Fashion Industry Sustainability Statistics

The fashion industry is responsible for 2%–8% of global carbon emissions [1]

The textiles value chain produces 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually [2]

If growth continues as projected, fashion’s share of the carbon budget could rise to 26% by 2050 [2]

The fashion industry consumes more energy than the aviation and shipping industries combined [3]

The fashion industry is responsible for around 10% of global carbon emissions [3]

Textile production emits 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases per year [3]

Clothing and footwear consumption in the EU accounted for 270 kg of CO2 emissions per person in 2020 [4]

The apparel and footwear industries generate about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions [5]

More than 70% of fashion emissions come from upstream activities [5]

Tier 2 processing is responsible for about 36% of emissions in the apparel value chain [5]

Material production accounts for roughly 30% of emissions in the apparel value chain [5]

Tier 1 operations contribute about 8% of apparel value chain emissions [5]

Transport contributes about 3% of apparel value chain emissions [5]

Retail operations contribute around 7% of apparel value chain emissions [5]

Packaging contributes around 2% of apparel value chain emissions [5]

To align with 1.5°C, the fashion industry must reduce emissions by 1.1 billion tonnes by 2030 [5]

The industry needs to cut emissions by 50% by 2030 to stay on a 1.5°C pathway [5]

Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined [6]

Textile dyeing and treatment contributes around 3% of global CO2 emissions [6]

The textile industry emits 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2 annually according to Quantis [6]

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions [7]

EU textile consumption caused the fifth highest pressure on raw material use and greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 [8]

The textile value chain was responsible for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 [8]

Textile purchases in the EU in 2020 generated about 121 million tonnes of greenhouse gases [8]

The apparel industry could reduce emissions by 60% through existing levers before 2030 [5]

Around 61% of apparel brands’ emissions come from manufacturing [9]

Around 39% of an apparel brand’s total supply chain emissions come from textile production [9]

A typical textile mill can reduce energy use by 10% through operational improvements [9]

A typical textile mill can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 10% through operational improvements [9]

Textile consumption in Europe has on average the fourth highest impact on the environment and climate change from a global life cycle perspective [10]

Consumer use contributes about 14% of apparel value chain emissions [5]

Clothing utilisation has decreased by 36% compared with 15 years ago [2]

The average number of times a garment is worn decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago [7]

The average consumer bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000 [7]

Global clothing utilisation is on average 36% lower than 15 years ago [6]

94% of retail executives said their customers are already participating in the secondhand market [11]

62% of retail executives said shoppers are trading down to lower-priced goods due to inflation [11]

55% of consumers worry more today than a year ago about apparel prices [11]

65% of consumers said they look for apparel discounts more often than they did a year ago [11]

57% of consumers said if money were no object they would still shop secondhand [11]

69% of Gen Z and millennials looked for secondhand items before buying new apparel in 2023 [11]

67% of consumers say it is easier to find secondhand apparel than it was five years ago [11]

47% of consumers said apparel brands should offer trade-in credit for used items [11]

32% of consumers said they have participated in a brand resale program [11]

47% of consumers are more likely to make a first-time purchase with a brand that offers shopping credit for trading in used apparel [11]

86% of retail executives said their customers have participated in shopping events tied to sustainability [11]

80% of retail executives said customers are demanding more affordable shopping options [11]

52% of consumers said they are more likely to shop with a brand that offers resale [11]

27% of consumers said they have sold apparel through a brand’s resale program [11]

90% of surveyed fashion executives identified sustainability as an important issue in 2024 [12]

63% of surveyed consumers consider sustainability an important purchasing factor [12]

Only 18% of fashion executives said sustainability is a top-3 risk for growth in 2024 [12]

17% of surveyed fashion executives pointed to sustainability as one of the top three opportunities for growth in 2024 [12]

The apparel sector employs 75 million factory workers worldwide [13]

Less than 2% of garment workers worldwide earn a living wage [13]

Women make up approximately 80% of garment workers globally [13]

Bangladesh’s garment industry employs around 4 million workers [13]

Approximately 85% of Bangladesh garment workers are women [13]

The garment industry accounts for about 80% of Bangladesh’s export earnings [13]

The apparel and footwear supply chain has more than 430 million people working in it worldwide [14]

Clothing and footwear consumption in the EU used 391 kg of raw materials per person in 2020 [4]

Global fibre production reached a record 116 million tonnes in 2022 [15]

Polyester accounted for 54% of global fibre production in 2022 [15]

Fossil fuel-based synthetic fibres made up 67% of all fibre production in 2022 [15]

Cotton represented 20% of global fibre production in 2022 [15]

Polyester fibre production increased to 63 million tonnes in 2022 [15]

Virgin fossil-based synthetic fibres grew by 4% in 2022 [15]

Preferred cotton represented 27% of all cotton production in 2021/22 [15]

Recycled polyester made up 14.8% of total polyester production in 2022 [15]

Global fibre demand is expected to reach 147 million tonnes by 2030 if current trends continue [15]

About 60% of material used in fashion is made into clothing within one year of being produced [2]

Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014 [7]

99% of clothing is made from materials derived from fossil fuels [16]

69% of clothes are made from plastic [16]

UK citizens bought 1.13 million tonnes of new clothing in 2019 [17]

UK citizens bought 220,000 tonnes of household textiles in 2019 [17]

Textile purchases in the EU in 2020 used 175 million tonnes of primary raw materials [8]

The global man-made cellulosic fibre market reached 7.2 million tonnes in 2022 [15]

Recycled nylon represented 2.9% of global nylon production in 2022 [15]

Recycled cotton represented less than 1% of the global cotton market in 2022 [15]

Organic cotton represented 1.4% of global cotton production in 2021/22 [15]

Recycled wool represented 6% of global wool production in 2022 [15]

Responsible Wool Standard wool represented 4.2% of global wool production in 2022 [15]

The global down market reached 620,000 tonnes in 2022 [15]

Responsible Down Standard certified down represented 3.1% of the global down market in 2022 [15]

The global cashmere market reached 26,000 tonnes in 2022 [15]

The global mohair market reached 4,700 tonnes in 2022 [15]

The global leather market reached 5.8 million tonnes in 2022 [15]

Recycled polyester production rose 12.5% in 2022 [15]

Virgin polyester production rose 7.6% in 2022 [15]

An estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste is created annually [1]

The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second [2]

Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing [2]

About 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year [3]

The EU generated 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste in 2020 [4]

Clothing and footwear consumption in the EU generated 11 kg of textile waste per person in 2020 [4]

Europeans buy nearly 26 kg of textiles and discard about 11 kg every year [4]

Less than half of used clothes are collected for reuse or recycling in the EU [4]

Only 1% of used clothes are recycled into new clothes in the EU [4]

Recycled fibres represented only 7.9% of global fibre production in 2022 [15]

End-of-use contributes about 3% of apparel value chain emissions [5]

On average, a garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every second [6]

The secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2028 [11]

The global secondhand apparel market grew 18% in 2023 [11]

Resale is expected to grow 3 times faster than the broader global apparel market overall through 2028 [11]

87% of the total fibre input used for clothing is ultimately incinerated or landfilled [2]

Only 2% of textile waste is recycled into equivalent quality applications [2]

Extending clothing use by an extra nine months could reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by 20%–30% each [18]

Around 336,000 tonnes of used clothing are discarded in household bins in the UK every year [17]

The UK generated 1.45 million tonnes of used textiles in 2019 [17]

Around 620,000 tonnes of post-consumer textiles were collected separately in the UK in 2019 [17]

Around 880,000 tonnes of textiles ended up in residual waste in the UK in 2019 [17]

Textiles make up around 4% of household residual waste by weight in the UK [17]

Textile reuse and recycling in the EU can reduce emissions by 3 to 4 times compared with incineration [19]

The average European discarded about 11 kg of textiles in 2020 [8]

Less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new textiles [8]

The EU exported 1.4 million tonnes of used textiles in 2022 [20]

EU exports of used textiles increased by 10% between 2000 and 2019 [20]

Africa received 46% of EU used textile exports in 2022 [20]

Asia received 41% of EU used textile exports in 2022 [20]

Producing a pair of jeans requires about 7,500 litres of water [1]

Washing clothes releases around half a million tonnes of microfibres into the ocean every year [2]

Around 20% of global wastewater is generated by textile dyeing and treatment [1]

The fashion industry uses about 93 billion cubic metres of water annually [3]

It takes 2,700 litres of water to make one cotton shirt [3]

35% of all primary microplastic pollution in the oceans comes from laundering synthetic textiles [4]

Clothing and footwear consumption in the EU used nearly 9 cubic metres of water per person in 2020 [4]

The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water per year [6]

20% of industrial water pollution globally comes from textile treatment and dyeing [6]

Textile production uses 215 trillion litres of water per year according to Quantis [6]

The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer industry of water [7]

The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of all wastewater [7]

Half a million tons of microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing clothes [7]

A cotton shirt requires 2,700 litres of water to produce [7]

A pair of jeans requires 7,500 litres of water to produce [7]

Synthetic materials shed about 500,000 tonnes of microfibres into the ocean each year [16]

EU textile consumption caused the third highest pressures on water and land use from a consumption perspective in 2020 [8]

Textile purchases in the EU in 2020 used about 6.9 billion cubic metres of water [8]

Textile purchases in the EU in 2020 used 1.7 million tonnes of chemicals [8]

A typical textile mill can reduce water use by 10% through operational improvements [9]

A typical textile mill can reduce chemical use by 11% through operational improvements [9]

Textile wet processing accounts for approximately 52% of supply chain impacts in apparel [9]

Textile consumption in Europe has the third highest impact on water and land use [10]

Microplastics from synthetic textiles and tyres account for up to 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment [10]

Circular business models could reduce water consumption in the European apparel sector by 21% by 2030 [21]

Organic cotton can reduce blue water consumption by 91% compared with conventional cotton [22]

Some 20% of all industrial water pollution worldwide is attributable to the fashion industry [23]

The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water annually [23]

The fashion industry consumes 79 trillion litres of water per year [24]

Fashion is responsible for 20% of global industrial water pollution [24]