Fashion Industry Environmental Impact Statistics

The fashion industry is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions [1]

Textile production is responsible for 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year [2]

The fashion industry produces 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions annually [3]

The fashion industry accounts for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [3]

Without intervention, fashion emissions could rise to around 2.7 billion tonnes a year by 2030 [3]

Polyester production for textiles emitted 706 billion kg of greenhouse gases in 2015 [4]

Producing one polyester shirt creates 5.5 kg of CO2 [4]

Producing one cotton shirt creates 2.1 kg of CO2 [4]

Global apparel consumption is expected to increase by 63% by 2030 [5]

If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, its greenhouse gas emissions will increase by more than 50% by 2030 [6]

The apparel and footwear industries generated 8.1% of global climate impacts in 2016 [7]

The apparel and footwear value chain emitted 3.990 billion tonnes CO2e in 2016 [7]

Material production accounted for 38% of the apparel and footwear sector’s climate impact [7]

Consumer use phase accounted for 20% of apparel and footwear climate impacts [7]

End-of-life accounted for 3% of apparel and footwear climate impacts [7]

Fashion’s emissions must fall to 1.1 billion tonnes by 2030 to align with a 1.5°C pathway [8]

The fashion industry needs to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2018 levels [9]

Signatories to the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action commit to net-zero emissions by 2050 [9]

A pair of jeans has a climate impact of about 33.4 kg CO2 equivalent over its life cycle [10]

A cotton T-shirt has a climate impact of about 6.5 kg CO2 equivalent over its life cycle [10]

Laundry accounts for 37% of the total climate impact of clothing during use [10]

Drying accounts for 37% of the total climate impact of clothing during use [10]

Ironing accounts for 26% of the total climate impact of clothing during use [10]

Extending the active life of clothing by 9 months reduces carbon impacts by 20-30% [10]

Reusing clothes can lower their carbon footprint by 24% [11]

More than 70% of emissions from the fashion industry come from upstream activities such as material production and processing [3]

Coal supplies around 61% of the energy used in textile production in some major manufacturing countries [8]

Fashion’s manufacturing emissions intensity must decline by 60% by 2030 to stay on a 1.5°C pathway [8]

Air transport can produce up to 14 times more emissions than shipping for apparel logistics [3]

Less than 1% of the global fashion industry’s emissions are offset today [12]

A single laundry load of polyester clothes can discharge 700,000 microplastic fibers [2]

Textiles are responsible for about 9% of annual microplastic losses to the oceans [13]

Synthetic textiles account for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment [14]

Around half a million tonnes of microfibres are released into the ocean each year from washing plastic-based textiles [14]

Textile dyeing is the world’s second-largest polluter of water [1]

About 43 million tonnes of chemicals are used to produce textiles each year [15]

Around 3,500 chemicals are used in textile production [15]

Of the chemicals used in textile production, 750 have been classified as hazardous to human health and 440 as hazardous to the environment [15]

PFAS have been measured in 63% of textile samples in one Danish EPA survey [16]

11% of tested textile products in a Danish EPA study contained fluorinated compounds above 1 µg/m2 [16]

The textile value chain was responsible for 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing [17]

Washing synthetic garments causes the release of 0.12 to 0.68 million tonnes of microfibres into the ocean each year [18]

Tyre dust aside, synthetic textiles are among the largest sources of primary microplastics in the oceans at 35% [18]

More than 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles [19]

Formaldehyde, azo dyes and heavy metals are among chemicals commonly found in textile processing effluents [19]

More than 1900 chemicals are used in the textile industry, of which 165 are classified by the EU as hazardous to health or the environment [20]

Microfibre release from textiles can account for between 16% and 35% of the microplastics released to the oceans [13]

Europe released an estimated 13,000 tonnes of textile microfibres into the environment in 2017 [13]

Around 6 kg of textiles per person are separately collected for reuse and recycling in Europe each year, leaving much still mixed with waste [11]

Textile washing is estimated to cause 124 to 308 mg of microfibres released per kilogram of fabric per wash [21]

Fleece garments can release up to 250,000 polyester fibres per wash [22]

Domestic washing of one 6 kg load of acrylic fabric can release more than 700,000 fibres [23]

Polyester and cotton blend fabrics can shed tens of thousands of fibres per wash, with acrylic the highest shedder among tested materials [24]

Textile finishing can involve over 1000 different chemical formulations [25]

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in outdoor textile products can persist for years and are often used for durable water repellency on jackets and gear [26]

Approximately 20% of industrial water pollution globally comes from textile treatment and dyeing [27]

Textile dyeing and finishing consume large amounts of chemicals and generate heavily polluted wastewater with high COD and color loads [28]

In the EU, textile consumption generated 0.6 kg of microplastics released to the environment per person in 2020 [15]

Textile consumption in the EU in 2020 caused on average 391 kg of raw material use per person [15]

Textile consumption in the EU caused on average 270 square meters of land use per person in 2020 [15]

EU textile consumption ranked fifth highest for average environmental and climate pressures from household consumption in 2020 [15]

Textile consumption ranked third for water and land use from an EU consumption perspective in 2020 [15]

The apparel and footwear industry uses 3,981 million tonnes of raw materials annually [7]

More than 70 million barrels of oil each year are used to make polyester fibers [4]

Polyester made up about 57% of global fiber production in 2022 [29]

Cotton accounted for about 20% of global fiber production in 2022 [29]

Manmade cellulosic fibres accounted for about 6% of global fiber production in 2022 [29]

Recycled fibers represented about 7.9% of global fiber production in 2022 [29]

Less than 1% of global fiber production came from pre- and post-consumer recycled textiles in 2022 [29]

Virgin fossil-based synthetic fiber production reached around 67 million tonnes in 2022 [29]

Fashion uses around 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides globally through cotton cultivation according to some estimates [1]

Cotton is grown on about 2.5% of the world’s arable land [30]

Cotton production supports the livelihoods of 250 million people worldwide [31]

Conventional cotton uses 16% of the world’s insecticides [30]

Conventional cotton uses 6% of the world’s pesticides [30]

The fashion industry consumes around 93 billion cubic meters of water per year, enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people [6]

Around 150 million trees are logged every year to make cellulosic fabrics such as viscose and rayon [32]

More than 300 million trees are cut down every year for packaging and fabrics including viscose [33]

Around 30% of rayon and viscose used in fashion is made from endangered and ancient forests [34]

Leather from cattle is associated with deforestation risk in tropical forest regions, with cattle ranching driving about 80% of Amazon deforestation [35]

Wool production can have climate and land-use impacts, and sheep farming occupies extensive rangelands globally exceeding 1 billion hectares [36]

In 2015, global fiber production was 111 million tonnes and is expected to rise to 149 million tonnes by 2030 [29]

The number of times a garment is worn before it stops being used has decreased by 36%, increasing demand for virgin resources [37]

In Europe, clothing purchases represented 81% of total textile consumption impacts [11]

Household textiles represented 19% of total textile consumption in Europe [11]

Footwear represented 17% of textile-related climate impacts in Europe’s consumption footprint [11]

Most pressures from EU textile consumption occur abroad, with 73% of raw material use and 92% of water use taking place outside Europe [11]

The equivalent of one rubbish truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second [37]

Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing [37]

More than $500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilization and lack of recycling [37]

Globally, 92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced each year [1]

Clothing utilization has decreased by 36% compared with 15 years ago [37]

The average consumer bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000 [17]

Garments are often worn only 7 to 10 times before being discarded [1]

In the United States, 11.3 million tons of textiles were landfilled in 2018 [38]

Textiles made up 7.7% of total municipal solid waste landfilled in the United States in 2018 [38]

The U.S. generated 17 million tons of textile municipal solid waste in 2018 [38]

The textile recycling rate in the U.S. was 14.7% in 2018 [38]

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

Only about 1% of used clothes are recycled into new clothes in a closed loop [11]

Separate collection captures around 22% of post-consumer textile waste in Europe [11]

About 87% of fibres used for clothing are ultimately incinerated or landfilled [37]

Around 73% of clothing is landfilled or incinerated at end of life [37]

Less than 13% of total material input for clothing is in some way recycled after use [37]

Less than 1% of clothing material is recycled back into clothing [17]

The average number of times a garment is worn has declined by 36% compared with 15 years ago [37]

Global clothing production approximately doubled between 2000 and 2014 [37]

In 2020, EU consumption of textiles generated about 16 kg of waste per person [15]

In 2020, about 4.4 kg of textile waste per person was separately collected for reuse and recycling in the EU [15]

Around 82% of textile waste from households in Europe is not collected separately [15]

Used textiles in municipal waste in Europe generally end up in incineration or landfill, accounting for around 87% of post-consumer textiles [11]

Extending clothing life by an extra 9 months of active use can reduce waste footprints by 20-30% [10]

The UK generates around 1.1 million tonnes of used clothing and textiles every year [10]

Around 620,000 tonnes of textiles are discarded in household residual waste in the UK annually [10]

Around 300,000 tonnes of clothing end up in household bins in the UK each year [39]

Around 650,000 tonnes of used clothing are collected for reuse and recycling annually in the UK [39]

Global fibre production reached 116 million tonnes in 2022 [29]

Fossil-based synthetic fibres accounted for 54% of global fibre production in 2022 [29]

The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles aims for all textile products placed on the EU market to be durable, repairable and recyclable by 2030 [40]

The fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water worldwide [2]

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

Producing a pair of jeans requires about 7,500 liters of water [2]

The textile industry uses around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually [1]

Textile dyeing and treatment contribute around 20% of global industrial water pollution [17]

The apparel and footwear industries generated 20% of global wastewater [7]

Cotton cultivation accounts for 69% of the water consumption footprint of fiber production [7]

The apparel and footwear sector consumed 79 billion cubic meters of water in 2016 [7]

Water consumption in apparel and footwear is projected to rise by 50% by 2030 [7]

A cotton T-shirt requires about 2,700 liters of water over its life cycle [10]

A pair of jeans uses about 8,000 liters of water over its life cycle [10]

Extending garment life by 9 months can reduce water footprints by 4-10% [10]

One kilogram of cotton may require up to 10,000–20,000 liters of water depending on where it is grown [31]

About 16% of all insecticides are used on cotton crops [31]

About 6% of all pesticides are used on cotton crops [31]

The Aral Sea has shrunk by about 90% largely due to water diversion for cotton irrigation [41]

Conventional cotton accounts for 2.6% of global water use [42]

Textile wet processing can use as much as 200 liters of water per kilogram of textile [14]

In the EU, clothing, footwear and household textiles consumption required 9 cubic meters of water per person in 2020 [15]

EU textile consumption generated 1.3 cubic meters of water pollution per person in 2020 [15]

Organic cotton can reduce blue water consumption by up to 91% compared with conventional cotton [29]

Better Cotton farmers in Pakistan used 15.4% less water than comparison farmers in 2021-22 [43]

Better Cotton farmers in Tajikistan used 3.2% less water than comparison farmers in 2021-22 [43]

Better Cotton farmers in India used 8.5% less water than comparison farmers in 2021-22 [43]

Better Cotton farmers in China used 1.0% less water than comparison farmers in 2021-22 [43]

Textile consumption in Europe causes pressures on water use mostly outside Europe, with 92% of the water footprint occurring abroad [11]

Producing one kilogram of fabric can generate about 23 kilograms of greenhouse gases and use significant water inputs [14]