Environmental Impact Of Fast Fashion Statistics

Clothing purchases in the EU increased by 40% between 1996 and 2012 [1]

Clothing utilisation has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago [2]

If nothing changes, by 2050 fashion could use more than 300 million tonnes of non-renewable resources per year [2]

If nothing changes, by 2050 the fashion industry could use over 22 million tonnes of plastic including polyester annually [2]

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

Consumers kept clothing for half as long in 2014 as they did in 2000 [3]

10% of the fashion industry’s climate impact comes from transport, retail, use, and packaging [4]

The number of times a garment is worn has declined by around 36% compared to 15 years ago [5]

Textile consumption in the EU in 2020 required 400 square metres of land use per person [6]

Textile consumption in the EU in 2020 required 391 kilograms of raw materials per person [6]

In 2020, EU households bought about 6 million tonnes of new clothing, footwear, and household textiles [6]

EU textile consumption caused around 1.3 million tonnes of mineral resource use in 2020 [6]

Global fibre production reached a record 113 million tonnes in 2021 [7]

Polyester accounted for 54% of global fibre production in 2021 [7]

Virgin fossil-based synthetic fibres represented 62% of total global fibre production in 2021 [7]

Cotton represented 22% of global fibre production in 2021 [7]

Manmade cellulosic fibres represented 6% of global fibre production in 2021 [7]

Nylon represented 5% of global fibre production in 2021 [7]

Wool represented 1% of global fibre production in 2021 [7]

Global fibre production is expected to grow to 149 million tonnes in 2030 if current trends continue [7]

Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014 [2]

The number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago [2]

Around 1.1 million tonnes of clothes are bought in the UK each year [8]

The average UK household owns around £4,000 worth of clothes [8]

Consumers buy 60% more clothing now than they did 15 years ago [9]

The average garment is worn 36% fewer times than it was 15 years ago [9]

In 2015, 106 million tonnes of non-renewable resources were used to produce clothing [2]

Global clothing sales could reach 160 million tonnes in 2050 if current trends continue [2]

The average person buys 60% more items of clothing than 15 years ago [10]

Global clothing and footwear consumption is expected to increase by 63% by 2030, from 62 million tonnes today to 102 million tonnes [11]

The fashion industry is responsible for 2% to 8% of global carbon emissions [12]

By 2050, the fashion industry could use more than 25% of the world’s carbon budget [12]

The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined [13]

The fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions [13]

In the EU, textiles have the fourth highest impact on the environment and climate change from a consumption perspective [6]

In the EU, textiles have the fifth highest impact on raw materials use and greenhouse gas emissions [6]

If nothing changes, by 2050 the fashion industry will use 26% of the carbon budget associated with a 2°C pathway [2]

Textile production generated 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases annually [2]

The fashion industry emits 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [14]

The fashion industry produced about 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions in 2018 [14]

More than 70% of fashion industry emissions come from upstream activities [14]

Polyester production for textiles emitted 706 billion kg of CO2 in 2015 [3]

A polyester shirt has roughly double the carbon footprint of a cotton shirt [3]

The fashion industry contributes 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [4]

38% of the fashion industry’s climate impact comes from raw material production [4]

20% of the fashion industry’s climate impact comes from material preparation, processing, and production [4]

8% of the fashion industry’s climate impact comes from yarn preparation [4]

Textile consumption in the EU in 2020 generated about 270 kilograms of CO2 emissions per person [6]

UK clothing consumption causes around 26.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year [8]

Around 70% of the carbon footprint of clothing occurs in raw material production, preparation, and processing [8]

Around 15% of the carbon footprint of clothing occurs in consumer use [8]

Fashion accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions [9]

Textile production emits 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually [15]

The apparel industry emits 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2 annually [10]

The global apparel and footwear industries generated 8.1% of global climate impacts in 2016 [16]

The global apparel and footwear industries emitted 3.990 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2016 [16]

38% of the apparel and footwear industry’s climate impact comes from raw material production [16]

20% of the apparel and footwear industry’s climate impact comes from material preparation, processing, and production [16]

The textiles sector was responsible for 1,215 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2018 [17]

Footwear is responsible for 1.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [11]

Washing synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment [18]

Half a million tonnes of microfibres are released into the ocean every year from washing textiles [18]

Synthetic textiles account for 35% of primary microplastics entering the ocean [2]

The equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles is released into the ocean every year from synthetic textiles [10]

61% of apparel is made from plastic-based fibres [5]

Fashion is responsible for 9% of annual microplastic losses to the ocean [5]

Roughly 500,000 tonnes of plastic microfibres are shed into the ocean each year from washing clothes [9]

More than 1,900 individual chemicals are used in textile production [3]

8,000 synthetic chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles [15]

35% of all primary microplastic pollution in the oceans comes from synthetic textiles [15]

More than 60% of clothing is made from synthetic fibres [15]

Nearly 70 million barrels of oil each year are used to make the world’s polyester fibres [3]

About 500,000 tons of microfibres enter the ocean every year due to washing clothes [10]

The textiles sector generated 1.7 million tonnes of chemical pollution in 2015 [17]

The textile sector is responsible for 9% of annual microplastic losses to the oceans [17]

Washing clothes releases 500,000 tonnes of microfibres into the ocean every year [19]

69% of our clothes are made from synthetic fibres [20]

Textile production creates an estimated 42 million tonnes of plastic waste every year [20]

Every wash of synthetic clothing can release up to 700,000 plastic microfibres [21]

Synthetic textiles may account for 35% of all microplastics in the ocean [21]

72 toxic chemicals have been identified in water solely from textile dyeing [22]

Less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new textiles [12]

A truckload of clothing is incinerated or sent to landfill every second [12]

Europeans consume nearly 26 kilograms of textiles and discard about 11 kilograms of textiles per person each year [6]

Globally, 87% of the total fibre input used for clothing is incinerated or disposed of in landfill [2]

Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing, representing a loss of more than USD 100 billion worth of materials each year [2]

Globally, customers missed out on USD 460 billion of value each year by throwing away clothes they could continue to wear [2]

Less than 1% of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing [23]

The average American throws away 81.5 pounds of clothes annually [10]

85% of all textiles go to the dump each year [10]

3% of the fashion industry’s climate impact comes from end of life [4]

One garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second [5]

The EU generated about 6.95 million tonnes of textile waste in 2020 [6]

Only 1.95 million tonnes of textile waste in the EU was collected separately in 2020 [6]

Recycled fibres made up only 7.9% of global fibre production in 2021 [7]

Less than 1% of the global fibre market came from pre- and post-consumer recycled textiles in 2021 [7]

Extending clothing use by just 9 months can reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints by around 20-30% each [8]

UK clothing consumption generates around 300,000 tonnes of waste per year [8]

Around 1.8 million tonnes of clothing are discarded each year in the UK [24]

Of the 1.8 million tonnes of post-use textiles generated in the UK, 650,000 tonnes are collected for reuse and recycling [24]

Of the 1.8 million tonnes of post-use textiles generated in the UK, 300,000 tonnes go to landfill or incineration in household residual waste [24]

Of the 1.8 million tonnes of post-use textiles generated in the UK, 550,000 tonnes are reused domestically and exported [24]

UK citizens send 350,000 tonnes of used clothing to landfill every year [25]

In the United States, 11.3 million tons of textiles were landfilled in 2018 [26]

In the United States, textiles made up 7.7% of all landfilled municipal solid waste in 2018 [26]

In the United States, 17 million tons of textile municipal solid waste were generated in 2018 [26]

In the United States, the recycling rate for textiles was 14.7% in 2018 [26]

Americans throw away more than 34 billion pounds of used textiles each year [27]

73% of the clothing produced globally ends up burned or landfilled [15]

Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing [15]

The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second [15]

The fashion industry consumes 215 trillion litres of water per year [12]

The fashion industry uses around 79 billion cubic metres of water annually [18]

Textile production is responsible for about 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing products [18]

The fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water [13]

It takes about 2,700 litres of water to produce one cotton shirt [28]

It takes 7,500 litres of water to make one pair of jeans [29]

Producing a cotton T-shirt requires 2,700 litres of fresh water [19]

In the EU, textiles have the third highest impact on water and land use from a consumption perspective [6]

Dyeing and treatment of textiles are responsible for around 20% of global industrial water pollution [2]

Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water globally [10]

Around 5,000 gallons of water are needed to make a T-shirt and a pair of jeans [10]

The industry uses 93 billion cubic metres of water annually [4]

Textile consumption in the EU in 2020 required on average 9 cubic metres of water per person [6]

UK clothing consumption uses around 8 billion cubic metres of water per year [8]

Around 20% of global wastewater is produced by the fashion industry [9]

One-fifth of industrial water pollution comes from textile treatment and dyeing [15]

Fashion contributes 20% of global water waste [10]

The apparel and footwear industry consumed 79 billion cubic metres of water in 2016 [16]

44% of pressure on water scarcity from apparel and footwear in 2016 came from raw material production [16]

21% of pressure on water scarcity from apparel and footwear in 2016 came from consumer use [16]

55% of the apparel and footwear industry’s pressure on water quality in 2016 came from raw material production [16]

15% of the apparel and footwear industry’s pressure on water quality in 2016 came from wet processes [16]

The textiles sector consumed 79 billion cubic metres of water in 2015 [17]

One pair of jeans requires about 7,500 litres of water from cotton production to store shelf [19]

20% of wastewater worldwide comes from fabric dyeing and treatment [19]

The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater [20]

The fashion industry uses 93 billion cubic metres of water annually [20]

Textile dyeing and finishing contribute 17% to 20% of industrial water pollution [22]

If current trends continue, the fashion industry will use 35% more land for fibre production by 2030, equivalent to an extra 115 million hectares [30]