Circular Fashion Statistics

Clothing utilization has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago [1]

The average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago [1]

52% of consumers shopped secondhand apparel in 2023 [2]

68% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers shopped secondhand apparel in 2023 [2]

55% of consumers say if money were no object they would still buy secondhand apparel [2]

40% of consumers say shopping secondhand apparel gives them the most for their money [2]

34% of consumers say shopping secondhand apparel gives them access to more premium brands [2]

31% of consumers say shopping secondhand apparel helps them stand out with unique styles [2]

The average consumer bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000 [3]

The average garment is kept about half as long as it was 15 years ago [3]

More than half of fast fashion produced is disposed of in under a year [4]

Use phase contributed 20% of fashion’s total GHG emissions in 2018 [5]

The average EU citizen consumed 15 kg of textiles in 2020 [6]

Europeans bought 26 kg of textiles and discarded about 11 kg of textiles per person in 2017 [7]

Between 2000 and 2015, global clothing production doubled while the average number of times a garment was worn decreased by 36% [7]

Extending the life of clothes by an extra 9 months can reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by around 20-30% each [8]

The average UK adult has £400 worth of unworn clothes in their wardrobe [8]

61% of consumers say they have sought out more affordable apparel options due to inflation [2]

47% of consumers say apparel resale is the most affordable way to shop [2]

32% of consumers say they are trading down from higher-priced apparel brands [2]

48% of consumers say they consider the apparel resale value of an item before purchasing it new [2]

33% of consumers have sold apparel secondhand in the last 12 months [2]

70% of consumers say a brand’s sustainability credentials are more important today than they were a year ago [2]

29% of consumers say they have avoided buying from a brand because of concerns about its sustainability or ethics [2]

52% of consumers say they are more likely to shop from a brand that offers secondhand apparel alongside new apparel [2]

The average EU citizen purchased 14.8 kg of textiles in 2019 [9]

More than $500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilisation and the lack of recycling [1]

The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2028 [2]

The secondhand market grew 18% in 2023 [2]

The global secondhand market is projected to grow 3 times faster than the global apparel market overall [2]

Online resale is expected to nearly double by 2028 [2]

The global fashion industry was valued at $1.7 trillion in 2023 [10]

The apparel market is forecast to grow by 2% in real terms in 2024 [10]

The global market for sustainable fashion is projected to reach $33.05 billion by 2030 [11]

The sustainable fashion market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.1% from 2024 to 2030 [11]

Shirts and T-shirts accounted for 38.7% of sustainable fashion market revenue in 2023 [11]

Mass segment products held 45.3% of sustainable fashion market revenue in 2023 [11]

The women segment accounted for 48.2% of sustainable fashion market revenue in 2023 [11]

Online channel sales accounted for 40.9% of sustainable fashion market revenue in 2023 [11]

North America held 32.8% of sustainable fashion market revenue in 2023 [11]

The global apparel resale market was valued at $197 billion in 2023 [12]

The global secondhand apparel market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.6% from 2024 to 2030 [12]

The resale segment accounted for 57.7% of secondhand apparel market revenue in 2023 [12]

The dresses and tops segment accounted for 35.7% of secondhand apparel market revenue in 2023 [12]

The women segment accounted for 56.2% of secondhand apparel market revenue in 2023 [12]

North America accounted for 35.5% of secondhand apparel market revenue in 2023 [12]

Recycling clothing into new clothing would represent a $100 billion opportunity annually [1]

Retail operations contributed 3% of fashion’s total GHG emissions in 2018 [5]

The circular textiles market was valued at $5.9 billion in 2023 [13]

The circular textiles market is projected to reach $7.8 billion by 2028 [13]

The circular textiles market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2023 to 2028 [13]

Asia Pacific accounted for 34.8% of the circular textiles market in 2023 [13]

North America accounted for 31.2% of textile recycling market revenue in 2023 [14]

The value of clothing in active use in the UK stood at approximately £30 billion [15]

Around £140 million worth of clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year [15]

63% of retail executives say resale will be a significant revenue driver in 2024 [2]

83% of retail executives say their customers are already participating in resale [2]

59% of retail executives say consumers think apparel brands should make it easier to trade in used clothing [2]

49% of retail executives say resale shoppers are more loyal than traditional shoppers [2]

79% of retail executives say value is the biggest driver for customers buying secondhand [2]

25% of fashion leaders identified scaling circular business models as a top three priority in 2025 [16]

Asia Pacific is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 3.8% in textile recycling from 2024 to 2030 [14]

The fashion industry is responsible for 2% to 8% of global carbon emissions [17]

Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned [1]

The textiles industry uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water annually [17]

The fashion industry accounts for about 20% of global wastewater [17]

Textile production generates 9% of annual microplastic losses to the oceans [17]

In 2015, the global textiles industry emitted 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases [1]

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions [4]

Fashion production makes up 20% of global wastewater [4]

The fashion industry uses about 93 billion cubic metres of water per year [4]

Washing synthetic clothes releases around 500,000 tonnes of microfibres into the ocean each year [17]

Dyeing and finishing contributed 36% of fashion’s total GHG emissions in 2018 [5]

The fashion industry needs to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 to align with a 1.5°C pathway [5]

Clothing and footwear consumption in the EU generates 5.2 tonnes of CO2 emissions per average person [18]

Clothing and footwear consumption in the EU uses 9 cubic metres of water per person annually [18]

Clothing and footwear consumption in the EU uses 400 square metres of land per person [18]

The EU’s consumption of textiles had on average the fourth highest impact on the environment and climate change [6]

In 2020, textile consumption in the EU required 9 m3 of water, 400 m2 of land, 391 kg of raw materials and caused 270 kg of carbon emissions per person [6]

In Europe, textile purchases in 2017 generated about 654 kg of CO2 emissions per person [7]

In Europe, textile purchases in 2017 used about 9 m3 of water per person [7]

In Europe, textile purchases in 2017 used about 400 m2 of land per person [7]

Around 35% of all microplastics in the ocean come from washing synthetic textiles [19]

The apparel, footwear and household textiles sectors represented 5.2% of total EU household consumption impacts in 2022 [20]

The textile sector was the fifth largest source of primary raw material consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from EU household consumption in 2022 [20]

EU textile consumption in 2019 generated 121 million tonnes of greenhouse gases over its life cycle [9]

EU textile consumption in 2019 used 53 million cubic metres of water over its life cycle [9]

EU textile consumption in 2019 occupied 109,000 square kilometres of land over its life cycle [9]

Global fibre production reached 116 million tonnes in 2022 [21]

Polyester accounted for 54% of global fibre production in 2022 [21]

Recycled polyester represented 14.8% of total polyester production in 2022 [21]

Cotton accounted for 20% of global fibre production in 2022 [21]

Cellulosic fibres represented 6% of global fibre production in 2022 [21]

Polyamide made up 5% of global fibre production in 2022 [21]

Wool accounted for 1% of global fibre production in 2022 [21]

It takes 2,700 litres of water to make one cotton shirt [17]

Polyester production for textiles emitted 706 billion kg of GHG emissions in 2015 [5]

Cotton production for textiles emitted 180 billion kg of GHG emissions in 2015 [5]

Material production contributed 38% of fashion’s total GHG emissions in 2018 [5]

Packaging contributed 2% of fashion’s total GHG emissions in 2018 [5]

Clothing and footwear consumption in the EU requires 391 kg of raw materials per person [18]

The EU consumed 6.95 million tonnes of clothing, 1.95 million tonnes of footwear and 6.3 million tonnes of household textiles in 2020 [6]

Between 2000 and 2015, clothing production approximately doubled globally [7]

In Europe, textile purchases in 2017 required about 391 kg of raw materials per person [7]

Synthetic textiles account for about 60% of clothing and 70% of household textiles produced in Europe [22]

Bio-based polyester represented less than 1% of the polyester market in 2022 [21]

Virgin fossil-based synthetic fibres accounted for 67% of all fibre production in 2022 [21]

Cotton from programmes with preferred sustainability standards accounted for 27% of total cotton production in 2022/23 [21]

Polyester is estimated to be the largest material segment in the circular textiles market during the forecast period, with 39.2% share in 2023 [13]

Around 80% of the carbon, water and waste impacts of clothing happen during production [8]

The global man-made cellulosic fibres market reached 7.9 million tonnes in 2022 [21]

Lyocell fibre production increased by 14% in 2022 [21]

Modal fibre production increased by 3% in 2022 [21]

Viscose fibre production increased by 1% in 2022 [21]

80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage [23]

Clothing purchases in the EU-27 amounted to 6.5 million tonnes in 2019 [9]

Footwear purchases in the EU-27 amounted to 1.4 million tonnes in 2019 [9]

Household textile purchases in the EU-27 amounted to 4.3 million tonnes in 2019 [9]

Total textile purchases in the EU-27 amounted to 12.2 million tonnes in 2019 [9]

EU textile consumption in 2019 used 234 million tonnes of raw materials over its life cycle [9]

Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing [1]

Global recycled fibres accounted for 7.9% of total fibre production in 2022 [21]

Just 0.3% of global fibre production came from pre- and post-consumer recycled textiles in 2022 [21]

99% of recycled polyester feedstock in 2022 came from PET bottles rather than textiles [21]

The equivalent of one garbage truck of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second [4]

87% of the total fibre input used for clothing is ultimately incinerated or landfilled [4]

Less than 1% of clothing waste is recycled into new clothes [4]

73% of discarded clothing ends up in landfill or incineration [1]

12% of material used for clothing is downcycled into lower-value applications [1]

Just 2% of fashion’s greenhouse gas emissions come from recycled fibres [5]

End-of-use contributed 1% of fashion’s total GHG emissions in 2018 [5]

Only 12% of the material used for clothing globally comes from recycled sources [24]

Less than 1% of recycled clothing is turned back into new garments [24]

The EU generates 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste per year [18]

Europeans discard about 11 kg of textiles per person each year [18]

About 22% of post-consumer textile waste is separately collected for reuse or recycling in the EU [18]

Of the 16 kg of textile waste generated per person in Europe in 2020, only about 4.4 kg was separately collected for reuse and recycling [6]

About 82% of textile waste from households in Europe was discarded rather than separately collected in 2020 [6]

Between 2019 and 2022, the global market share of recycled polyester declined from 14.7% to 12.5% [21]

Recycled nylon represented 2.9% of total nylon production in 2022 [21]

Recycled wool accounted for 6% of global wool production in 2022 [21]

Recycled cotton accounted for less than 1% of global cotton production in 2022 [21]

The recycled segment accounted for the largest share of the circular textiles market in 2023 at 63.4% [13]

The textile recycling market was valued at $5.5 billion in 2023 [14]

The textile recycling market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% from 2024 to 2030 [14]

Apparel source waste accounted for 74.8% of textile recycling market revenue in 2023 [14]

Cotton textile waste accounted for 41.9% of textile recycling market revenue in 2023 [14]

Mechanical recycling accounted for 67.2% of textile recycling market revenue in 2023 [14]

336,000 tonnes of used clothing was discarded in household residual waste in the UK in 2017 [15]

350,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year [15]

UK citizens send 300,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill or incineration each year [8]

The separate collection of textile waste will be mandatory in the EU from 1 January 2025 [18]

Around 1.3 million tonnes of textile products discarded in the EU were sent for treatment in 2019 [9]

The average EU citizen discarded 15.4 kg of textiles in 2019 [9]

85% of the textiles that households discard in Europe are not reused or recycled [9]

Only 15% of textile waste generated by households in Europe is separately collected for reuse or recycling [9]

The global textile recycling market is expected to reach $7.6 billion by 2030 [14]

The closed-loop recycling market is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 3.7% from 2024 to 2030 in textile recycling [14]