Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of annual global carbon emissions
The apparel industry's global emissions result in 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year
Fast fashion emissions are more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined
92 million tonnes of textile waste is produced globally every year
A truckload of abandoned textiles is dumped in landfill or burned every second
Less than 1 percent of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
The overarching fashion industry consumes 93 billion cubic meters of water annually
20 percent of global wastewater comes specifically from textile dyeing and treatment
Producing a single cotton t-shirt requires 2700 liters of water
35 percent of all microplastics in the ocean come from laundering synthetic textiles
About 60 percent of material made into clothing is plastic specifically polyester
500000 tons of microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing clothes
Clothing production has doubled between the years 2000 and 2014
The average consumer buys 60 percent more clothing items now than in 2000
Consumers keep clothing items for about half as long as they did 15 years ago
Carbon Footprint
- The fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of annual global carbon emissions
- The apparel industry's global emissions result in 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year
- Fast fashion emissions are more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined
- If the industry remains on its current path, it could use 26 percent of the global carbon budget by 2050
- Producing polyester releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton
- The carbon footprint of a single polyester shirt is approximately 5.5 kg CO2e
- A cotton shirt generates 2.1 kg of CO2e during production
- One pair of jeans produces 33.4 kg of CO2e throughout its lifecycle
- 70 percent of the fashion industry’s emissions come from upstream activities like material production
- Buying a used garment extends its life and reduces its carbon footprint by 82 percent
- Skipping one in six loads of laundry prevents 186 million pounds of CO2 emissions annually in the US effectively
- Textile production generates 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases annually
- The footwear industry alone accounts for 1.4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions
- Transporting garments from production hubs in Asia to Western markets adds significantly to the carbon load
- Online shopping returns in the US alone created 15 million metric tons of CO2 in 2019
- Synthetic fibers which rely on fossil fuels carry a much higher carbon intensity than natural fibers
- Decarbonizing the fashion supply chain requires moving away from coal-fired manufacturing in Asia
- Extending the active life of 50 percent of UK clothes by 9 months would save 8 percent carbon
- The electricity used in fashion supply chains often comes from non-renewable grid mixes
- Brands must reduce emissions by 45 percent by 2030 to stay on the 1.5-degree pathway
Interpretation
Fast fashion is a stealthy climate criminal in your closet, already responsible for about 10 percent of global emissions and producing more CO2 than all international flights and maritime shipping combined; driven by fossil fuel based synthetics and coal powered upstream production so that a polyester shirt costs roughly 5.5 kg CO2e and a pair of jeans can incur over 33 kg, yet simple choices like buying used clothes, extending garment life and skipping laundry can cut footprints dramatically and brands must match those common sense fixes by slashing emissions 45 percent by 2030 if we are to stay on a 1.5 degree pathway.
Chemical & Microplastic Pollution
- 35 percent of all microplastics in the ocean come from laundering synthetic textiles
- About 60 percent of material made into clothing is plastic specifically polyester
- 500000 tons of microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing clothes
- 43 million tons of chemicals are used in textile production every year
- Cotton crops use 16 percent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibers are the single biggest source of microplastic pollution in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
- 23 percent of all chemicals produced worldwide are used for the textile industry
- A single wash of acrylic clothing can release 700000 microfibers
- Polyester does not biodegrade and can shed microplastics for decades
- Formaldehyde and azo dyes are carcinogenic commonly used in fast fashion
- Nonylphenol ethoxylates used in dyeing are toxic to aquatic life
- PFAS restricted forever chemicals are often found in water and stain-resistant clothing
- Chromium VI used in leather tanning is extremely toxic to workers and the environment
- Microfibers have been found in the deepest parts of the ocean including the Mariana Trench
- The shedding of microfibers contributes to the toxicity of the food chain as fish ingest them
- Aldicarb is an acutely toxic pesticide commonly used in cotton production
- Synthetic textile production consumes 342 million barrels of oil yearly
- Microplastics from textiles are now found in human blood
- Phthalates used in printing on clothes act as hormone disruptors
- Conventional synthetic dyes create bio-accumulative risks in ecosystems
Interpretation
Fast fashion may sell you cheap trends, but behind the price tag it's a petrochemical machine that turns cotton and polyester crops into clothing by burning hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and using millions of tons of toxic chemicals so that polyester-heavy garments shed hundreds of thousands of tons of microfibers into the ocean each year, load ecosystems and workers with carcinogens, PFAS, chromium and hormone-disrupting additives, contaminate the food chain and even reach human blood, and will keep polluting for decades because polyester does not biodegrade.
Consumption & Production Habits
- Clothing production has doubled between the years 2000 and 2014
- The average consumer buys 60 percent more clothing items now than in 2000
- Consumers keep clothing items for about half as long as they did 15 years ago
- Globally we produce 100 billion garments per year
- Some garments are worn only seven to ten times before being discarded
- 40 percent of clothes in our wardrobes are rarely or never worn
- Fast fashion brands may release up to 52 micro-collections per year
- The resale market is growing 11 times faster than traditional retail
- One in three young women consider clothes old after wearing them once or twice
- 88 percent of consumers want brands to help them be more environmentally friendly
- Online retailers like Shein add up to 6000 new items to their site every day
- Returns of fast fashion items have hit rates as high as 40 percent in e-commerce
- 66 percent of global millennials are willing to spend more on sustainable brands
- The global fast fashion market size was valued at 106 billion USD in 2022
- Ultra-fast fashion cycles have reduced lead times from months to mere weeks
- On average a consumer now buys 5 new items of clothing per month in Western nations
- Overproduction is built into the business model with 30 percent of goods never sold at full price
- Since 2000 European clothing prices have fallen by 26 percent relative to inflation adjusting consumption
- The number of times a garment is worn has declined by 36 percent in 15 years
- Fast fashion consumption has led to a 400 percent increase in clothing consumption over two decades
Interpretation
Fast fashion has turned clothing into a disposable habit, trending on fast-forward, as we buy about five new items a month and wear them far less, fueling roughly 100 billion garments a year, massive overproduction and returns, and wardrobes full of barely worn pieces even as shoppers increasingly demand greener options and resale explodes.
Waste Generation
- 92 million tonnes of textile waste is produced globally every year
- A truckload of abandoned textiles is dumped in landfill or burned every second
- Less than 1 percent of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
- The average American creates 82 pounds of textile waste each year
- In the last 20 years the volume of clothing Americans throw away has doubled
- 85 percent of all textiles go to the dump each year worldwide
- The volume of textile waste is expected to swell to 134 million tonnes per year by 2030
- 57 percent of all discarded clothes end up in landfill
- In the UK alone 300000 tonnes of clothing end up in household bins every year
- 15 to 30 percent of fabric is discarded during the cutting process before a garment is even made
- Only 12 percent of clothing material is downcycled into lesser value applications like insulation
- Deadstock or unsold inventory accounts for billions of dollars of waste annually
- The Atacama Desert in Chile receives 39000 tons of discarded clothes annually
- Textile waste takes 200 plus years to decompose in landfills
- 73 percent of the worlds clothing eventually ends up in landfills or is incinerated
- Man-made fibers like polyester do not decompose in landfills efficiently
- Ghana receives 15 million items of used clothing weekly creating massive waste issues
- Up to 40 percent of imported used clothing in Accra is waste upon arrival
- Incineration of clothes releases toxins and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
- The average lifespan of a garment is roughly 2.2 years before disposal in the UK
Interpretation
Fast fashion’s "disposable" label should come with a GPS: every second a truckload of clothes is buried or burned, less than one percent is remade into new garments, the average item lasts about 2.2 years, the 92 million tonnes of annual textile waste is climbing toward 134 million by 2030, and the fallout — from the Atacama to Accra and our own landfills — takes centuries to decompose and pumps toxins into the air when incinerated.
Water Impact
- The overarching fashion industry consumes 93 billion cubic meters of water annually
- 20 percent of global wastewater comes specifically from textile dyeing and treatment
- Producing a single cotton t-shirt requires 2700 liters of water
- It takes 7500 to 10000 liters of water to produce one pair of jeans
- Textile mills generate one-fifth of the world's industrial water pollution
- The water consumed by fashion could meet the needs of 5 million people per year
- Cotton farming is responsible for 2.6 percent of global water usage
- The Aral Sea has shrunk by 90 percent largely due to cotton irrigation
- Approximately 20000 liters of water are needed to produce 1kg of cotton
- One kg of viscose requires up to 640 liters of water to process
- Leather production is highly water-intensive using 17000 liters per kg
- Dyeing houses in China and India illegally dump untreated runoff into rivers
- Untreated wastewater creates dead zones in major river systems like the Citarum River
- Textile processing creates toxic soup containing lead mercury and arsenic in water supplies
- Conventional cotton is the fourth largest consumer of water for irrigation globally
- Water pollution from textile mills impacts the health of 25 million people in Bangladesh
- Viscose production pumps sulfates into water bodies harming aquatic life
- Water use in fashion is projected to increase by 50 percent by 2030
- Organic cotton has the potential to reduce water consumption by 91 percent compared to conventional cotton
- Denim finishing processes often use massive amounts of fresh water for distressing looks
Interpretation
Fast fashion is a thirsty, toxic diva: it guzzles around 93 billion cubic meters of water a year to make cheap tees and distressed jeans, spills dye and chemical-laden wastewater that has shrunk the Aral Sea and sickened millions, and risks a 50 percent rise in water use by 2030 unless we switch to low-water options like organic cotton and cleaner processing.
References
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