Circular Economy In The Apparel Industry Statistics

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation states the global apparel sector is “missing opportunities” worth €500 billion by 2030 by not transitioning to circular business models [1]

By 2030, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that $1.2 trillion could be generated through circular business models [1]

The EU’s textiles strategy cites that the EU’s reuse and repair markets are currently limited [2]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that “97% of the value” in clothing could be retained in a circular system [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates textiles could be recirculated at scale through sorting, collection, and recycling infrastructure [1]

Repair and reuse can extend product life; a common target is increasing use-life by 9 months [3]

Circular business models in textiles can reduce costs by 25% through material efficiency [1]

Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that current linear model causes loss of material value worth around $500 billion annually [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation states that 20% of value is captured when recycling is maximized [1]

The EEA estimates that the EU’s textile recycling capacity is insufficient relative to waste generated [3]

McKinsey estimates that by 2030, circular fashion could reduce costs and create new revenues [4]

McKinsey reports that circular fashion can unlock a “$40 billion” to “$100 billion” opportunity depending on scenario by 2030 [4]

McKinsey states that resale can capture significant value; it can account for a meaningful share of apparel sales in future years [4]

ThredUp’s 2021 resale report states that resale increases the lifespan of garments by about 2 years [5]

The UK WRAP estimates that increasing reuse and recycling of textiles can generate economic benefits of hundreds of millions of pounds annually [6]

Fashion production is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions [7]

The textile industry uses about 93 billion cubic meters of water per year [7]

Textiles account for around 20% of industrial water pollution [7]

The European Environment Agency reports that garments are typically used only 2–4 years in Europe [3]

Global apparel consumption is projected to grow to 102 million tonnes by 2030 [1]

Global apparel consumption is projected to reach 160 million tonnes by 2050 under current trends [1]

Microfibers from textiles are estimated to be the second-largest source of microplastic pollution in the ocean after tires [8]

UNEP reports textiles contribute an estimated 0.5 million tonnes of microplastics entering the ocean each year [8]

The OECD Global Material Resources Outlook estimates that global material use could reach 190 billion tonnes by 2060 [9]

Textile recycling can reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared with virgin production, and life cycle assessments often show significant reductions [10]

In the EU, synthetic textiles are a large share of textile waste, contributing to microfiber pollution [3]

The EEA highlights that synthetic textiles make up much of fiber input [3]

Microplastics from textiles can be released during washing; studies show common laundering releases hundreds of thousands of fibers per wash [11]

A review study reports microfiber release during washing can range from thousands to millions of fibers per wash depending on fabric [12]

The IEA estimates global production of polyester continued to grow, affecting demand for recycled polyester and circular inputs [13]

Reuse and recycling can reduce environmental impact by lowering virgin feedstock demand [1]

Apparel use-phase emissions are smaller than production emissions for most garments under typical LCAs [14]

Global fast fashion leads to more than 100 billion garments produced each year [15]

The UNEP report states that global apparel production roughly doubles every 20 years [15]

Global garment production reached about 100 billion items per year [15]

UNEP indicates the average person buys more clothing each year; consumption has increased since 2000 [15]

The Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) reports that the fashion industry is responsible for 2–8% of global greenhouse gas emissions [16]

Greenpeace reports that “fast fashion” has increased in volume significantly since 2000, with garment purchases doubling [17]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that increasing reuse can reduce carbon emissions by up to 50% for some product categories in LCAs [1]

UNEP’s “From Pollution to Solution” framework identifies microplastics risk including textiles [18]

The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation aims to make products more repairable and durable [19]

The EU’s Waste Framework Directive targets increasing reuse and recycling rates [20]

The EU sets a municipal waste recycling target of 55% by 2025, 60% by 2030, 65% by 2035 [20]

The EU Landfill Directive sets a maximum landfill target of 10% of municipal waste by 2035 [21]

The EU estimates that extended producer responsibility could increase collection and recycling rates [2]

The EU’s textiles strategy introduces mandatory separate collection of textiles by 2025/2026 [2]

The EU proposal for waste textiles would require separate collection and increased sorting [2]

The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation introduces durability requirements for many product categories [19]

The EU’s Batteries Regulation creates a framework for product recycling targets; by analogy, similar frameworks are being proposed for textiles [22]

The EU’s circular economy action plan includes targets to reduce waste generation [23]

The EU’s circular economy action plan sets a target for textile waste prevention and recycling through separate collection and EPR [23]

In the EU, extended producer responsibility is expected to increase collection rates for textiles [2]

The EU textile strategy expects separate collection to increase collection volumes [2]

The EU action includes labeling requirements for durability and reparability [19]

The EU’s Ecodesign Regulation aims to reduce environmental impacts across life cycle, including textiles [19]

The EU’s Waste Shipment Regulation supports waste movements to prevent illegal dumping, relevant to textile waste leakage [24]

The Basel Convention aims to control transboundary movements of hazardous waste and certain textile wastes in some cases [25]

The EU textile strategy includes an objective to ensure that by 2030, all textiles are collected separately [2]

The EU strategy includes a target that by 2030, textile recycling rates should increase significantly (e.g., to high levels) [2]

The EEA notes that better fiber identification and labeling can improve sorting yields by enabling higher-quality recycling [3]

The EU Ecodesign framework requires information for consumers and recyclers (digital product passport concepts) [19]

The EU digital product passport proposal aims to provide product-level data to support circularity [26]

Textile Exchange reports that mass balance and book-and-claim volumes under standards totaled hundreds of millions of units globally [27]

GRS (Global Recycled Standard) covers recycled input in products; certification supports traceability [28]

The EU Commission impact assessment for the textiles strategy includes quantitative estimates for waste reduction and recycling improvements [29]

The EU Commission impact assessment for sustainable products includes estimates of environmental benefits, relevant to textiles [29]

The EU’s REACH regulation restricts hazardous substances; it supports safer materials enabling circularity [30]

The EU’s POPs Regulation limits persistent organic pollutants; certain residues can be relevant for textiles recycling safety [31]

The EU’s Stockholm Convention obligations influence management of chemicals in articles, affecting recycled textile safety [32]

The Basel Convention controls movements of waste; textile waste can be regulated depending on classification [25]

The EU’s Regulation on waste shipments includes provisions for controlling mixed waste and illegal exports, relevant to textile leakage [24]

The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive targets recycling rates, illustrating circular targets; similar collection targets are proposed for textiles [33]

The UK government’s Textile Strategy includes targets to increase recycling and reduce disposal; it references a 70% reduction in waste by 2030 [34]

Globally, only about 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that the value of materials currently lost to the system is $100 billion annually [1]

Only 12% of discarded textiles are collected for recycling in Europe [3]

Apparel recycling rates are low because most textiles are not designed for recycling [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that 73% of clothing is never recycled [1]

Only about 7% of textiles are recycled in some EU Member States [3]

The US EPA estimates only about 15% of textiles are recycled in the US [35]

The US EPA estimates that about 2.5 million tons of textiles are recycled annually [35]

Fashion brands often use blended fabrics that are difficult to recycle mechanically [3]

Mechanical recycling can significantly reduce fiber strength depending on number of reprocessing cycles [36]

Chemical recycling is estimated to recover polymers from mixed textiles where mechanical recycling is difficult [1]

WRAP reports that about 0.5 million tonnes of textiles are collected for reuse/recycling in the UK annually [6]

WRAP estimates that the UK has about 1.6 million tons of clothing available for reuse and recycling [6]

The UK textile recycling rate is about 56% for clothing and textiles in some local programs [6]

WRAP estimates household clothing donation and recycling rates combined are around 5–10% of total wearable material [6]

In 2019, the global recycled polyester market was around 0.5 million tonnes [37]

Textile fibers: The World Bank/UN data indicates synthetic fibers dominate textile inputs, but recycling share is limited [15]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation reports that fiber-to-fiber recycling is limited by technology and sorting challenges [1]

In the EU, only about 1% of textiles are recycled into new textiles [2]

The US EPA states that 2.5 million tons of textiles are recycled annually in the US [35]

In the EU, around 1.7 million tonnes of textile waste were collected for reuse/recycling in 2018 [3]

The EEA states that sorting and pre-treatment of textiles improves recyclability outcomes [3]

The Textile Exchange reports that global organic cotton share is around 3% in recent years, relevant to circular fiber sourcing [38]

Textile Exchange reports that recycled polyester accounts for a growing share of polyester fiber, reaching around 14% of polyester in 2023 [39]

Textile Exchange reports that in 2023, recycled polyester demand was around 3.6 million tonnes [40]

The textile sector employs around 60 million people worldwide, with 75–80% women [41]

ILO reports that women and youth face higher risk of unemployment in textile value chains during economic shocks [41]

The ILO estimates employment in textiles and clothing at about 60 million globally [42]

ILO reports that the garment industry has an incidence of forced labor risk in certain supply chain contexts [43]

The World Bank estimates that $12.6 billion in trade benefits could be affected by better labor and sustainability compliance [44]

GOTS certification sets criteria for organic textiles, and its standard includes social and environmental requirements [45]

OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 provides limits for harmful substances, affecting safer textile production and circular transitions [46]

Better Cotton reports average farm-level yields and sustainability outcomes, relevant to circularity via sustainable cotton sourcing [47]

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) lists certain chemicals of concern in textile supply chains affecting safe recycling and reuse [48]

The EU strategy estimates that textile reuse and recycling can create jobs; impact assessments quantify employment effects (tens of thousands) [2]

The European Environment Agency estimates that in the EU, textile waste generation is around 11 kg per person per year [3]

The EU’s textile strategy notes that the EU produces about 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste annually [2]

In the EU, 25% of textile waste is landfilled [2]

In the EU, 75% of textile waste is incinerated or landfilled [2]

The European Commission estimates that around 4.5 million tonnes of textiles are wasted annually in the EU and UK [2]

The OECD estimates textile waste generation to grow to 148 million tonnes by 2030 globally [49]

The EEA states that around 4.4 million tonnes of textile waste were generated in the EU in 2018 [3]

In the EU, textile waste is largely composed of clothing, which is about 81% of the total [3]

The US EPA estimates that textiles contribute about 5.7% of total municipal solid waste in the US [35]

The US EPA states about 12.5 million tons of textiles are generated in the US annually [35]

The US EPA estimates about 11.3 million tons of textiles are discarded annually in the US [35]

On average, consumers in the EU keep clothing for about 3 years before discarding [3]

In the UK, the WRAP “Valuing our Clothes” report found that 5.7 million tonnes of clothing waste are produced annually in the UK [6]

The OECD reports that only a small share of textile waste is recycled globally, with most disposed of via landfill, incineration, or downcycling [49]

In 2019, global textile waste reached about 92 million tonnes [49]

By 2030, textile waste could reach 134 million tonnes globally [49]

The European Commission estimates that textiles are a major waste stream and that 87% of textiles are not reused or recycled in the EU [2]

The EU’s textiles strategy cites 12.5 million tonnes of textile waste generated in the EU+UK [2]

The EU+UK textiles waste is expected to increase to 16 million tonnes by 2030 [2]

The EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan notes that textile waste is projected to increase without policy intervention [23]

The US EPA states that textiles are among the largest components of municipal solid waste by weight [35]

The US EPA states that 10.1 million tons of textiles end up in landfills or incineration annually [35]

In 2018, the UN Environment Programme estimated that clothing and textiles are among the top waste streams [14]

Fast fashion garments are often purchased in shorter cycles; average clothing lifespan in Europe is around 2–4 years [3]

The EEA reports that most used textiles are exported for reuse; estimates vary but exports are a significant share of post-consumer collection [3]

The EU Commission estimates that textiles exported for sorting/recycling often end up downcycled, affecting circularity [2]

In the US, the EPA states that textiles are 4th largest component by weight in landfilled MSW [35]

Textile waste in the EU is expected to increase due to consumption growth without circular interventions [2]

In Sweden, the government reports textile collection rates above 20 kg per person per year through producer responsibility schemes [50]

Norway has achieved textile collection through EPR, with collection rates reported in national statistics above 10 kg per person per year [51]

Dutch textile collection reached around 10–15 kg per person per year in recent national reports [52]