Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The global fashion industry produces approximately 100 billion garments per year
Global production of apparel and footwear is projected to possibly growing by 81% to 102 million tons by 2030
Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014
The fashion industry generates about 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually
Used clothing exports from the EU have tripled over the last two decades
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
12% of textile waste is downcycled into lower-value applications like insulation
The lost value of discarded clothing is estimated at over $500 billion annually
The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions
Textile production generates 1.2 billion tonnes of GHG emissions annually, more than international flights and maritime shipping combined
Around 0.5 million tonnes of microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing synthetics
Consumers discard clothing after an average of just 7 wears in some fast fashion demographics
The secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $70 billion by 2027
40% of consumers admit to purchasing an item of clothing and never wearing it
Climate & Resource Impact
- The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions
- Textile production generates 1.2 billion tonnes of GHG emissions annually, more than international flights and maritime shipping combined
- Around 0.5 million tonnes of microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing synthetics
- Growing cotton accounts for 2.5% of the world's arable land but uses 16% of all insecticides
- It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
- The fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater
- 35% of all microplastics released into the world's environment are from synthetic textiles
- One pair of jeans requires approximately 7,500 liters of water to produce
- Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally
- Using recycled polyester reduces carbon emissions by 37% compared to virgin polyester
- 70 million barrels of oil are used each year to make polyester fibers for clothes
- The carbon footprint of a garment made from polyester is nearly double that of cotton
- Extending the life of clothing by just 9 months would reduce carbon, waste, and water footprints by 20-30%
- Viscose production is linked to deforestation; 150 million trees are logged annually for fabric
- Leather production typically requires toxic chemicals like chromium, which impacts local water supplies
- Shoes can take up to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill due to EVA and other components
- The apparel industry's CO2 emissions are expected to increase by 63% by 2030 if no action is taken
- Soil degradation from intensive cashmere goat grazing creates deserts in Mongolia
- Nylon manufacturing creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2
- Up to 3,000 different chemicals are used in textile processing, many hazardous
Interpretation
If fashion were a country it would be a climate and pollution superpower—responsible for nearly a tenth of global emissions, pouring more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than international flights and shipping combined, draining thousands of liters of water to make a single garment, shedding half a million tonnes of microfibers into the ocean every year, felling forests and burning oil to spin fibres, and poisoning waterways with thousands of chemicals, so unless we start mending, recycling and simply wearing what we already own for longer, the industry's glamour will bankrupt the planet.
Material & Recycling Efficiency
- Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
- 12% of textile waste is downcycled into lower-value applications like insulation
- The lost value of discarded clothing is estimated at over $500 billion annually
- Blended fibers (like cotton-polyester) make up a large portion of waste and are difficult to recycle
- Automated sorting technologies for textiles are only just emerging and not yet at scale
- Chemical recycling accounts for less than 1% of the recycling market due to cost and technical barriers
- Only 20% of textiles are collected for reuse or recycling globally
- Fiber-to-fiber recycling could reduce the industry's CO2 emissions by 4 million tons in Europe alone
- Buttons, zippers, and threads often render a garment unrecyclable in current mechanical shredders
- The recycling of cotton degrades fiber quality, necessitating the addition of virgin fibers
- Closed-loop recycling for polyester is currently limited largely to plastic bottles, not textiles
- 73% of the world's clothing eventually ends up in landfills due to lack of recycling infrastructure
- The EU targets that by 2030, all textile products placed on the EU market are durable and recyclable
- Mechanical recycling generates dust and shortens fibers, limiting the number of cycles
- There is currently no large-scale technology to separate elastane from other fibers in recycling
- Investment in recycling technologies needs to increase by billions to meet 2030 circularity goals
- 95% of textiles sent to landfill could have been reused or recycled
- Only 1% of brands disclose data on the amount of pre-consumer waste they recycle
- The cost of recycled polyester is often higher than virgin polyester, deterring adoption
- Traceability of materials for recycling is lacking in 50% of the top fashion brands
Interpretation
Like a couture bonfire burning more than $500 billion a year, the fashion industry buries 73% of its clothes and recycles less than 1% into new garments because blended fibers, trims, degraded cotton, immature sorting and costly chemical recycling, plus scant brand transparency and poor traceability, make circularity technically and economically elusive, meaning only massive investment, smarter design and strict policy can unlock fiber‑to‑fiber recycling that could shave millions of tons of CO2 and meet the EU’s 2030 ambitions.
Production & Market Scale
- The global fashion industry produces approximately 100 billion garments per year
- Global production of apparel and footwear is projected to possibly growing by 81% to 102 million tons by 2030
- Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014
- The fast fashion market size was valued at USD 106.42 billion in 2022
- Synthetic fibers like polyester now make up over 60% of total fiber production globally
- China remains the world's largest producer of textile and apparel products
- The number of times a garment is worn has declined by around 36% in 15 years
- In the last 20 years, the volume of clothes Americans buy has doubled
- The global textile market size was estimated at USD 1695.13 billion in 2022
- Around 5.8 million tons of textiles are produced annually in the European Union
- 60% of all clothing produced is made from plastic (polyester, acrylic, nylon)
- Pre-consumer textile waste creates 10-20% of waste during the manufacturing process
- Production of polyester has grown nine-fold in the last 50 years
- The sports apparel market is expected to reach $247 billion by 2032, increasing material throughput
- 80 billion pieces of new clothing are consumed globally every year
- Overproduction creates an estimated 10% to 20% of excess inventory that is never sold
- The EU textile sector generated a turnover of EUR 147 billion in 2021
- Global fiber production increased to a record 113 million tonnes in 2021
- Footwear production creates 700 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually
- The volume of polyester fiber production is projected to reach 92 million tons by 2030
Interpretation
Fashion is now mass-producing over 100 billion mostly plastic garments a year, turning style into a fast-moving treadmill where clothes are worn less, unsold piles accumulate, and the planet quietly pays the price.
Usage & Consumer Habits
- Consumers discard clothing after an average of just 7 wears in some fast fashion demographics
- The secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $70 billion by 2027
- 40% of consumers admit to purchasing an item of clothing and never wearing it
- One in three young women consider clothes "old" after wearing them once or twice
- The average American family spends $1,700 on clothes annually
- A survey found 20% of clothes in UK wardrobes are unworn
- 59% of consumers say they have thrown away clothes because they were damaged or stained, rather than repairing them
- Generation Z buys 40% more clothing than previous generations
- 88% of consumers want brands to help them be more environmentally friendly
- Returns rates for ecommerce fashion can be as high as 30-40%, leading to waste
- Resale grew 5 times faster than the broader retail clothing sector in 2022
- 1 in 6 young people don't feel they can wear an outfit again once it has been on social media
- 53% of people say they would repair clothes if it was easier or cheaper
- The average UK wardrobe contains 152 items, but 57% are unworn
- Consumers are keeping clothes for half as long as they did 15 years ago
- 75% of consumers view sustainability as extremely or very important
- Renting clothes could reduce water, energy, and carbon usage by approximately 24% compared to buying
- Purchasing one used item replaces the need to manufacture a new one, reducing its carbon footprint by 82%
- 60% of consumers would pay more for products with sustainable packaging
- The value of the global ethical fashion market is expected to grow to nearly $10 billion by 2025
Interpretation
We're treating wardrobes like landfills in waiting, with people buying and barely wearing clothes, often keeping them for half as long as they did 15 years ago, returning or discarding huge amounts instead of repairing, and chasing outfits for a single social media moment even though resale, renting and easier repairs could slash water, energy and carbon use while consumers say they want brands to help them be more sustainable.
Waste Volume & Disposal
- The fashion industry generates about 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually
- Used clothing exports from the EU have tripled over the last two decades
- The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second
- In the United States, 11.3 million tons of textile waste ended up in landfills in 2018
- Only 15% of consumer used clothing is recycled in the USA
- Around 40% of used clothes exported to Kantamanto market in Ghana end up as waste immediately
- The Atacama Desert in Chile receives approximately 39,000 tons of discarded clothing annually
- It takes 200+ years for synthetic textiles to decompose in landfills
- Incineration of clothes releases toxic microfibers and chemicals into the atmosphere
- Every year the average American throws away 81.5 lbs of clothes
- Textiles represent the fourth highest pressure category for the use of primary raw materials
- In Australia, 6,000 kilograms of fashion and textile waste is discarded every 10 minutes
- 87% of the total fiber input used for clothing is eventually landfilled or incinerated
- Approximately 25% of global chemical waste comes from the textile industry
- UK households dispose of 300,000 tonnes of clothing per year
- Luxury brands have destroyed over $500 million worth of unsold goods to protect brand value
- Hong Kong sends approximately 343 tonnes of textiles to landfills daily
- Textile waste in Canadian landfills amounts to around 500 million kilograms per year
- 30% of clothes produced are never sold and are often disposed of
- Burning discarded clothes releases methane if decomposing in anaerobic landfill conditions
Interpretation
We are treating clothing like disposable fast fashion: producing 92 million tonnes of waste a year and sending a garbage truck’s worth to be burned or buried every second, outsourcing the mess from Ghana to the Atacama, letting synthetic fibers and toxic chemicals outlast generations, recycling almost nothing, and even paying luxury brands to torch unsold stock so the planet pays the bill for our wardrobe choices.
References
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