A WOMAN has issued an urgent warning to always wash your new clothes before wearing them.
May urged people never to put clothes in their wardrobe without sticking them through a wash, after learning the hard way that are often returned worn – and put straight back out on the shop floor.
In a video on her TikTok page, May explained that she ended up contracting ringworm in the changing room at a major high street store.
“I am going to tell you something now, that you probably didn't already know, and it is gonna change your world forever, cause it's flipping disgusting,” she began.
“There are people out there who already know this, and they're either the victims of it or they're the people doing it – dirty little perpetrators.”
Maywent on to explain that in some clothing stores, you can return items of clothing that do not have their tags on – as there's a “possibility that you might have purchased that clothing without a tag on because it's heavily been tried on”.
“So in the store that I used to work in, you could return without tags on as long as it was in ‘resalable condition',” she explained.
“Obviously that is subjective to the person receiving it back at the returns counter slash till.
“So some person will have wore their clothing on a dirty night out or like for a week, for example, or even for like 29 days, and return it on the 30th day.
“And as long as they get the right person at the till who doesn't really care, they'll accept the return.”
But what happens next is “really disgusting”, May warned.
“Essentially, that return goes on to a rail to be returned back out into the shop,” she sighed.
“No sanitisation… nothing!”
Not only could you end up wearing something that has been heavily worn by someone else and not washed – you also don't have a leg to stand on regarding returns.
As if you try and return the item once you realise it's been worn, the store will have no proof that you're not the one who worn it.
“Please make sure you a VIGILANT when shopping for new clothes,” May added in the video caption.
“New clothes does NOT mean clean clothes (I couldn’t care less about the loss for the stores if the clothes were being disposed of properly, but usually they are NOT).”
She also wrote over the top of the video: “Why you should ALWAYS your new clothes before you wear them.
“Coming from someone who got from working at a fashion retail store.”
“Oh God I’ve never washed anything. I will now!!!” one person admitted in the comments section.
“Don’t forget about delivery,” another said.
“Working in retail those clothes have touched EVERYTHING getting onto shop floor let alone where it was beforehand.
“Always wash your clothes!”
“Yes! They get dragged across the floor and worse!!” May replied.
“Same with your towels and bedding,” a third wrote.
“Always wash them you never what warehouse they have come from.”
“Even in shops where that isn't the case, have y'all ever seen a sweatshop?” someone else commented.
“There are production chemicals in that fabric then it gets handled by many people who may not wash their hands often, it lays on the floor in a dirty production hall and then it gets handled again and shipped to stores or storages.
“Wash your clothes!”
