Circular Fashion Statistics

42% of Gen Z consumers shop secondhand clothes

56% of consumers say they would pay more for sustainable products

82% of consumers say they have resold or are open to reselling clothing

60% of consumers believe that buying secondhand is the most sustainable way to shop

Over 40% of consumers determine the resale value of an item before buying it new

52% of women have purchased secondhand clothing in the past 12 months

72% of consumers said they would engage with a brand's recycling program if it were easy to do

1 in 3 consumers care more about wearing sustainable apparel than they did prior to the pandemic

48% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that offers a repair service

59% of luxury consumers say they have purchased pre-owned luxury items

Search volume for "sustainable fashion" increased by 84% on Lyst in 2020

33% of Gen Z have sold clothes online, the highest of any generation

64% of consumers are willing to repair their clothes if it extends the product life

75% of consumers view sustainability as extremely or very important

43% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with a brand that lets them trade in old clothes for credit

69% of thrift shoppers say they buy used clothes to save money

Mentions of "circular fashion" on social media increased by 19% year-over-year

90% of Gen Z consumers believe companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues

54% of consumers have bought second-hand items to be more eco-friendly

20% of consumers plan to reduce their spending on fast fashion in the coming years

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

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

The fashion industry produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually

Washing synthetic clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year

Textile dysing is the second largest polluter of water globally

85% of all textiles go to the dump each year

Clothing production has doubled between 2000 and 2014

Consumers keep clothing items for about half as long as they did 15 years ago

The fashion industry consumes 79 trillion liters of water annually

Shoes can take up to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill

35% of all microplastics released into the world's oceans come from synthetic textiles

Extending the life of a garment by just nine months reduces carbon, waste, and water footprints by around 20-30%

Around 30% of clothes in wardrobes in the UK have not been worn for at least a year

Without change, the fashion industry will use up 26% of the world’s carbon budget by 2050

73% of the world's clothing eventually ends up in landfills

Annual textile waste is expected to potentially increase by 60% by 2030

Only 15% of consumer-used clothing is recycled in the United States

Fashion packaging accounts for significant plastic waste, with polybags taking 1,000 years to degrade

Up to 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment

Textile waste has increased by 811% since 1960

The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2027

Resale is expected to grow 11 times faster than traditional retail by 2027

The circular fashion economy is estimated to be a $5 trillion opportunity

500 billion USD of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilization and lack of recycling

By 2030, circular business models could cover 23% of the global fashion market

The clothing rental market is projected to reach $2.08 billion by 2025

Secondhand clothing sales in the US are projected to reach $70 billion by 2027

The refurbished clothing market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.7% from 2021 to 2031

Resale is projected to overtake fast fashion by 2029

62% of Gen Z and Millennials say they look for an item secondhand before purchasing it new

The online clothing rental market is expected to witness a CAGR of 10.6% from 2023 to 2030

70% of fashion executives believe circular business models will be crucial for the industry's future

Recommerce revenue is expected to double fast fashion’s revenue by 2030

Capture of the resale market could reduce the industry's greenhouse gas emissions by 143 million tonnes by 2030

Brands embracing resale are seeing a 15-20% increase in revenue

EU textile sorting and recycling market could create 15,000 new jobs by 2030

1/3 of retailers are planning to introduce resale or rental services despite economic headwinds

The global market for recycled textiles is projected to reach $9.5 billion by 2027

Vestiaire Collective, a resale platform, is valued at over $1.7 billion

Circular business models could generate a net benefit of 192 billion EUR for the European Economy by 2030

60% of all clothing material is plastic (polyester, acrylic, nylon)

Production of polyester has doubled in the last 20 years

Conventional cotton farming uses 16% of the world's insecticides

Making a pair of jeans consumes about 7,500 liters of water

Regenerative agriculture in fashion material sourcing can sequester 10-20 tons of carbon per hectare

30% of clothes produced each year are never sold

Viscose production is linked to the logging of 150 million trees annually

Digital sampling can reduce physical sample production by 55%

60% of sustainability claims by fashion giants are greenwashing

Using recycled polyester reduces carbon emissions by 37% compared to virgin polyester

Organic cotton production emits 46% less greenhouse gas than conventional cotton

Leather tanning utilizes over 250 different chemicals, including heavy metals like chromium

3D knitting technology can reduce waste in production by 35%

On-demand manufacturing can reduce inventory waste by 40%

Only 20% of global textile companies have committed to circularity targets

Switching to renewable energy in the supply chain can cut emissions by 50%

Hemp requires 50% less water to grow than cotton

Dope dyeing techniques can reduce water consumption by 90% significantly reducing pollution

25% of the industry's chemical usage occurs during the textile finishing stage

Producing one kg of cotton emits 1.8 kg of CO2e, while polyester emits 9.5 kg of CO2e

Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing

12% of textile fibers are recycled into other applications like insulation or stuffing

The EU aims to require all member states to establish separate collection of textile waste by 2025

95% of discarded textiles can be recycled or repurposed

Less than 5% of post-consumer garments are currently collected for recycling

Automated sorting technologies can sort up to 1 tonne of textiles per hour

Chemical recycling could enable 18-26% of gross textile waste to be recycled by 2030

Only 1% of cotton production is organic which is often required for high-grade recycling

Fiber-to-fiber recycling could scale to 18 to 26 percent of total textile waste in Europe by 2030

The challenge of blended fabrics prevents over 50% of textiles from being easily recycled

70% of the cost of textile recycling is attributed to manual sorting

France has a mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for textiles since 2007

Current recycling technologies can recover 90% of the raw materials in polyester fabrics

Mechanical recycling degrades fiber quality limiting the number of times it can be recycled

Clothing collection rates in the EU are approximately 30-35% of total consumption

Germany collects about 75% of its used textiles, the highest rate is Europe

Investment in textile recycling technology needs to reach $100 billion to scale fully

50% of collected textiles in the Global North are exported to the Global South, often overwhelming local waste systems

40% of exported used clothing is deemed worthless upon arrival in destination countries

Lyocell production (a closed-loop process) recycles 99.5% of the solvents used