Circular Economy In The Fashion Retail Industry Statistics

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that the value retained through repair and reuse can be 2–3x that of recycling [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that switching to circular business models could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 44% by 2030 [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that circular fashion could reduce material demand by 30% by 2030 [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that circular fashion could reduce the sector’s waste by 50% by 2030 [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that 20% of garments are not worn often enough to cover their cost by conventional use [1]

McKinsey estimated that fashion resale, rentals, and repair could capture $60–$100 billion by 2025 [2]

McKinsey estimated that the resale market could be worth $10–$30 billion by 2025 in Europe [3]

ThredUp reported that 2020 had 54 million buyers on resale platforms [4]

Vestiaire Collective reported that its marketplace had 8.4 million members in 2020 [5]

Zalando reported that 4.3 million products were sold via “Zalando returns” platform in 2020 [6]

H&M reported that it had collected 30,000 tonnes of textiles in 2018 through its garment collecting program [7]

H&M reported 39,000 tonnes collected in 2019 via garment collecting [7]

H&M reported 45,000 tonnes collected in 2020 via garment collecting [7]

Levi’s “Second Hand” resale platform launched in 2021 and aimed to divert used denim [8]

The global market for textile recycling was valued at $2.0 billion in 2020 (estimate) [9]

The textile recycling market is projected to reach $4.3 billion by 2026 (estimate) [9]

In 2018, global average return rates for online apparel were around 20–30% (estimate) [10]

In 2021, the global textile recycling market share attributed to mechanical recycling was largest (estimate) [11]

In 2021, mechanical recycling dominated the textile recycling industry (estimate) [11]

In 2020, chemical recycling capacity for textiles was limited; an estimate suggests it is under 1% of recycling volumes (estimate) [1]

Global reuse/repair market is projected to grow; resale market projected to reach $77 billion by 2025 (estimate) [3]

Resale/secondhand market share is rising; McKinsey estimated $36 billion by 2022 (estimate) [3]

Levi’s reported that its Water<Less program saved 28 billion liters of water since 2006 (cumulative) [12]

Levi’s reported that in 2021 it used 32% sustainable materials (by weight) [12]

Adidas reported using 100% recycled polyester in all its polyester products by 2024 (target) [13]

Nike reported that it used 100% recycled polyester in its footwear by 2021 (target achieved for some products) [14]

Inditex reported that “Join Life” increased share of materials with lower environmental impact from 15% in 2018 to 24% in 2020 [15]

Inditex reported that it increased use of organic, recycled, or more sustainable fibers to 34% of total fibers in 2020 [15]

Fast Company estimated fashion is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions [16]

UN Environment estimated that the fashion sector accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions [17]

UN Environment estimated that fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater [17]

Changing to circular practices could reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 (estimate) [16]

The IEA estimated that energy use from manufacturing accounts for 40% of industrial energy-related CO2 emissions [18]

WRAP estimated that using clothes longer can reduce their carbon footprint by between 20% and 30% (estimate) [19]

WRAP estimated that keeping clothing for one extra year can reduce carbon, water, and waste impacts [19]

Circularity in apparel could reduce primary raw material demand by 50% by 2030 (estimate) [20]

Product lifetime extension can reduce demand for new production by 6% per year (estimate) [20]

Patagonia reported that Worn Wear program customers generated savings of 65% CO2e vs new purchases (study) [21]

Patagonia’s repair extends garment life; customers received repairs that could be used for 9 years on average (program estimate) [21]

The global fashion industry’s lifecycle GHG emissions are estimated at 2.1–2.6 billion tonnes CO2e per year (estimate) [17]

2022 global apparel and footwear sales were valued at $1.2 trillion [22]

2022 global apparel and footwear market revenue is forecast to reach $1.79 trillion by 2028 [23]

Global clothing consumption per person increased from 7 kg in 1990 to 13 kg in 2015 (approx.) [16]

In the EU, about 11 kg of textiles per person are consumed annually (estimate) [24]

Consumers in the EU buy about 4.4 times more clothing than 15 years ago (estimate) [25]

Global clothing production increased from 50 billion items in 2000 to 100 billion in 2015 (estimate) [17]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that 1 million tonnes of clothing are produced and discarded daily globally (estimate) [1]

In 2019, the EU had 14 million people working in the textile and clothing industry (context) [26]

EU textile and clothing exports were €291 billion in 2019 (context) [26]

In 2019, the global textile and clothing market was around $1.5 trillion (estimate) [27]

WRAP estimated that 50% of clothing purchased in the UK is not worn (context estimate) [28]

WRAP estimated that 30% of people do not wear clothing for over a year (context) [29]

WRAP estimated that average number of wears per garment is around 8–10 (context) [28]

The EU’s “fast fashion” consumption is linked to increased purchases; average clothing purchase frequency is up (estimate) [24]

The EU textile consumption per person is 26 kg (estimate) [25]

In 2019, global fiber production was about 98 million tonnes (including man-made and natural fibers) [30]

Synthetic fibers account for 62% of global fiber production by weight [31]

The EU’s textile consumption was about 5.8 million tonnes in 2020 [32]

Only 1% of textiles are recycled into new textiles in the EU [25]

65% of textile waste is sent to landfill or incineration in the EU [25]

87% of used textiles are not collected in the EU [25]

The fashion industry uses about 79 billion cubic meters of water per year [17]

20% of global wastewater is from textile dyeing and treatment [17]

Textile dyeing is estimated to be the second largest water pollutant after agriculture [17]

Microfibers from textiles are estimated to make up around 35% of microplastics found in the ocean [33]

The European Parliament estimated that textiles are the second largest waste stream in Europe after food [34]

The EU produced 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste in 2020 [24]

In the EU, 25% of textiles used in Europe are made of recycled materials (estimate) [25]

The EU reports that 50% of textile production is polyester (approx.) [31]

H&M reported using “preferred fibres” (organic, recycled, and more sustainable) increasing to 100% cotton preferred by 2022 (target) [35]

10% of the world’s clothes are made from recycled materials (estimate) [25]

Microplastic shedding from textiles is estimated at 35% of ocean microplastics (estimate) [33]

EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation includes durability and reparability requirements (initiative) [36]

EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles targets to make textiles more durable, repairable, recyclable, and to reduce textiles waste [32]

EU target for 2030: collect 90% of textile waste separately [32]

EU target for 2030: recycle 25% of textile waste [32]

EU target for 2030: reuse and recycle textiles to reduce waste [32]

EU 2035 target: 100% of textiles collected for separate treatment (implementation goal) [32]

The EU Waste Framework Directive requires separate collection of textiles by 2025 (for household waste) [37]

The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive introduced separate collection targets for recyclable packaging (context) [38]

EPR schemes for textiles are referenced under EU member state obligations (context) [39]

In France, the anti-waste law (AGEC) requires companies to ensure textile collection/recycling for consumers (target) [40]

In France, the AGEC law sets obligations on producers to ensure collection and recycling targets for textiles (date) [40]

In the UK, the UK Fashion Textiles 2030 commitments include targets for waste reduction and recycled content (scheme) [41]

In the Netherlands, “Textiel aan de bron” includes separate collection targets (municipal) [42]

German Packaging Act influences EPR frameworks affecting textiles collection (context) [43]

The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products proposal requires digital product passports for some categories (including textiles possibility) [44]

The EU Digital Product Passport is part of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation [45]

The EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive is not directly textiles but contributes to microplastic reduction targets (context) [46]

The EU REACH restriction of hazardous chemicals affects textile dyes and treatments (context) [47]

The EU’s Packaging regulation 2018/852 amended EPR for packaging waste (context) [48]

Circularity requires design for disassembly; EU Ecodesign requirements target reparability and availability of spare parts (context) [36]

US EPA estimates textiles diversion (donated/recycled) at about 17% in 2018 [49]

In California, SB 1383 requires garment producers/retailers to procure and report postconsumer textiles recycling/landfill reduction (framework) [50]

In Washington State, RCW 70.95.230 establishes textile donation program requirements (context) [51]

In the UK, EPR consultation for packaging (context) includes take-back for waste streams [52]

In the EU, the 2020/2021 textile strategy includes a target of separate collection by 2025 (context) [32]

IKEA reported that it aims to use 100% recycled or renewable materials by 2030 (policy target) [53]

Burberry reported using 100% traceable cashmere by 2025 (target) [54]

The EU Circular Economy Action Plan targets improved design for circularity (context) [55]

The EU’s Textile Strategy includes a goal of extending product life (context) [32]

In 2020, the EU Green Deal aims for 55% emissions reduction by 2030 [56]

EU Circular Economy Action Plan aims to make sustainable products the norm (context) [57]

In 2021, the EU proposed mandatory minimum recycled content for certain plastics (context) [58]

In 2022, the EU target for renewable energy is 42.5% by 2030 (context for materials/energy) [59]

The EU “waste hierarchy” prioritizes prevention, reuse, and recycling over landfill/incineration (context) [37]

The EU textile strategy aims to increase use of recycled fibers and recycled content (context) [32]

The EU target for separate collection of textiles is 90% by 2025? (implementation differs) [32]

France’s textile obligations: firms must contribute to “eco-organisations” for collection and recycling of textiles (framework number not specified) [40]

The EU’s ban on destruction of unsold textiles is under debate; reporting requirements exist for retailers (context) [60]

The EU’s Empowering Consumers and Repairing/Right to Repair frameworks include repair facilitation targets (context) [36]

The EU textile strategy includes an action to introduce “harmonised rules on the designation of composition and labels” (context) [32]

The EU textile strategy includes “expanded extended producer responsibility” (context) [32]

In the U.S., consumers discarded 16.2 million tons of textiles in 2018 [49]

In the U.S., textile waste generation increased by 5% from 2016 to 2018 [49]

In the U.S., clothing and textile materials were diverted from disposal by 15% in 2018 [49]

In the U.S., textiles recycling rate was 14.7% in 2018 [49]

In the U.S., 17.1 million tons of textiles were landfilled and incinerated in 2018 [49]

In the U.S., 2.3 million tons of textiles were recycled in 2018 [49]

Only 25% of clothing in the U.S. is donated or recycled [49]

The EPA projects that textile recovery will be 13% in 2030 without change [49]

In the U.K., consumers discard 1 million tonnes of textiles annually [61]

In the U.K., only 1% of textiles are recycled into new products [62]

In the U.K., 73% of textiles waste is sent to landfill/incineration [62]

In the U.K., 24% of textile waste is collected for reuse/recycling [62]

In 2018, EU reported 6.5 million tonnes of textile waste generated [26]

The EU generated about 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste annually in 2018 [24]

The EU sent 2.6 million tonnes of textiles to recycling in 2018 (approx.) [24]

In 2017, EU textile sorting: 5.1% (wool) and 4.8% (cotton) residues (illustrative) [63]

In 2019, textile clothing lifespan is around 3 years on average in the EU (estimate) [25]

In the U.S., textile donation drop-off accounts for about 2.5 million tons per year (estimate) [49]

Europe has the highest share of waste incineration among textile waste routes (context) [24]

In the EU, the collection rate of textiles was 25% in 2018 (estimate) [24]

In 2020, global textile waste is estimated at 92 million tonnes (estimate) [17]

In the UK, textiles waste is about 1 million tonnes per year (estimate) [64]

In the EU, textile waste generation was 12.6 million tonnes in 2018 (estimate) [24]

Textile-to-textile recycling remains low due to sorting and fiber mixing; EU notes only 1% recycling into new textiles [25]

In the U.S., textile recycling often uses downcycling; only ~15% is recycled into new fibers (estimate) [49]

In the EU, garment use and sorting: “only 10% of textile waste is effectively recycled” (context) [25]

Average garment lifetime in the UK is about 2 years (estimate) [65]

In 2019, the EU’s textile strategy reported 4 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away annually in some EU member states (context) [32]

In 2020, the EU aims to collect 3.2 million tonnes of textiles (context estimate) [32]