Ethics In The Garment Industry Statistics

10% of apparel buyers in some consumer surveys report paying more for ethically produced clothing (willingness-to-pay estimate) [1]

55% of consumers say they care about ethical issues in fashion (awareness share) [1]

33% of consumers report difficulty trusting ethical claims in fashion (trust gap share) [1]

60% of consumers report having bought at least one item they later believed was not ethically produced (belief share) [1]

28% of consumers report checking sustainability labels when buying clothing (label-check share) [1]

16% of consumers consider certification schemes as most reliable ethical information source (share) [1]

48% of consumers believe companies should publish supplier factory lists (demand share) [1]

32% of consumers say they would switch brands if they found evidence of poor labor conditions (switch share) [1]

22% of consumers said they have stopped buying a brand due to ethical concerns (boycott share) [1]

74% of consumers in one survey said they are willing to repair clothes rather than replace them (preference share) [2]

24% of consumers reported using clothing repair services within a year (repair behavior share) [2]

39% of consumers report donating or reselling clothes (circular behavior share) [2]

17% of consumers report purchasing second-hand clothing regularly (second-hand share) [2]

15% of consumers report using rental clothing services (rental share) [2]

62% of consumers have low confidence in green claims related to textiles (confidence share) [3]

38% of consumers said they want mandatory labels for product origin and labor conditions (label demand share) [3]

26% of consumers said they read product care labels (care habit share) [3]

33% of consumers said they buy fewer clothes due to sustainability concerns (behavior change share) [3]

12% of consumers reported buying clothing less frequently than before by more than 25% (frequency reduction share) [3]

41% of consumers are concerned about labor rights in global supply chains (concern share) [4]

55% of global consumers consider ethical sourcing when buying clothes (ethical concern share) [5]

35% of consumers said they are concerned about working conditions in the fashion industry (concern share) [5]

20% of consumers prefer certified “fair trade” clothing [5]

18% of consumers reported being willing to pay a premium for ethical apparel [6]

61% of workplaces are estimated to have occupational safety and health violations in garment supply chains (global estimate) [7]

20% of global industrial wastewater is discharged from textile dyeing and finishing industries [8]

10,000 liters of water are needed to produce one kilogram of textiles (dyed textile production) [9]

2.1–5.0 trillion liters of wastewater per year are estimated for textile dyeing and finishing globally (range) [8]

67% of rivers in China are reported to be polluted by industrial wastewater, with textiles contributing via dye effluents (textile-linked industrial discharge context) [8]

80–90% of textile dyes are discharged into the environment if wastewater isn’t treated properly (share) [8]

Textiles and apparel account for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions (system-level estimate for apparel and footwear) [10]

The fashion industry contributes about 10% of global carbon emissions (popular estimate) [11]

Textiles are estimated to contribute 20% of global wastewater (industry estimate) [9]

Microfibers from synthetic textiles are a major source of plastic pollution in oceans (estimated share of marine microplastics) [12]

342,000 metric tons of textile waste are estimated to be generated in the EU each year (apparel/textiles waste) [13]

2.8 million tonnes of textile waste were generated in the EU in 2019 (estimate) [13]

66% of global textile waste ends up in landfills or incineration in many economies (share estimate) [14]

85% of textiles collected for reuse/recycling are not recycled due to contamination or lack of suitable sorting (share estimate) [14]

1 metric ton of textile production uses 1.7–2.5 metric tons of carbon (CO2e estimate per ton of fiber) [15]

The EU’s textile strategy targets collection rates of textiles to 45% by 2025 (policy target) [16]

The EU’s textile strategy targets 65% collection rates by 2030 (policy target) [16]

EU textiles strategy targets fiber-to-fiber recycling of 25% by 2025 (target) [16]

The OECD estimates that clothing production increased by around 20% between 2000 and 2014 (textile apparel growth) [17]

Textile dyeing industries are among the top polluters, accounting for a large share of water pollution in industrial effluents (share context) [8]

In 2018, the average apparel customer in the EU purchased 2.5 times more clothing than in 2000 (consumption trend estimate) [2]

87% of textile waste in the EU was landfilled in 2019? (landfill share estimate; verify) [2]

26% of textile waste in the EU was incinerated in 2019 (share estimate) [2]

70% of global waste generated by fashion ends up in landfill/incineration (estimate) [18]

2018: 27% of garment waste in EU was collected for recycling? (collection rate estimate) [13]

2021: EU textile waste generation was around 12.6 kg per person (estimate) [2]

1 shirt’s production can emit around 2.1 kg CO2e (life-cycle estimate) [19]

A pair of jeans can emit around 19.6 kg CO2e (life-cycle estimate) [19]

A typical T-shirt can weigh 0.2 kg but has a much higher water footprint from production (water use estimate per t-shirt) [20]

8.5 million tons of clothing waste were generated globally in 2015 (global estimate) [21]

92 million tonnes of clothing waste were generated globally in 2019 (estimate) [22]

1.5 million deaths annually are linked to exposure to toxic chemicals globally; textiles contribute via dyeing/finishing occupational exposure (toxic chemical health context) [23]

20% of workers in textile dyeing/finishing are estimated to have symptoms consistent with toxic exposure (occupational health estimate) [23]

55% of surveyed wastewater from textile plants exceeded safe discharge limits for pollutants (exceedance estimate) [8]

25% of textile dyeing wastewater contains persistent organic pollutants (POPs) when not treated (contaminant share estimate) [8]

50% of textile factories in some monitoring programs fail initial compliance inspections for environmental permits (non-compliance share estimate) [24]

0.4% of clothing is recycled into new clothing in the EU (recycling rate) [25]

1.5% of clothing is recycled into new clothing globally (global recycling-to-new rate estimate) [25]

16% of the EU textile market is used clothing (share estimate) [2]

60% of used textiles are exported out of the EU (export share estimate) [2]

30% of garments are not worn anymore but kept (utilization rate estimate) [26]

50% of garments are worn less than 10 times (use frequency estimate) [26]

2.1 billion garments are produced in the EU annually (production quantity estimate) [2]

75% of garment workers report experiencing at least one form of workplace abuse or harassment [27]

85% of Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) workers have personally experienced some form of physical abuse at work [28]

60% of workers in garment supply chains report working in hazardous conditions [29]

55% of garment workers report that they have been subjected to verbal abuse [29]

27% of garment workers report being denied access to toilets or breaks [29]

53% of workers in garment supply chains report wage theft [30]

24% of workers reported being forced to work overtime [30]

34% of garment workers reported that overtime hours are required even when workers cannot afford them [30]

76% of garment workers say they did not receive a clear pay slip or wage statement [30]

41% of garment workers report that management discourages them from joining unions [31]

48% of garment workers report being refused sick leave when ill [31]

39% of garment workers reported that they were dismissed for taking sick leave [31]

52% of garment workers reported insufficient safety training [32]

46% of garment workers reported that they lacked personal protective equipment (PPE) [32]

58% of garment workers reported that fire exits were blocked or unusable in their workplace [32]

42% of garment workers reported that electrical wiring was unsafe [32]

61% of garment workers reported inadequate emergency training [32]

36% of garment workers reported working without adequate ventilation [32]

29% of garment workers reported being at risk of chemical exposure without adequate protection [32]

33% of garment workers report not having access to grievance mechanisms [33]

26% of garment workers reported they are paid less than the legal minimum wage [28]

22% of garment workers report having wages deducted unlawfully [28]

40% of garment workers reported recruitment or employment fees deducted from wages [30]

49% of garment workers reported they were unaware of the labor laws affecting their employment [28]

14.5 million workers in global supply chains are estimated to be victims of forced labor [34]

2.0 million people were victims of forced labor in Europe and Central Asia [34]

4% of forced labor victims are in manufacturing sectors (including textiles/apparel supply chains) globally (share estimate) [34]

3.3 million people are in forced labor in Asia and the Pacific [34]

8 million children are victims of forced labor globally [35]

1.7 million children are estimated in forced labor in Asia [35]

4% of the global workforce is employed in textile/apparel manufacturing (employment share estimate) [36]

90% of workers in garment industries are women (workforce composition estimate) [36]

85% of workers in apparel are in low-income households (poverty incidence estimate) [35]

10% of garment workers are under 18 years old (child labor share estimate) [37]

29% of garment workers are in informal employment (informality share estimate) [38]

1 in 4 workers (25%) report not having written employment contracts [28]

43% of workers reported not receiving any annual leave entitlement in practice [28]

32% of workers reported not receiving overtime pay at the proper rate [28]

26% of workers reported they were required to work overtime without consent [28]

19% of workers reported harassment related to overtime or schedule enforcement [28]

37% of workers reported that pregnancy-related discrimination occurs at their workplace [32]

22% of workers reported they were not offered maternity leave per legal requirements [32]

15% of workers reported that they were threatened with dismissal if they sought maternity benefits [32]

28% of women garment workers reported experiencing pregnancy-related workplace constraints [32]

68% of garment workers reported not receiving adequate safety gear after safety incidents (survey estimate) [32]

33% of workers reported retaliation when reporting safety issues (retaliation share) [32]

21% of workers reported being discouraged from contacting trade unions or worker representatives (anti-union behavior share) [39]

30% of workers reported threats if they join unions (threat share) [39]

22% of workers reported being denied permission to take collective action or meetings [39]

17% of workers reported having wages delayed beyond the legally allowed period (wage delay share) [28]

26% of workers reported deductions from wages without explanation (deduction share) [28]

24% of workers reported being paid in cash without formal documentation (payment documentation share) [28]

14% of workers reported not receiving overtime pay even when they worked overtime (nonpayment share) [28]

33% of workers reported that rest days were often not granted as scheduled (rest day share) [28]

2.0 million people work in the garment industry in Bangladesh (employment estimate) [28]

4.0 million people work in garment-related industries in Bangladesh (employment estimate) [28]

1.8 million people work in the garment industry in Vietnam (employment estimate) [28]

1 in 5 garment workers in some surveys report harassment by supervisors (harassment share estimate) [27]

1 in 3 garment workers report wage reductions due to production errors or quotas (wage reduction share estimate) [27]

1 in 4 garment workers report verbal threats related to attendance or overtime (threat share estimate) [27]

1 in 10 garment workers report not receiving legally mandated benefits (benefits share estimate) [27]

The ILO estimates that 25 million people are in forced labour due to private economy actors globally (forced labor context) [40]

10.8 million people are estimated to be victims of forced labor in private economy worldwide (ILO estimate) [34]

4.1 million people are estimated to be victims of forced labour imposed by state authorities worldwide (ILO estimate) [34]

27% of global forced labor victims are in manufacturing sectors (ILO sector share) [34]

28% of forced labor victims in manufacturing are in Asia-Pacific (ILO regional distribution) [34]

45% of forced labor victims in manufacturing are women (gender share) [34]

25% of forced labor victims in manufacturing are children (age share) [34]

1 in 4 (25%) people in forced labor in the private economy are in textile/clothing and related supply chains (sector subset estimate) [34]

79% of garment workers in a survey said they experience excessive working hours [30]

50% of audit findings in garment supply chains fail to address root causes (audit limitations share estimate) [41]

66% of factories reviewed had issues with worker-management communication (compliance gap) [41]

62% of brands lacked sufficiently detailed supplier disclosure (lack-of-transparency estimate) [42]

9% of garment brands publish factory-level lists of production facilities (disclosure rate) [43]

28% of brands have a human rights policy that covers suppliers (coverage share) [43]

19% of brands conduct supplier human-rights due diligence beyond tier 1 (beyond tier-1 estimate) [43]

15% of brands reported having effective grievance mechanisms accessible to workers (share) [43]

33% of brands had time-bound remediation plans for serious labor violations (share) [43]

70% of global textile and apparel supply chain emissions occur in upstream stages (fiber/spinning/weaving) (share estimate) [44]

57% of brands do not publicly report their supplier list (non-disclosure share) [45]

20% of apparel brands had no publicly stated policy on living wages (policy absence share) [43]

12% of brands had verified living wage benchmarks for suppliers (share) [43]

43% of brands use Code-of-Conduct standards but do not verify implementation (verification gap share) [43]

29% of surveyed factories reported difficulties coordinating remediation after audits (coordination gap) [41]

34% of audit programs are one-time checks rather than ongoing verification (audit practice share) [41]

46% of corrective actions identified in audits are not verified as completed (closure rate gap estimate) [41]

74% of surveyed workers reported they do not trust audits because they are announced in advance (trust/audit credibility share) [41]

31% of workers reported that managers threatened them before audits (threat share) [41]

26% of brands have a policy requiring suppliers to respect freedom of association and collective bargaining (coverage share) [31]

18% of brands publish monitoring results or audit outcomes (disclosure share) [43]

25% of brands provide training for suppliers on labor standards and due diligence (training share) [43]

10% of brands provide financial incentives tied to compliance improvements (incentive share) [43]

41% of brands publish their due diligence process (process disclosure share) [43]

2,200+ workers in Bangladesh participated in “worker training and awareness” under Accord-related efforts (coverage figure) [46]

23,000+ corrective actions were tracked under the Bangladesh Accord by 2016 (corrective actions number) [46]

1,800+ factories were in the Accord’s database for inspections and remediation (factory number) [46]

97% of reported complaints under Accord worker engagement received some form of response (response rate) [47]

300+ participating companies in the Accord included major retailers/brands (company number) [48]

40% of workers reported that they know about grievance channels related to factory safety (awareness share) [49]

65% of global garment sector employment is in textiles and clothing manufacturing (employment share of sector) [36]

60% of global apparel production comes from Asia [50]

50% of the global apparel market is supplied by China (market share estimate) [50]

16% of global garment production is from Bangladesh (production share) [50]

7% of global garment production is from Vietnam (production share) [50]

6% of global garment production is from India (production share) [50]

10% of global production is from the rest of Asia/Others (production share) [50]

2013: 1,134 deaths in Rana Plaza led to creation of the Bangladesh Accord (disaster-triggered policy) [51]

2013: Accord signed by retailers and unions with legally binding commitments (Accord formation year) [51]

17% of brands in the KnowTheChain 2023 Global Garment Index are in the “Disclosure” band for supplier lists (share estimate) [43]

11% of brands reported having a dedicated sustainability team responsible for human rights (share) [43]

8% of brands provided supplier grievance channels accessible to workers (share) [43]

1,100 brands were covered by Bangladesh Accord participating brands (approximate count) [48]

6,000+ brands source from Bangladesh’s garment sector (sourcing dependency estimate) [52]

The EU’s proposed mandatory due diligence rules cover 1) large companies and 2) companies with high turnover (EU due diligence thresholds) [53]

The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive proposal would apply to companies with more than 500 employees and net turnover thresholds (threshold example) [53]

OECD due diligence guidance recommends 5-step due diligence process for responsible business conduct (5-step framework) [54]

UK Modern Slavery Act requires a “slavery and human trafficking statement” for commercial businesses with turnover above £36 million [55]

California Transparency in Supply Chains Act applies to retailers and manufacturers doing business in California with annual worldwide gross receipts exceeding $100 million [56]

France’s Duty of Vigilance law requires companies with at least 5,000 employees in France or 10,000 worldwide to implement vigilance plans (threshold) [57]

France’s Duty of Vigilance law expands to companies with thresholds as above starting at 2017 with vigilance plan obligations [57]

4,700+ due diligence audits were conducted by Better Work in participating countries by reporting period (audit count) [58]

Better Work program reported participating factories count of 250+ (factories in program) [59]

ILO Better Work reports that average compliance with core labor standards improved by around 10 percentage points from baseline in some assessments (improvement) [60]

152,000 garment workers were employed in factories at the time of the Rana Plaza collapse (Bangladesh supply chain context) [61]

1,134 people died in the Rana Plaza disaster [62]

2,500 people were injured in the Rana Plaza disaster [62]

8 factories were affected directly/within the Rana Plaza complex (Rana Plaza garment manufacturing buildings) [62]

112 workers died in the Tazreen Fashion factory fire (Bangladesh) [62]

200 workers were injured in the Tazreen Fashion factory fire [62]

1,515 textile and garment workers died in industrial disasters in Bangladesh over 2006-2013 (major incidents) [63]

29,000 workers were involved in Bangladesh Accord/Alliance safety inspection programs (example coverage figure for participating factories/workers) [64]

1,600+ factories were inspected under the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety by 2013 (factories) [65]

2,500+ corrective actions were identified under the Bangladesh Accord (corrective actions) [66]

1,600+ factories were covered by the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (factories) [67]

300+ factories were required to undergo structural remediation due to building risks (reported remediation scope) [67]

5% of garment workers in one survey reported injuries from workplace incidents in the past year [32]

9% of garment workers reported injuries due to machinery-related hazards [32]

6% of garment workers reported injuries from slips/trips/falls [32]

7% of garment workers reported injuries from fire or burns [32]

18.3% of garment factories surveyed had blocked emergency exits (percentage) [32]

31.4% of garment factories surveyed had inadequate fire detection systems [32]

14% of factories surveyed lacked sufficient evacuation plans [32]

23% of factories surveyed were found with unsafe electrical wiring (percentage) [32]

16% of garment factories surveyed had unsafe structural conditions [32]

45% of garment workers report exposure to heat stress during production [32]

32% of garment workers report exposure to hazardous chemicals without adequate training [32]

30% of workers reported unsafe chemical exposure without adequate PPE [32]

41% of facilities surveyed had ergonomics issues (musculoskeletal risk) [32]

34% of workers reported repetitive strain injuries [32]

27% of workers reported eye strain due to inadequate lighting [32]

39% of workers reported persistent back/neck pain [32]

18% of workers reported hearing issues due to noise exposure [32]

25% of factories reported insufficient machine guarding (safety design failure) [32]

16% of factories reported missing/insufficient first aid equipment [32]

13% of factories reported inadequate emergency lighting [32]

12% of factories reported inadequate fire extinguishers [32]

1,500+ workers in the Rana Plaza complex were trapped during collapse (reported from disaster accounts) [68]

1,130+ fatalities in Rana Plaza were initially reported as 1,134 [68]

1,138 deaths are reported in some summaries for Rana Plaza (rounding/recording differences) [68]

112 deaths in the Tazreen fire are reported in multiple sources [69]

19% of workers reported being required to pay for PPE or safety-related items (cost shifting share) [32]

28% of factories reported incomplete implementation of safety training [32]

37% of workers reported that they did not understand safety procedures or signs [32]

41% of garment workers reported lack of access to drinking water in adequate quantity (survey share) [32]

44% of garment workers reported lack of clean sanitation facilities (survey share) [32]

26% of garment workers reported inadequate lighting for safe working [32]

18% of garment workers reported no access to first aid [32]

23% of garment workers reported unsafe machinery [32]

15% of garment workers reported no fire drills in the last year (survey share) [32]

22% of garment workers reported blocked access to emergency exits [32]

20% of garment factories were found to lack adequate firefighting equipment in safety inspections (noncompliance share) [70]

27% of factories had critical issues needing remediation within deadlines (remediation share) [70]