What do people wear in war zones?
The Reality of Dressing in Crisis
When we think about war zones, our minds often focus on survival—on food shortages, loss of shelter, lack of clean water. But one essential human right that is often overlooked in the conversation is the right to clothing.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 25), everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing and medical care. Yet for millions living through war, that right is brutally denied.
Whilst keeping up with the latest fashion is most-likely the furthest thing from people’s minds when they are starving and sheltering from gunfire and shelling, clothing and dressing as self-care plays an important part in identity and mental health. For some groups, clothing is also more than just protection from the elements: cultural and religious needs remain just as important when trying to stay clothed and survive.
Clothing in Conflict: More Than Just Fabric
In war zones, clothing becomes a fragile and precious resource. It’s not just about comfort or fashion — clothing is survival. It protects against extreme temperatures, sand, dust, mud, insects, and disease. For many displaced people, especially women and children, access to adequate clothing means the difference between dignity and deep vulnerability.
But what happens when conflict destroys the systems that make and distribute clothes? When factories are bombed, supply chains collapse, and families flee with only what they can carry?
What People Wear: Clothing on the Brink
In conflict zones such as Syria, Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, or Ukraine, people often wear the same few pieces of clothing for weeks or months on end. With washing facilities destroyed or inaccessible, clothes become worn, threadbare, and unhygienic. People rely heavily on what they had when they fled: one shirt, a single pair of trousers, sandals in winter. As the weather changes and temperatures plummet, these items serve little protection.
Children grow, but new clothes don’t come. Many refugees wear oversized or undersized garments passed down or handed out. In refugee camps, families may wait months for a clothing distribution — if one happens at all. Sometimes when those clothing distributions come, the clothes are worn-out and unsuitable - quite literally other people’s well-meaning cast-offs, eroding any chance of feeling dignity.
Coping With Scarcity
People are resilient. In war zones, they mend and repurpose clothing with extraordinary ingenuity. Old T-shirts become baby wraps. Torn garments are sewn into patchwork dresses. Scarves are used to protect against sun and dust. Communities often share or barter what little they have. Still, the stress and humiliation of inadequate clothing erode mental well-being and human dignity.
Clothing Drives: Help With Limits
International aid organisations and charities do try to fill the gap with clothing drives, but these efforts are often overwhelmed by the sheer scale of need. While well-intentioned, donated clothing isn’t always appropriate or useful — summer clothing sent to freezing climates, formal wear sent to rural camps, or items that don't fit cultural dress norms.
Moreover, logistics are a challenge. Transporting and distributing donated clothing to remote or besieged areas is dangerous, expensive, and complex. Still, in many cases, these donations are lifelines — especially when coordinated with local knowledge and delivered with respect.
The Forgotten Right
Clothing may not be the first need we think of when war strikes, but it is a basic human right. Just like food and shelter, it upholds dignity, health, and the ability to survive. The loss of that right in times of conflict is not just a matter of discomfort — it is a humanitarian crisis in itself.
What Can We Do?
Don’t just give your unwanted items - war isn’t your opportunity for a clear-out. Find out what is needed and give clothing you would not yourself be ashamed to wear again. Give dignity - clothing in good condition, free from stains, holes or broken fastenings.
Support local organisations working on the ground. They often have the best understanding of what’s needed and how to deliver it.
Donate money, not just clothes. Monetary donations allow aid workers to purchase items locally and tailor support to specific needs. This is often one of the best options as it also supports local economy and enables independent working.
Advocate. Speak out about the overlooked aspects of displacement and crisis, including clothing. Human rights are not negotiable — even in war.
Buy less, give more. If your closet is full, consider how that excess contrasts with those surviving with almost nothing.
Clothing is not a luxury. It is a right. And in the world's war zones, that right is under siege.
Let’s not forget that behind every crisis are people, mothers, children, the elderly; trying to live, move, and stay warm with only the clothes on their backs.
Further Reading & Organisations to Support:
These organisations provide emergency clothing, supplies, and long-term support to displaced people around the world.