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Sustainable fashion is booming, with shoppers who want to reduce their environmental impact – and save money – flocking to charity stores, vintage boutiques and sites like Depop and Vinted in search of secondhand bargains. Having cut ties with fast fashion brands, Love Island is partnering with eBay again for its summer season, bringing preloved going-out gear into the villa for the reality show’s contestants to wear in the evenings. The islanders always wear new bikinis, one-pieces or swim shorts, however, so does that mean it’s not hygienic to buy secondhand swimwear? We asked doctors to talk through the pros and cons of preloved swimming gear… Health risks “By the nature of what they are for, swimsuits are not very breathable and hence an easy trap for moisture,” says personal physician and private home visiting GP Dr Suhail Hussain. “The area it covers – your genital region – is particularly susceptible to reacting badly to prolonged contact with moisture.” This means the fabric could become a breeding ground for fungal or bacterial infections. “It may also contain traces of the previous owner’s skin cells and skin flora such as staph aureus – the nose and perineum being the most common sites for this bacterium,” Hussain continues. “Norovirus and MRSA are also other potential pathogens that could be found and transmitted.” However, the actual risk of becoming ill – as long as you wash your swimwear properly – is low. “It is unlikely that you will develop any serious infection from such pathogens, even if they do exist,” Hussain says. “And this phenomenon is not exclusive to used clothes – research has found that any/all of these bugs can exist on new clothes.” He also points out the idea that you could catch a sexually transmitted disease via swimsuits is a myth: “These can generally only be transmitted from person to person contact or via contaminated blood, needles etc, the same way you can’t contract an STD from a public toilet.” Wash before wearing To minimise the risk of illness, make sure to wash a secondhand bathing suit before you wear it. “I recommend the first wash should be at 60C or above,” says Dr Sarah Brewer, medical nutritionist and brand ambassador for Origins. “That’s because fungal spores – such as candida albicans, which causes thrush – aren’t killed at lower temperatures. This higher temperature will also kill scabies.” After that you can go back to 30C washes, which also save energy. Hussain agrees: “Putting swimwear in the washing machine before wearing is a good idea – used or new.” He recommends one further precaution when shopping: “Don’t forget to wash your hands after having tried on swimwear.” Personal preference Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if secondhand swimwear gives you the ick (to borrow a term often heard on Love Island). “While I’d personally draw the line at wearing someone else’s secondhand underwear, I’d happily buy a secondhand swim suit,” says Brewer. “Let’s face it, most people only use their swimsuits a few times a year – perhaps when on holiday – and if they’ve given it away and it’s in good shape, then go for it.” Love Island returns to ITV2 and ITVX on June 5. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live 10 of the best affordable gifts for dads of all ages Top tips to avoid garden injuries Planning an LGBTQ+ wedding? Why inclusivity can be a driving factor for couples

Qantas is likely to extract a 20% premium from passengers on the world’s longest direct flights when it

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With imported sacrificial cows, ancient hymns and growing support, some nationalist Jews hope to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem's Old City, at a site at...

Al Roker has undergone his second knee replacement surgery, which had to be delayed after he was admitted to hospital for blood clots in his legs and lungs last December. The Today show weatherman, 68. has been reporting on the weather for the NBC morning show since 1996. Following his surgery, he returned to the programme on Tuesday (30 May). Roker has now said he is feeling “good” after the surgery on 9 May, which comes more than a year after his first knee replacement. He attended the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic event in New Jersey with his wife Deborah Roberts over the weekend, which he said was his first public outing since the surgery apart from work. Speaking to People, Roker said: “[It’s] nice to be wearing nice clothes. Here we are. You can’t help but feel better.” Roker was rushed to hospital the day after Thanksgiving and remained there for nearly two weeks due to the blood clots. He told his followers on Instagram that he was admitted “with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs”. “After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery,” he said, thanking fans for their well wishes. In March, Roker said he “wouldn’t be alive” if not for Roberts, 62. He told PageSix: “I guess I know it now. I didn’t know it at the time. Deborah was great at keeping all that away from me so I thought I was doing OK but that was great because I was able to focus on getting better.” Roberts is the presenter’s second wife, who he married in 1995 after splitting from ex-wife Alice Bell the year before. He shares daughter Courtney, 35, with Bell, and two children Leia, 24, and Nick, 20, with Roberts. Read More Jessie J confirms identity of her baby’s father after ‘struggling to keep things private’ Husband of non-smoker, 24, who died two weeks after lung cancer diagnosis reveals single telltale sign How noise complaints became a very British obsession Pharmacist warns against one common hay fever habit 7 tips and tricks for hay fever relief A Place In The Sun’s Jonnie Irwin admitted to hospital amid terminal diagnosis

(Reuters) -Diageo Plc, the world's biggest spirits company, on Monday said CEO-designate Debra Crew will assume the top role on

Taking off yet another pair of jeans that simply wouldn’t fit, I was on the verge of tears. Under the harsh glare of the dressing room lights, my reddening face felt even more humiliating as I shimmied myself back into my own clothes. I had dedicated the day to jeans shopping and started it feeling optimistic, but this was quickly waning. This was the sixth store, and the seventh pair I’d tried on. None of them were happening. I question why I’ve spent hours traipsing around Oxford Street, dodging crowds and trying not to get hit by a black cab. Jeans shopping is not fun. It’s a mission. More than three years ago, I swore off jeans for the foreseeable future. At the time, I was practically living in a pair of faded black M&S high-waist, straight-cut jeans that were cropped right above my ankle. The search for those jeans had also been painful, so when I found this perfect pair, I told myself that was it – I was never going to buy jeans again. But at the start of 2023, I was devastated to find my severe lack of a thigh gap had led to a rather large hole being rubbed into the inner thigh of my beloved jeans. I resolved to get the hole fixed and am still planning to do so, but I recently become enamoured by the idea of blue jeans. It’s been a long time since I owned a pair of blue jeans I really liked. Maybe it was time to start the search again? I initially felt buoyed by the knowledge that size ranges are more extensive than ever before. In the jeans section of Asos alone, you can filter the type of denim you want to unprecedented levels of specificity: choose from 17 different styles, over 30 “jeans families”, dozens of brands, colours, and washes, six “body fits” from Curvy to Petite, and sizes up to UK32. It’s a dizzying array of choices, but surely meant that it’d be easier than ever to find what I was looking for. Yet, this couldn’t be further from the truth for many women, particular those of the larger, curvier variety. I am currently extremely average in size at a UK14. But due to the aforementioned lack of thigh gap, combined with wide hips, a generous posterior and thick, muscly calves, I’ve struggled to find jeans that are both comfortable and flattering. It’s always one problem or another: gapping at the waist, unable to get them up past my hips, too tight to sit down comfortably, too baggy to look good, too long, too suffocating, too unforgiving. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, things are even worse for plus-sized women. A friend of mine, a size UK18, has been burned so often that she was ready to give up. She told me that when she visited Khloe Kardashian’s Good American outpost in Selfridges, she tried on one pair of jeans and nearly walked out when it didn’t fit, thinking none of the others would either. The sales assistant had to stop her and tell her she would help her find something else – and they did. The look on my friend’s face when she showed me the jeans later was priceless, like butter couldn’t melt. It struck me how rare this experience is. Women just want jeans that not only make them feel confident, but are also comfortable and are worth paying a bit more for Sonia Robinson Jones Part of the reason jeans shopping is so demoralising is the lack of consistent sizing in the fashion industry. On social media, some influencers have highlighted this by trying on jeans in the same size in different stores and showing how vastly different the fits are. A UK12 in H&M can fit just right, but a UK12 in Zara might barely zip up. The same size in River Island won’t even get past your thighs, while a pair from Next might be a bit too roomy. Unreliable sizing and poor quality construction makes clothes shopping such a headache, but still the high street brands persist with the status quo. According to Sonia Robinson Jones, associate lecturer in fashion at the University of East London, this is because fast fashion brands “tend to cut their [garment] blocks for the younger body size and grade their sizes up accordingly”, rather than allowing for the fact that women tend to become curvier as we age. “In essence, jeans need to be contoured to a wider selection of body shapes… Women just want jeans that not only make them feel confident, but are also comfortable and are worth paying a bit more for.” Then there is the question of sustainability. I had initially set off with a list of criteria for my perfect jeans: dark blue, high-waisted, no rips, straight leg, preferably from a company with sustainable credentials. My holy grail jeans would have been ELV Denim, which sources unwanted jeans from warehouses around the UK and reconstructs them into entirely new pieces – but at a starting price of £255 per pair, I’d have to save my pennies for another time. Other sustainable brands such as Nudie Jeans and Lucy & Yak were at a more digestible price point, but I wasn’t keen on the idea of returning jeans that didn’t fit and adding to my carbon footprint. Aja Barber, contributing editor at Elle UK and author of Consumed, which explores the effects of fast fashion on the planet, tells me she gets around the horror of it all by shopping for second-hand jeans on eBay. “I have one style that’s my go-to and they’re widely available because the maker over-produces, so I’d rather buy them secondhand than have them become landfill waste, which is what happens to a lot of secondhand clothing that doesn’t get bought,” she explains. “Plus some brands aren’t great on ethics or sustainability and I’d rather not give them my money even if they make my size. Secondhand is a work-around for this.” She also recommends thinking hard about whether you need lots of pairs. “The best route here is to realise you don’t need five pairs of jeans,” she says. “Two pairs max and spend the most you can on getting the best possible pair.” Barber is also an advocate for getting clothes custom-made for a better fit, if it’s within your financial abilities. “I think we shy away from ideas like getting your clothes made because it sounds inaccessible and fancy, but if you’re plus-size like I am, it can be a godsend. I think instead of trying with stuff on the rack, it might be best to take this route.” As for myself, I eventually caved and decided to try buying jeans online from US brand Everlane, which partners with ethical factories and uses recycled materials, organic cotton and less water to create their clothes. I ordered two pairs of jeans from their Curvy collection, knowing that I would not be sending them back, and prayed they would fit. When they eventually arrived, I was ecstatic. The jeans fit. They actually fit! And now, I will never buy another pair of jeans again. Promise. Read More Flip-flops, nudity and ‘up the vajayjay!’: How the red carpet became a platform for protest Women with body hair remain a cultural taboo, and I can’t see it changing Why I’m suspicious of the silver fox Edward Enninful steps down as British Vogue editor-in-chief amid reports of rift Barbie stars Margot Robbie, Issa Rae and Simu Liu react to their own doll replicas Amanda Holden’s most extravagant fashion from the BGT live shows

Prince Harry will become the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for more than a century when he testifies this week...

Australia plans to triple the size of an ecologically important marine park and close off an area larger than Germany to fishing and mining, the government announced Monday, protecting millions of vulnerable seabirds and animals.

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A disruptive passenger on a Friday flight from Paris, France, to Detroit, Michigan, is facing criminal charges after his behavior caused the plane to be diverted to Canada, police said.

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley made a forceful case for the United States' support for Ukraine, a stark contrast with the leaders of the Republican 2024 presidential field, in a CNN town hall Sunday night in Iowa.