Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The average consumer buys 60% more clothing now than 15 years ago, but keeps each item for only half as long
The fashion industry produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste each year
85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
Clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000
The average American throws away about 81 pounds of clothing annually
Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments
It takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
The average consumer wears a garment only 7 to 10 times before discarding it
Online fast fashion returns contribute 5 billion pounds of waste annually in the U.S. alone
Fashion accounts for 20% of global wastewater
The textile industry is the second largest polluter of water globally
60% of material made into clothing is plastic-based
Consumer Behavior
- The average consumer buys 60% more clothing now than 15 years ago, but keeps each item for only half as long
- The average consumer wears a garment only 7 to 10 times before discarding it
- Clothing sales doubled from 100 to 200 billion units a year between 2000 and 2014
- The average British person owns 115 items of clothing but wears only 66% of them
- The average number of times a garment is worn has declined by 36% in 15 years
- Clothing consumption is expected to rise by 63% by 2030
- One in three young women consider a garment "old" after wearing it once or twice
- 1 in 2 people globally throw away clothes due to minor damages instead of repairing them
- The average consumer discards 60% of clothing within the first year
- Consumer demand for ethical fashion has increased by 460% in the last 10 years
- The average person buys 68 new clothing items per year
- The average UK household owns £4,000 worth of clothes, 30% of which haven’t been worn in over a year
- The average fast fashion item is worn only 7 times before being discarded
- 40% of clothing purchased online is returned
Interpretation
We're drowning in a sea of fast fashion, stuffing closets with clothes we barely wear, tossing them faster than we swipe on apps—proving our shopping habits have more to do with impulse than intention, even as our consciences beg for ethics over excess.
Economic Factors
- 1 in 6 people worldwide work in a fashion-related job, many in low-wage environments
- The U.S. exported over 1 billion pounds of used clothing in 2020
- Fast fashion workers in Bangladesh earn as little as $96 per month
- Less than 3% of garment workers worldwide earn a living wage
- 90% of workers in fast fashion supply chains are women, often lacking legal protections
- Disposable fashion costs the UK economy £82 million a year in waste management
- Used clothing imports to Africa undermine local textile industries
- Global fast fashion market is valued at over $90 billion and projected to grow
- Disposal of unwanted clothing cost U.S. cities over $3 billion annually
Interpretation
While we chase closet makeovers at bargain prices, a $90 billion fast fashion frenzy stitches together poverty wages, environmental havoc, and economic fallout that we wear once and bury forever.
Environmental Impact
- It takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
- The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
- Fashion accounts for 20% of global wastewater
- The textile industry is the second largest polluter of water globally
- The average garment travels 5,000 miles before landing in a consumer’s closet
- Microplastics from clothing account for 35% of plastic pollution in oceans
- Cheap synthetic fibers like polyester emit an average of 3 times more CO2 than cotton
- Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally after agriculture
- The fashion industry causes more emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined
- Only 20% of donated clothes sent to developing countries are sold, the rest ends up in landfills
- 7,000 liters of water are needed to make a single pair of jeans
- The fashion industry uses 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, about 4% of all freshwater withdrawal globally
- 20% of global industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment
- Clothing discarded in landfills can take over 200 years to decompose
- Secondhand clothing purchases could reduce fashion’s carbon footprint by 25%
- Polyester, the most commonly used textile fiber, emits 2.1 kg of CO2 per kg of fabric
- Up to 2,000 microfibers are released in each washing cycle of synthetic clothing
- Air-drying clothes can reduce clothing carbon footprint by 33%
- Buying one used item reduces its carbon, waste, and water footprint by 82%
- Clothing production emits 1.2 billion tons of CO2 annually
- Washing synthetic textiles accounts for 35% of primary microplastics in oceans
- The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution
- Clothing and footwear are responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions
Interpretation
Behind every cheap tee and trendy pair of jeans lies an invisible trail of carbon, chemicals, and microplastics—proving that fast fashion may be affordable at checkout, but Earth foots the real bill.
Production and Waste
- The fashion industry produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste each year
- 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
- Clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000
- The average American throws away about 81 pounds of clothing annually
- Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments
- Online fast fashion returns contribute 5 billion pounds of waste annually in the U.S. alone
- 60% of material made into clothing is plastic-based
- Only 13% of clothes thrown away in the U.S. get recycled in any way
- 1 garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every second globally
- Over 100 billion garments are produced globally each year
- Fast fashion brands release up to 24 collections per year
- Nearly 25% of global chemical output is used by the textile industry
- 75% of fashion supply chain material ends up in landfill or incineration
- 87% of the total fiber input used for clothing is eventually incinerated or ends up in a landfill
- Every year, Americans send 21 billion pounds of textile waste to landfills
- Globally, only 20% of clothing is collected for reuse or recycling
- Global fiber production reached 113 million tons in 2021, expected to increase to 149 million by 2030
- Pre-consumer textile waste makes up 10-20% of total fabric waste
- 65% of global clothing comes from fossil-fuel-derived synthetic fibers
- Only 10% of apparel companies have a recycling strategy in place
- China produces 39 billion garments a year, nearly half the world's total
- The U.S. clothing industry’s unsold inventory is valued at over $50 billion annually
- Around 30% of clothes produced are never sold
- Black Friday leads to a 40% spike in textile waste due to over-purchasing
- The number of garments produced annually has more than doubled since 2000
Interpretation
We're drowning in a sea of cheaply made, barely worn, plastic-laced clothing—churning out billions of garments, dumping millions of tons of waste, and still acting surprised when the planet's closets are bursting at the seams.