Eco Fashion Statistics

Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2015 [1]

People bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000 [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 [2]

Global clothing and footwear consumption is expected to rise by 63% by 2030, from 62 million tonnes today to 102 million tonnes [3]

Between 2000 and 2015, clothing utilization dropped by 36% [2]

In the UK, clothing longevity active use has decreased by 26% since 2012 [4]

In the UK, 620,000 tonnes of clothing were purchased in 2019 [5]

UK household expenditure on clothing reached £54.1 billion in 2019 [4]

UK citizens buy an estimated 26.7 kg of new clothing per person each year [6]

In the EU in 2020, textiles were the fifth highest-pressure consumption domain for raw materials use, averaging 9 kg per person [7]

Europeans consume nearly 26 kg of textiles and discard about 11 kg of textiles per person each year [7]

Global apparel consumption is projected to increase by 63%, from 62 million tonnes in 2019 to 102 million tonnes in 2030 [8]

The second-hand apparel market is projected to reach $350 billion by 2028 [9]

The global second-hand apparel market is expected to grow 3 times faster than the global apparel market overall through 2028 [9]

59% of consumers say they are looking for more affordable shopping options amid inflation [9]

65% of consumers say they are seeking more value when shopping for apparel [9]

55% of consumers say apparel resale is the more affordable way to shop [9]

52% of consumers say they are concerned about the environmental impact of the apparel industry [9]

72% of retail executives say resale is an important part of their business [9]

94% of retail executives say customers are already participating in resale [9]

69% of brands reported increased sales of products with sustainability credentials [10]

82% of fashion executives say sustainability regulations will have a material impact on their business in 2024 [10]

71% of Generation Z consumers consider sustainability credentials when making fashion purchases [10]

65% of consumers plan to make more sustainable fashion choices [10]

57% of consumers are willing to change purchasing habits to help reduce negative environmental impact [11]

73% of global consumers say they would definitely or probably change consumption habits to reduce environmental impact [12]

66% of global respondents are willing to pay more for sustainable goods [12]

Among Millennials, 73% are willing to pay more for sustainable offerings [12]

The global ethical fashion market was valued at $8.25 billion in 2023 [13]

The ethical fashion market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2024 to 2030 [13]

The organic segment accounted for 41.7% of ethical fashion revenue in 2023 [13]

The online distribution channel accounted for 56.2% of ethical fashion revenue in 2023 [13]

The global sustainable fashion market size was valued at $7.8 billion in 2023 [14]

The sustainable fashion market is projected to reach around $33.05 billion by 2034 [14]

The sustainable fashion market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 14% from 2024 to 2034 [14]

12.8 million tonnes of clothing are consumed annually in the European Union [7]

In 2019, the average EU citizen bought 19 kg of clothing, footwear and household textiles [15]

The average garment is worn only 7 to 10 times before being thrown away [16]

Globally, people consumed 62 million tonnes of apparel in 2019 [8]

30% of clothing in the average wardrobe has not been worn for at least a year [6]

The average UK household owns around £4,000 worth of clothes [6]

Around £30 billion worth of clothing in UK wardrobes has not been worn for at least a year [6]

Inactive clothing in UK wardrobes has an embedded value of around £140 million [6]

The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% in the last 15 years [17]

The fashion industry is responsible for 2% to 8% of global carbon emissions [18]

The fashion industry consumes 215 trillion litres of water per year [18]

Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally, responsible for around 20% of all industrial water pollution [19]

The global fashion industry emits about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [20]

Synthetic textiles account for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment [21]

The equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles are released into the ocean each year from textiles [2]

If nothing changes, by 2050 the fashion industry could use more than 26% of the world’s carbon budget associated with a 2°C pathway [2]

Roughly 20% of global wastewater is generated by the fashion industry [22]

Washing synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of primary microplastics released into the oceans [23]

The carbon footprint of clothing in active use in the UK is around 26.2 million tonnes CO2e per year [6]

The water footprint of clothing in active use in the UK is around 8 billion cubic metres per year [6]

The laundry stage contributes 26% of clothing’s carbon footprint in the UK [6]

Clothing accounts for about 3% of global production and 2% of global consumption impacts [7]

In the EU in 2020, textiles generated on average 270 kg of CO2 emissions per person [7]

In the EU in 2020, textiles required 9 cubic metres of water per person [7]

In the EU in 2020, textiles used 400 square metres of land per person [7]

Textile production generated 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases annually [1]

10% of humanity’s carbon emissions come from the fashion industry [24]

93 billion cubic metres of water are used by the fashion industry annually [24]

500,000 tonnes of microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing clothes [19]

Clothing production accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions [25]

The fashion industry uses about 93 billion cubic metres of water annually [25]

The fashion industry contributes to 20% of wastewater globally [25]

Fashion is responsible for 8-10% of global CO2 emissions [17]

9% of annual microplastic losses to the oceans come from apparel and textiles [17]

The fashion industry could use over a quarter of the world’s remaining carbon budget by 2050 [17]

A pair of jeans generates about 33.4 kg of carbon equivalent over its life cycle [26]

Consumer care accounts for 37% of the climate impact of a pair of jeans [26]

Textile consumption in Europe has on average the fourth highest negative life-cycle pressure on the environment and climate change [15]

Textiles have the third highest pressure for water and land use from an EU consumption perspective [15]

The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer industry of water [27]

The fashion industry accounts for 8-10% of global emissions [27]

Fashion contributes to 9% of annual microplastic losses to oceans [27]

20% of global water waste is caused by textile treatment and dyeing [27]

The fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions are projected to rise more than 50% by 2030 if no action is taken [28]

35% of all ocean microplastics come from washing synthetic textiles such as polyester [29]

Fashion companies need to cut emissions by 1.8% annually to 2030 to meet climate goals [20]

The fashion industry must reduce emissions by half by 2030 to stay on a 1.5°C pathway [20]

More than 70% of fashion industry emissions are upstream, from material production, preparation, and processing [20]

Polyester production for textiles emitted 706 billion kg of greenhouse gases in 2015 [30]

Cotton covers 2.5% of the world’s cultivated land [31]

Cotton accounts for 16% of global insecticide releases [31]

Cotton accounts for 6% of global pesticide use [31]

Producing a cotton shirt requires about 2,700 litres of water [32]

It takes about 7,500 litres of water to make one pair of jeans [32]

Global fibre production reached a record 116 million tonnes in 2022 [33]

Polyester accounted for 54% of global fibre production in 2022 [33]

Recycled fibres made up only 7.9% of global fibre production in 2022 [33]

Fossil-based synthetic fibres represented 67% of all fibre production in 2022 [33]

Virgin fossil-based synthetic fibres increased from 63 million tonnes in 2000 to 82 million tonnes in 2022 [33]

Cotton represented 20% of global fibre production in 2022 [33]

Manmade cellulosic fibres represented 6% of global fibre production in 2022 [33]

Wool accounted for 1% of global fibre production in 2022 [33]

Down represented less than 1% of global fibre production in 2022 [33]

Global fibre production is expected to rise from 116 million tonnes in 2022 to 147 million tonnes in 2030 if current trends continue [33]

99% of clothes are made from materials derived from fossil fuels or agriculture [2]

75% of a garment’s environmental footprint comes from upstream stages [34]

Less than 10% of fashion companies have set a science-based target [34]

40% of fashion executives say sustainable materials are among the top three levers for decarbonization [34]

More than 70% of emissions at the apparel and footwear company level come from upstream activities [35]

Tier 2 material processing and Tier 4 raw material production each account for around 30% of emissions in apparel supply chains [35]

Less than 10% of apparel brands’ emissions typically come from their own operations [35]

The production of a typical pair of jeans can require 3,781 litres of water [26]

Fiber production accounts for 28% of the climate impact of a pair of jeans [26]

Finishing contributes 23% of the water footprint of a pair of jeans [26]

Cotton cultivation contributes 68% of the water footprint of a pair of jeans [26]

Polyester made from recycled bottles still sheds microplastics and cannot be recycled indefinitely [30]

Synthetics made up 69% of all materials used in textiles in 2021 [30]

Textile production relies on 342 million barrels of oil annually for plastic-based fibres [24]

Roughly 60% of apparel today is made with plastic [19]

70 million barrels of oil are used each year to make polyester fibres for clothing [29]

A polyester shirt has more than double the carbon footprint of a cotton shirt [29]

Producing polyester releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton [29]

Lyocell production uses 99% recyclable chemicals in a closed-loop process [36]

Hemp can produce 200%-250% more fibre on the same land than cotton [37]

Hemp uses 50% less water than cotton [37]

Linen production uses 5.4 litres of water per kilogram of fibre compared with cotton’s 10,000 litres [38]

Organic cotton uses 91% less water than conventional cotton [39]

Organic cotton farming emits 46% less greenhouse gas than conventional cotton [39]

Organic cotton farming uses 62% less energy than conventional cotton [39]

Better Cotton farmers used 15.6% less synthetic fertiliser than comparison farmers in 2021-22 [40]

Better Cotton farmers used 17.5% less pesticide than comparison farmers in 2021-22 [40]

Better Cotton farmers achieved 1.9% higher profitability than comparison farmers in 2021-22 [40]

Apparel brands can capture 60% of decarbonization potential through upstream actions [20]

Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned [2]

Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing [2]

Extending the life of clothes by an extra 9 months would reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by around 20-30% each [6]

Fashion produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually [22]

The equivalent of one rubbish truck of textiles is wasted every second [22]

In the United States, 11.3 million tons of textiles were landfilled in 2018 [41]

The recycling rate for textiles in the United States was 14.7% in 2018 [41]

Landfilled textiles in the United States represented 7.7% of all municipal solid waste landfilled in 2018 [41]

87% of the total fiber input used for clothing is ultimately incinerated or landfilled [2]

Only 13% of total material input in the fashion system is recycled in some way after clothing use [2]

Just 2% of textile waste is recycled into products of equivalent quality [1]

In the UK, 336,000 tonnes of used clothing were sent to landfill in 2016 [4]

Around 300,000 tonnes of clothing end up in household residual waste in the UK every year [6]

Less than half of used clothes are collected for reuse or recycling in Europe [7]

Only 1% of used clothes are recycled into new clothes in Europe [7]

73% of clothing ends up in landfill or incinerated at end of life [1]

85% of all textiles go to the dump each year [24]

Consumers miss out on $460 billion of value each year by throwing away clothes they could continue to wear [2]

Less than 1% of clothing is recycled back into clothing [19]

87% of total fibre input is lost to landfill or incineration [25]

67% of consumers say they want brands to offer take-back recycling programs [9]

87% of the materials used for clothing are incinerated or sent to landfill [17]

Less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new garments because of inadequate technologies [24]

In Europe, about 4.3 million tonnes of textiles are discarded in household waste each year [15]

Only about 15% of textile waste in Europe is collected separately for reuse or recycling [15]

Less than 1% of all clothing worldwide is recycled into new garments [42]

The average American throws away about 81.5 pounds of clothes each year [16]

Americans generate 16 million tons of textile waste every year [16]

85% of all textiles go to dumps each year [27]

The average American discards 37 kg of textiles per year [19]

Increasing clothing utilisation by just 10% could reduce greenhouse gas, water and waste footprints by 3-4% [6]

Extending active life of clothing by 9 months reduces resource costs by 20% [6]

The global market for recycled textiles is projected to reach $9.4 billion by 2027 [43]

The recycled textile market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2022 to 2027 [43]

Post-consumer waste is expected to be the fastest-growing source in the recycled textile market [43]

North America accounted for the largest share of the recycled textile market in 2021 [43]

Textiles sorting and processing costs can account for up to 65% of total recycling costs [15]

Separate collection of textiles will become mandatory in the EU by 2025 [15]

About 95% of textiles that are landfilled each year could be reused or recycled [22]