Ethical Fashion Statistics

The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2028 [1]

The secondhand market is projected to nearly double by 2028 [1]

65% of consumers say they seek out more affordable apparel options because of inflation [1]

55% of consumers say apparel retailers should do more to help extend the life of garments [1]

40% of younger consumers bought secondhand apparel in 2023 [1]

Resale value for products with more sustainable attributes was 8% higher than products without them [1]

74% of retail executives say their customers are already participating in resale [1]

94% of retail executives say customers are willing to participate in circular shopping initiatives [1]

61% of Gen Z and millennials look for an item secondhand before buying new [1]

The global resale market is expected to reach $73 billion by 2028 [1]

UK citizens buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe [2]

UK wardrobes contain an estimated £30 billion of unworn clothes [2]

1.1 million tonnes of clothes are bought annually in the UK [3]

40% of fashion executives said consumer demand for sustainable fashion would increase in 2024 [4]

18% of fashion executives said consumer demand for sustainable fashion would decrease in 2024 [4]

71% of consumers consider sustainability when making a fashion purchase [5]

34% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable fashion [5]

24% of consumers are unwilling to pay any premium for sustainable apparel [5]

46% of consumers say sustainable materials are the most important sustainability criterion in fashion [5]

25% of consumers cite fair wages and working conditions as the most important sustainability criterion [5]

21% of consumers say transparency is the most important sustainability criterion when buying fashion [5]

31% of consumers say price is the top barrier to purchasing sustainable fashion [5]

24% of consumers say lack of trust in sustainability claims is the main barrier to buying sustainable fashion [5]

52% of consumers globally want more regulation to ensure fashion products are sustainable [6]

59% of consumers globally feel they have a responsibility to buy sustainably produced fashion [6]

39% of consumers have reduced the amount of new fashion they buy for sustainability reasons [6]

27% of consumers have bought second-hand clothing for sustainability reasons [6]

24% of consumers say higher cost prevents them from buying more sustainable fashion [6]

17% of consumers say lack of information prevents them from buying more sustainable fashion [6]

10% of global carbon emissions come from the fashion industry [7]

Textile production is responsible for about 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing products [8]

The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water per year [9]

Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water globally [9]

The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions [9]

Washing some synthetic clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean every year [9]

Producing a cotton shirt requires about 2,700 litres of water [10]

Producing one pair of jeans requires about 7,500 litres of water [11]

35% of all primary microplastic pollution in the ocean comes from laundering synthetic textiles [12]

Around 60% of material made into clothing is plastic [13]

Textile production generated 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases annually [14]

Fashion accounts for 2-8% of global carbon emissions [15]

In the EU, textiles are the third highest pressure category for water and land use [16]

In the EU, textiles are the fifth highest for primary raw materials use and greenhouse gas emissions [16]

In 2020, consumption of textiles in the EU generated the third highest pressure on water and land use and the fifth highest use of raw materials and greenhouse gas emissions [17]

Total EU textile consumption in 2020 required 9 cubic metres of water per person [17]

Total EU textile consumption in 2020 required 391 kg of raw materials per person [17]

Total EU textile consumption in 2020 caused a carbon footprint of 270 kg CO2 equivalent per person [17]

Total EU textile consumption in 2020 used 400 square metres of land per person [17]

More than 70% of the emissions footprint of the fashion industry stems from upstream activities such as materials production, preparation and processing [18]

The fashion industry emitted 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2018 [18]

About 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the fashion industry [18]

Fast fashion contributes 35% of oceanic primary microplastic pollution [7]

By 2030, the fashion industry’s global emissions are expected to increase by more than 50% [7]

Textile production requires 215 trillion litres of water per year [7]

Around 20% of global industrial water pollution comes from textile treatment and dyeing [7]

The fashion industry consumes more energy than the aviation and shipping industries combined [7]

The apparel and footwear industry is responsible for 8.1% of global climate impacts [19]

Raw material production and processing account for 38% of the apparel and footwear industry’s climate impact [19]

Preparation and processing of yarns and wet processes account for 36% of the apparel and footwear industry’s climate impact [19]

Use phase accounts for 20% of the apparel and footwear industry’s climate impact [19]

Transport, packaging and retail operations together account for 3% of the apparel and footwear industry’s climate impact [19]

The industry’s annual climate impact is 4 billion metric tons CO2e [19]

Fashion contributes 20% of global wastewater [19]

Fashion is responsible for 22% of global chemical usage [19]

UK clothing consumption causes 26.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually [2]

UK clothing consumption uses 8 billion cubic metres of water annually [2]

UK clothing consumption uses 1.5 million tonnes of chemicals annually [2]

UK clothing consumption requires 20 million tonnes of raw materials annually [2]

70% of emissions from the fashion industry are from upstream activities [20]

About 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions come from the fashion industry [20]

The fashion industry produces 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year [20]

The global leather goods market can avoid up to 40% of emissions through available decarbonization levers [21]

Garment workers on some UK factory lines were paid as little as £3.50 an hour [22]

The legal minimum wage for workers over 25 in the UK was £8.72 an hour in 2020 [22]

93% of brands surveyed by Fashion Revolution do not pay garment workers a living wage [23]

99% of major brands do not disclose the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living wage [23]

96% of major brands do not disclose how many of their supplier facilities have trade unions [23]

7% of major brands disclose the number of workers in their supply chains [23]

3% of major brands disclose the number of workers paid living wages in their supply chain [23]

250 million children aged 5 to 14 work in textile, clothing and footwear supply chains in some of the world’s poorest countries [24]

Around 170 million children are engaged in child labour worldwide [24]

Women make up approximately 80% of garment workers worldwide [25]

An estimated 75 million people work in the global garment industry [25]

Less than 2% of garment workers worldwide earn a living wage [25]

The Rana Plaza factory collapse killed 1,134 people [26]

More than 2,500 people were injured in the Rana Plaza collapse [26]

The Accord has made more than 56,000 factory inspections in Bangladesh and Pakistan [27]

The Accord program covers more than 2 million workers [27]

Since 2013, the Accord has identified more than 140,000 safety hazards [27]

1,600 supplier factories are covered by the International Accord’s programs [27]

89% of fashion brands fail to pay living wages in the final stage of production [28]

Garment workers in Bangladesh may earn as little as $95 per month as the legal minimum wage [29]

The Asia Floor Wage Alliance estimated a living wage in Bangladesh at 52,000 taka per month in 2023 [29]

Cambodia’s garment sector employs around 750,000 workers [30]

About 80% of Cambodia’s garment workers are women [30]

The ILO Better Work programme reaches nearly 1,700 factories across five countries [31]

Better Work covers more than 3 million workers [31]

20% of cotton-growing areas are at high or extremely high water stress [32]

55% of global fiber production in 2022 was synthetic [33]

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

Recycled polyester represented 14.8% of total polyester production in 2022 [33]

Cotton accounted for 20% of global fiber production in 2022 [33]

Manmade cellulosic fibers accounted for 6% of global fiber production in 2022 [33]

Global fiber production reached 116 million tonnes in 2022 [33]

If current trends continue, global fiber production will rise to 147 million tonnes in 2030 [33]

Preferred cotton represented 27% of global cotton production in 2021/22 [33]

Recycled fibers made up only 7.9% of global fiber production in 2022 [33]

Less than 1% of recycled fiber input came from pre- and post-consumer recycled textiles in 2022 [33]

Virgin fossil-based synthetic fibers still made up 54% of global fiber production in 2022 [33]

Better Cotton licensed 2.13 million farmers in 2022-23 [34]

Better Cotton production reached 5.47 million metric tonnes in 2022-23 [34]

Better Cotton accounted for 22% of global cotton production in 2022-23 [34]

Better Cotton reached 2.56 million farmers in 2021-22 [35]

Fairtrade certified cotton producer organizations sold 36,332 metric tonnes of seed cotton on Fairtrade terms in 2022 [36]

Fairtrade cotton farmers received €501,000 in Fairtrade Premium in 2022 [36]

The Organic Content Standard and Global Organic Textile Standard covered more than 1.4 million tonnes of organic fibers in 2022 [33]

Responsible Wool Standard certified farms produced 229,000 tonnes of wool in 2022 [33]

Responsible Down Standard certified supply chains produced 32 million geese and ducks in 2022 [33]

60% of the materials used in fashion are made from plastic [20]

63% of fashion executives identified sustainable materials as a top three opportunity for 2024 [4]

The fair trade segment held the biggest ethical fashion market share at 47% in 2024 [37]

In the EU, textiles have on average the fourth highest negative life cycle impacts on the environment and climate change [16]

To align with the Paris Agreement, the fashion industry must reduce emissions by 1.1 billion tons by 2030 [18]

The fashion industry’s emissions intensity must fall by more than 45% by 2030 [18]

51% of major brands publish their first-tier manufacturers [23]

34% of major brands disclose their processing facilities [23]

24% of major brands disclose their raw material suppliers [23]

12% of major brands publish a time-bound and measurable roadmap to eliminate carbon emissions [23]

10% of major brands disclose annual production volumes [23]

24% of major fashion brands scored 0-10% in the Fashion Transparency Index 2023 [23]

The average score in the Fashion Transparency Index 2023 was 26% [23]

191 brands have signed the International Accord [27]

70% of fashion brands surveyed planned to increase spending on sustainability in 2024 [4]

58% of fashion executives cited traceability as a top three opportunity for 2024 [4]

The global organic textile market was valued at USD 10.67 billion in 2023 [38]

The global organic textile market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2024 to 2030 [38]

Men’s organic textile products accounted for 42.7% of revenue in 2023 [38]

The global sustainable fashion market was valued at USD 7.8 billion in 2023 [39]

The global sustainable fashion market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.1% from 2024 to 2030 [39]

The mass segment accounted for 41.9% of sustainable fashion market revenue in 2023 [39]

The apparel segment accounted for 58.4% of sustainable fashion market revenue in 2023 [39]

North America accounted for 35.7% of sustainable fashion market revenue in 2023 [39]

The global ethical fashion market was valued at USD 8.24 billion in 2024 [37]

The global ethical fashion market is projected to reach USD 14.82 billion by 2034 [37]

The ethical fashion market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.05% from 2024 to 2034 [37]

Europe held the largest share of the ethical fashion market at 36% in 2024 [37]

The women segment contributed more than 47% of ethical fashion market revenue in 2024 [37]

The USD 20 billion Fashion for Good initiative aims to scale sustainable innovation [40]

Fashion for Good has supported more than 200 innovators since launch [41]

Fashion for Good’s coalition partners represent more than one-third of the global fashion market [41]

In Cambodia, the garment, footwear and travel goods sector accounts for about 57% of total exports [30]

The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles aims for all textile products on the EU market to be durable, repairable and recyclable by 2030 [16]

EU member states must establish separate collection for textiles by 1 January 2025 [16]

92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced globally each year [7]

87% of the total fiber input used for clothing is burned or ends up in a landfill [42]

Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing [42]

The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second [42]

85% of all textiles go to the dump each year [9]

Consumers miss out on $460 billion of value each year by throwing away clothes they could continue to wear [42]

Clothing utilization has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago [42]

Extending the life of clothes by an extra nine months would reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by around 20-30% each [3]

Global clothing production approximately doubled between 2000 and 2015 [14]

People bought 60% more garments in 2014 than they did in 2000 [14]

The average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago [14]

Europeans consume nearly 26 kg of textiles and discard about 11 kg of textiles per person each year [16]

Less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new products [16]

In 2020, the average EU citizen bought 14.8 kg of textiles and generated 16 kg of textile waste [17]

Between 2000 and 2015, global clothing production doubled while the average number of times a garment was worn decreased by 36% [43]

52% of fast fashion items are disposed of in under a year [7]

57% of discarded clothing ends up in landfill [7]

End of life accounts for 3% of the apparel and footwear industry’s climate impact [19]

Fashion creates 92 million tons of waste annually [19]

80 billion garments are produced worldwide each year [3]

UK clothing purchases increased by almost 200,000 tonnes between 2012 and 2016 [2]

The average lifetime for a garment in the UK is 2.2 years [2]

Around 140 million pounds worth of clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year [3]

Clothing active life can be extended by around 9 months with reduced resource use of 20-30% [3]

An estimated 336,000 tonnes of used clothing is discarded in household black bins in the UK each year [2]

300,000 tonnes of clothing are sent to landfill or incineration in the UK each year [3]

The UK throws away more than £140 million worth of used clothing every year [44]

17% of major brands disclose their annual waste volumes [23]