusing on the companies making the clothes in the first place. One proposal gaining momentum is Extended Producer Responsibility, which would require fashion brands to contribute towards the cost of collecting, sorting and recycling textiles once customers are finished with them. While this already exists for packaging, a textiles scheme in the UK is still being developed. But WRAP says it could help fund better recycling infrastructure, encourage brands to design clothes that last longer and are easier to repair, and reduce the burden currently shouldered by charities and local councils.

Anything I can do?
While the biggest changes will come from within industry and government, there are a few simple ways to help clothes last longer. According to experts, it's worth checking care labels rather than washing everything on the hottest setting, avoiding tumble drying when possible, repairing small tears before they grow and storing clothes properly between seasons.

📱 A new overnight curfew on social media could be introduced for 16 and 17-year-olds in the UK as part of efforts to protect young people online.

• The bigger story: From next spring, certain apps will have a midnight to 6am block switched on by default for older teenagers, although they will still be able to turn the restriction off. The move follows wider plans to limit social media access for under-16s and is designed to tackle concerns around late-night scrolling, disrupted sleep and the impact of some addictive online features. The government will also ask platforms to switch off features such as endless personalised feeds by default for teenagers. Supporters say the changes could help young people build healthier online habits, while some campaigners argue the plans should go further to provide stronger protections.

⚽ The Three Lions missed out on a place in the World Cup final after Argentina scored two late goals to win yesterday's semi-final 2-1. It was a fantastic run though, and we'll still be tuning in for Saturday's third-place play-off and Sunday's final!

💼 Keir Starmer's final statement in the Commons as prime minister took place yesterday, including his announcement that it would be “the end” of his political journey.

✍️ 1,500 poets and poetry lovers have had their say in crowning the most beautiful word in the English language.

🇬🇮 Gibraltar’s border fence with Spain has been removed, marking a new chapter after years of Brexit negotiations.

🎼 Seven music industry organisations have announced new labels designed to help listeners identify whether a song has been made with AI.

📖 Our summer reading list was a big hit, so here’s 15 independent bookshops across the UK to consider buying from.

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Trivia answer: A) The museum covered their floor with enough of the condiment to make 15,000 sandwiches (any going spare?!).

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