Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The average American throws away approximately 81 pounds of clothing each year
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
87% of the total fiber input used for clothing is eventually incinerated or sent to a landfill
Fashion accounts for 20% of global wastewater
Global clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014
The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% in 15 years
The fashion industry produces over 92 million tons of waste annually
The average consumer buys 60% more clothing than 15 years ago but keeps each item for half as long
Only 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing
Textile dyeing is the second-largest water polluter globally
Fast fashion brands release new products every two weeks on average
An estimated 20 garments per person are produced each year globally
Synthetic materials like polyester account for 60% of clothing material
Environmental Impact
- The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
- Fashion accounts for 20% of global wastewater
- Textile dyeing is the second-largest water polluter globally
- Washing synthetic clothes releases 500,000 tons of microplastics into oceans each year
- Fashion contributes to 35% of microplastics released into the ocean
- Clothing production generates 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year—more than international flights and maritime shipping combined
- 20% of industrial water pollution globally is attributable to dyeing and treatment of textiles
- The fashion economy releases 500,000 tons of synthetic microfibers into the ocean each year—the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles
- 10% of the ocean’s microplastics can be traced to textile fibers
- Digital fashion try-ons can reduce returns by up to 40%
- Resale just one item reduces its carbon footprint by 82% on average
- Increasing utilization of clothing could reduce clothing’s carbon footprint by 44%
- Viscose production contributes to deforestation, with 30% of viscose derived from endangered or ancient forests
- Cotton farming accounts for 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides used globally
Interpretation
Fashion may dress us up, but behind the seams it’s undressing the planet—spinning a toxic thread of carbon, chemicals, and microplastic pollution that rivals even the world’s planes and ships, with solutions hanging right there on the rack.
Fast Fashion and Business Practices
- Garment workers in many developing countries make less than $3 per day
- Fast fashion players like Zara and H&M can design to shelf garments in as little as 3 weeks
- Nearly 90% of workers in the global garment industry are not paid a living wage
- 90% of clothing brands don’t know where their raw materials come from
- Just 18 percent of global fashion brands have made commitments to paying living wages
- Shein adds up to 10,000 new styles to its app daily
Interpretation
Behind the glittering facade of fast fashion lies a ruthless system where clothes race to shelves faster than living wages reach the hands that sew them.
Production and Consumption Trends
- Global clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014
- The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% in 15 years
- The average consumer buys 60% more clothing than 15 years ago but keeps each item for half as long
- Fast fashion brands release new products every two weeks on average
- An estimated 20 garments per person are produced each year globally
- Synthetic materials like polyester account for 60% of clothing material
- The global fashion resale market is expected to reach $218 billion by 2026
- Clothing production is projected to rise by 63% by 2030
- Consumers purchased 62 million tons of apparel in 2019
- Consumer demand for faster fashion cycles has led to a 50% increase in new clothing styles annually since 2000
- 30% of clothes in Europeans’ wardrobes haven’t been worn for at least a year
- Globally, consumers spend about $2 trillion on fashion annually
- The average UK shopper purchases 26.7kg of clothing annually
- The average piece of clothing is worn only 7 to 10 times
- The number of garments produced annually has doubled since 2000
- 65% of women say they’ve felt pressure to wear something new for special occasions
- In China, consumption of clothing has increased tenfold in the last 30 years
- The secondhand apparel market is growing 3x faster than the global apparel market overall
- 70% of garments worn in sub-Saharan Africa are secondhand imports
- Zara produces 450 million garments per year
- Globally, we buy 80 to 150 billion pieces of clothing each year
- The fashion sector employs over 75 million people worldwide
- Demand for clothing will triple by 2050 due to population and economic growth
- Young consumers are twice as likely to purchase secondhand than older generations
- Consumers return 30% to 40% of clothing bought online
- Overproduction leads to approximately 30% of clothes never getting sold
- The fashion industry is estimated to be worth $1.7 trillion globally
- Clothing prices have dropped by 36% in the past 20 years due to fast fashion
- Each person in the EU consumes on average 26 kg of textiles annually
Interpretation
Fast fashion has turned our closets into revolving doors — churning out billions of garments we barely wear, can't resist buying, and increasingly regret, all while the planet foots the dry-cleaning bill.
Resource Consumption
- The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually
- It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
- The apparel industry uses 79 billion cubic meters of water per year
- It takes 10,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of cotton fabric
- The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water worldwide
- One pair of jeans requires around 7,500 liters of water to produce
- Textile consumption in Europe is the fourth highest pressure category for use of primary raw materials and water
- The fashion industry consumes more energy than the aviation and shipping industries combined
Interpretation
In a world where a cotton shirt guzzles more water than you drink in two years and your jeans rival a swimming pool, fashion’s thirst is so extreme it out-hydrates global aviation—proving that looking good is costing the planet dearly.
Waste and Disposal
- The average American throws away approximately 81 pounds of clothing each year
- 87% of the total fiber input used for clothing is eventually incinerated or sent to a landfill
- The fashion industry produces over 92 million tons of waste annually
- Only 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing
- The average garment is worn just seven times before being discarded
- More than $500 billion of value is lost every year due to underutilized clothing and lack of recycling
- About 60% of clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being made
- One garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped every second
- Purchasing secondhand displaces the need to produce new clothing and could reduce fashion waste by 21 billion pounds annually
- Up to 95% of clothes thrown away could be reused or recycled
- Online shopping returns contribute to 5 billion pounds of landfill waste annually in the US
- Only 13% of the total material input of the fashion industry is recycled in some form
- Polyester takes up to 200 years to decompose
- Only 10% of clothes donated to thrift stores are sold; the rest are recycled or incinerated
- Americans generate over 17 million tons of textile waste annually
- 84% of clothing ends up in landfills or incinerated within a year of being made
Interpretation
The fashion industry spins a dazzling illusion of style, but behind the seams, it's a fast-paced cycle of waste where nearly every stitch stitched today is tomorrow’s landfill—proof that in fashion, what's "out" isn't just last season, it's our planet’s future.