Fashion Industry Environmental Impact Statistics

Cotton farming is responsible for 24% of the world's insecticide use

Conventional cotton cultivation uses 11% of the world's pesticides despite covering only 2.4% of arable land

Approximately 3,500 different chemical substances are used in textile production

43 million tons of chemicals are used in textile production every year

About 30% of the chemical substances used in fashion manufacturing are considered hazardous to human health

Chromium IV, a toxic carcinogen, is used in 80-90% of global leather tanning

150 million trees are logged every year for viscose/rayon production, damaging ancient forests

Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), toxic endocrine disruptors, have been found in clothing from major brands

The production of nylon creates nitrous oxide, which depletes the ozone layer

Soil degradation from intensive cotton monocropping has reduced soil fertility in major producing reigons

Around 165 million tons of plastic are used in the production of textiles annually (mostly polyester)

Glyphosate, a probable carcinogen, is widely used in genetically modified cotton fields

PFAS (forever chemicals) are frequently used in stain-resistant and waterproof clothing finishes

Viscose manufacturing releases carbon disulfide, which causes severe neurological damage to workers

1 kilogram of chemicals is needed to process 1 kilogram of textiles

Antimony, a toxic heavy metal, is used as a catalyst in 80-85% of virgin PET (polyester) production

Overgrazing by cashmere goats has turned 90% of Mongolia's grassland into desert

The use of azo dyes in fashion, which release carcinogenic amines, is still prevalent in unrestricted markets

Conventional cotton farming degrades soil quality, leading to a need for increased fertilizer use over time

Formaldehyde is often applied to clothes to prevent mildew and wrinkling during shipping

The average consumer buys 60% more items of clothing than they did 15 years ago

Consumers keep clothing items for about half as long as they did in the year 2000

Clothing production has doubled between 2000 and 2015

Extending the life of clothing by just 9 months would reduce carbon, waste, and water footprints by 20-30%

1 in 3 young women in the UK consider clothes "old" after wearing them once or twice

The secondhand clothing market is projected to reach $64 billion by 2024

77% of Americans want to learn how to live more sustainably, but only 12% buy sustainable fashion

Up to 40% of clothing in average western wardrobes is never worn

The resale market is growing 11 times faster than traditional retail

In the UK, the average lifetime of a garment is only 2.2 years

50% of people throw unwanted clothes in the trash rather than donating them

Consumption of clothing and footwear is expected to increase by 63% by 2030

Returning a garment doubles its environmental impact due to reverse logistics

Over 70% of the world’s population wears secondhand clothing

69% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products, but lack trust in brand claims

Renting clothes instead of buying can reduce the carbon footprint of the item by 24%

95% of discarded clothing can be recycled or repurposed, yet it largely isn't

The average American generates 81 pounds of textile waste each year

Washing at 30°C instead of 40°C saves 40% energy per load

Digital fashion (clothing worn only in virtual environments) emits 97% less CO2 than physical garment production

The fashion industry accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined

The apparel industry's global emissions are projected to increase by 50% by 2030

Fashion production releases 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases annually

Polyester production for textiles in 2015 released about 706 billion kg of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of 185 coal-fired power plants

If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, that share of the carbon budget could jump to 26% by 2050

One pair of running shoes generates approximately 30 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions

A polyester shirt involves 5.5 kg CO2e emissions compared to 2.1 kg CO2e for a cotton shirt

The footwear industry alone accounts for 1.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions

Up to 80% of a garment’s carbon footprint occurs during the production and processing of materials

Nylon production emits nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide

The carbon footprint of a single pair of Levi's 501 jeans is 33.4 kg CO2e

Organic cotton farming can reduce the global warming potential of cotton by 46% compared to conventional cotton

Shifting from conventional polyester to recycled polyester can reduce carbon emissions by up to 32%

By 2030, the fashion industry needs to reduce its emissions by approximately half to align with the 1.5-degree pathway

Buying second-hand clothing can reduce a consumer's carbon footprint by 60-70% compared to buying new

Air freight in fashion logistics produces 47 times more emissions than sea freight per ton-mile

Ironing and washing clothes during the consumer use phase accounts for significant energy use, with tumble drying alone comprising 60% of user-phase energy

Producing one ton of textiles generates 17 tons of CO2 equivalent

Leather production has a high carbon footprint, with one cow hide resulting in approx 100kg of CO2e

Online returns in the US alone create 15 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually

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

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

92 million tons of textile waste is created annually worldwide

Washing clothes releases half a million tons of microfibers into the ocean every year, equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles

Textiles account for approximately 35% of primary microplastics found in the oceans

An estimated 15% to 20% of fabric used to produce clothing ends up as cutting floor waste

Fast fashion items are thrown away after an average of just 7 to 10 wears

30% of clothes produced each year are never sold, often ending up in landfills or incinerated

The volume of textile waste is expected to increase by 60% between 2015 and 2030

Synthetic fibers like polyester can take up to 200 years to decompose in landfills

In the US major cities, textile waste makes up nearly 6% of all municipal solid waste

The Atacama Desert in Chile has become a dumping ground for approx 39,000 tons of unsold clothing annually

One machine wash of polyester clothes can release 700,000 microplastic fibers

Only 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled in some form (mostly downcycled to insulation)

Ghana’s Kantamanto market receives 15 million garments a week, 40% of which ends up as immediate waste

73% of the world’s clothing eventually ends up in landfills

Microplastics from textiles have been found in the deepest parts of the ocean and in Arctic ice

Annually, North Americans send 10 million tonnes of clothing to the landfill

5.8 million tons of textiles are generated in the EU annually, amounting to 11kg per person

Incineration of clothes releases toxins and large amounts of CO2; yet millions of tons are burned annually

The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water worldwide

It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make just one cotton shirt, enough for one person to drink for 2.5 years

Producing a single pair of jeans requires approximately 7,500 to 10,000 liters of water

The fashion industry consumes nearly 93 billion cubic meters of water annually

20% of global wastewater comes from textile dyeing and treatment

Textile mills generate one-fifth of the world's industrial water pollution

In China, 70% of the rivers and lakes are contaminated from the textile industry’s wastewater

One kg of cotton produced in India consumes 22,500 liters of water

Approximately 85% of the water used in textile processing goes into dyeing the fabrics

The Aral Sea has shrunk to 10% of its former volume largely due to cotton irrigation

Leather tanning utilizes approximately 16,000 liters of water per kg of hide

Around 17 to 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment

Viscose production is highly water-intensive and associated with dumping untreated effluent in lakes

It takes 44 trillion liters of water annually for irrigation of cotton crops

Synthetic fiber production uses less water than cotton but significantly pollutes water through pellet leaks during production

Conventional cotton farming is responsible for water depletion in regions facing high water stress

40% of clothing is made in countries that are already facing water scarcity issues

Wool production has a high water footprint; 1kg of wool requires up to 170,000 liters of water to produce (mostly rain water for grass)

The Citarum River in Indonesia is considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world due to over 200 textile factories lining its banks

Reducing water usage in denim finishing by using laser technology can save up to 98% of the water