Fashion Industry Waste Statistics

Fashion and textile industry waste represents the second-largest contributor to municipal waste in the EU at about 5% of all municipal waste [1]

The EU produces about 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste each year [1]

In the EU, 1.5% of textiles are collected separately for reuse/recycling [1]

In the EU, around 65% of textile waste ends up in landfills or incineration [1]

By 2030, the EU aims to reduce textile waste in landfills/incineration (target described in EU strategy) [2]

In the EU, only about 30% of textile waste is collected separately for recycling/reuse (vs 70% not) [1]

In the US, consumers discarded 12.9 million tons of textiles in 2018 (EPA) [3]

In the US, 8.8 million tons of textiles were landfilled in 2018 (EPA) [3]

In the US, 3.9 million tons of textiles were combusted in 2018 (EPA) [3]

Globally, clothing and footwear bought each year by the average EU consumer is about 26 kg (EEA contextual data) [1]

The average person in the EU purchased about 26 kg of textiles in 2017 [1]

EU textiles consumption is about 11.3 kg per person per year (EEA) [1]

EU textiles use per person is about 15.5 kg per person in 2015 (EEA, contextual) [1]

The average European discards about 11 kg of textiles per person per year (EEA) [1]

EU municipal waste includes textiles representing 4% to 5% of total (EEA) [1]

Americans buy about 14 items of clothing per year per person (EPA/NRDC synthesis may vary) [4]

In 2017, the global textile and apparel market generated 2.5 trillion USD and overproduction contributes to waste (UNEP notes) [4]

The EU produces about 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste per year; of that, most is landfilled/incinerated [1]

China is the largest textile producer and consumes a significant share; China's textile production share of global fibres is around 50% (context in UNEP/EEA) [4]

India is a major textile producer; India accounts for about 6% of global textile fibre production (UNEP contextual) [4]

In the EU, textile and clothing imports create significant waste risk; EU import share is larger than domestic consumption (EEA indicates) [1]

In 2018, the US generated 17.3 million tons of textile waste (EPA) [3]

The EU textile waste per capita is 5.8 million tonnes / 446 million population ≈ 13 kg per person (EEA/EU context) [1]

About 2.1 million tonnes of textile waste are generated in the UK annually (WRAP estimate) [5]

UK textile waste to landfill is about 350,000 tonnes per year (WRAP) [5]

Textile waste in the UK: 3.6% of municipal waste by weight (WRAP) [5]

By 2030, the EU landfill ban for textiles is not fully implemented, but targets include diverting textiles from landfill (EU strategy) [2]

Each year, 35% of the US textile waste that is landfilled could be reused/recycled (estimate in EPA/NRDC) [3]

Fast fashion contributes to overconsumption and increases textile waste; global average clothing utilization period is estimated at 2 years (UNEP contextual) [4]

In the EU, textiles used are expected to last fewer years due to trends; EEA notes decline in lifetime (context) [1]

Global textile waste disposed in landfills is estimated at 57% (UNEP) [4]

Global textile waste is incinerated at about 19% (UNEP) [4]

About 1.3 million tonnes of textile waste are generated in Germany annually (context from EEA/UMWELT data cited) [6]

France textiles consumption leads to about 600,000 tonnes textile waste landfilled per year (ADEME) [7]

Italy textile waste is substantial at several hundred thousand tonnes annually (ISPRA/EEA) [8]

Spain generates about 800,000 tonnes of textile waste per year (EEA/Spanish estimates) [1]

Sweden textiles waste per year is about 140,000 tonnes (EEA context) [1]

Norway discards about 100,000 tonnes of textiles per year (EEA context) [1]

In the Netherlands, textile waste is about 230,000 tonnes per year (EEA context) [1]

In Denmark, textile waste is about 80,000 tonnes per year (EEA context) [1]

In Finland, textile waste is about 70,000 tonnes per year (EEA context) [1]

In Austria, textile waste is about 110,000 tonnes per year (EEA context) [1]

In Poland, textile waste is about 300,000 tonnes per year (EEA context) [1]

In Turkey, textile waste is significant; textile sector waste is rising (EEA) [1]

In India, textile and clothing industry generated about 2.5 million tonnes of waste (context) [4]

In the US, EPA estimates textiles contribute about 5.0 million tons to municipal solid waste (context from EPA) [9]

In the US, textiles are about 5.1% of municipal solid waste by weight (EPA) [10]

In the EU, textile waste includes clothing and home textiles; 5.8 million tonnes includes both [1]

In Europe, textile waste is projected to grow to 12 million tonnes by 2030 without action (EEA projection) [1]

Without policy intervention, textile waste could reach 13 million tonnes by 2030 (projection) [1]

The EU strategy estimates that the use of textiles will increase due to population and income growth, contributing to waste volumes (EU strategy) [2]

The average lifetime of clothing is decreasing; a UN report cites clothes are worn for about half as long as in 2000 (context) [4]

In the EU, 44% of textile waste is landfilled in partner reports (EEA provides shares) [1]

In the EU, 37% goes to incineration (EEA provides shares) [1]

The EU waste regulation targets reducing textile waste by improving design and extended producer responsibility (EU) [2]

The EU circular textiles strategy includes “extended producer responsibility” to finance collection and treatment of textile waste (strategy) [2]

Fashion supply chain includes significant cutting waste; “fabric waste” during cutting is commonly 10%–20% in apparel production (industry) [11]

Apparel manufacturing often generates large amounts of “pre-consumer” textile scraps that end up as waste or low-grade reuse (context) [1]

92 million tonnes of textile waste are generated globally each year [4]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates fashion could contribute 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 if no action is taken [12]

The textile value chain produces 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions [4]

Polyester production is energy intensive; the textile sector emits 1.2 billion tonnes CO2e annually from production (UNEP mentions) [4]

The textile sector contributes about 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2e annually (global estimate) [4]

Approximately 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2e are emitted from textile production annually (UNEP) [4]

Textile emissions account for about 2.1 billion tonnes CO2e when including use and end-of-life (UNEP extended estimate) [4]

The textile industry is responsible for around 10% of global carbon emissions from manufacturing (sometimes cited; verify in UNEP) [4]

500,000 tonnes of microfibres are released into the ocean each year from textile washing [1]

The textile sector releases around 500,000 tonnes of microfibres into the ocean annually [1]

Polyester fibres are a major source of microfibre pollution; synthetic textiles account for a large share of fibre shed [1]

Polyester shedding occurs most during machine washing; a typical wash can release thousands of microfibres (research synthesis) [13]

A study estimates that washing synthetic garments can release 700,000 microfibres per garment per wash (synthetic material shedding) [14]

Polyester garments are more persistent and shed microfibres; the share of polyester in textile fibre production is 55% (UNEP notes) [4]

Cotton accounts for about 24% of textile fibre production globally (UNEP notes) [4]

Viscose/rayon is about 6% to 7% (UNEP notes) [4]

Microfibres from synthetic textiles are estimated to account for a large share of fiber litter in marine environments (EEA) [1]

Microplastics are expected to reach 250 million tonnes in the environment by 2030 (ocean plastics forecast used by EEA; includes fibres) [15]

Global ocean plastic is expected to reach 250 million tonnes by 2030 (including microplastics) [16]

Polyesters shed microfibres; a study found average release of ~736,000 fibres per wash for fleece (Nature/Scientific Reports) [14]

A study found that a typical full load of synthetic laundry releases more than 1,000,000 microfibres in washing water (review) [17]

In a laboratory study, microfibre counts increased with synthetic fibre blend percentages (research) [18]

Microplastics from textiles contribute to marine contamination; a study estimates 35% of microplastics found in oceans come from land-based sources including textiles (review) [19]

Around 35% of microplastics in the ocean are estimated to come from textile fibres and other sources (research synthesis) [20]

Less than 1% of all textiles are recycled into new textile fibres globally [4]

In the EU, around 25% of textile waste is recycled or reused [1]

In the EU, around 10% of textile waste is exported [1]

The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles targets a 2030 recycling target: at least 50% of textiles collected for reuse/recycling [2]

By 2030, at least 70% of textile waste collected separately should be prepared for reuse and high-quality recycling [2]

EU textiles strategy includes a target to ensure textiles on the EU market are durable, repairable, recyclable and contain recycled fibres [2]

In the US, 4.1 million tons of textiles were recycled in 2018 (EPA) [3]

In the US, textiles that could be collected/reused represent a small share of total textiles generated (EPA notes high discard rates) [3]

The global share of synthetic fibres in total textile fibre production is about 62% [4]

Natural fibres still dominate in some categories, but polyester dominates production; UNEP notes synthetic 62% [4]

In the US, textile recycling rate was about 14% in 2018 (EPA) [3]

In the US, about 12% of textiles are recovered for recycling/composting/other uses (EPA notes) [3]

UK textile waste collection for reuse/recycling is about 30% (WRAP) [5]

In the UK, textile recycling rate is about 25% (WRAP facts) [5]

In the EU, “reuse and repair” is a minor share; only about 1% of collected textiles are prepared for reuse (EEA) [1]

In the EU, most collected textiles are recycled into lower-grade materials (EEA) [1]

Mechanical recycling yields lower-quality fibres, limiting circularity; only about 10% can be recycled into similar-quality fibres (UNEP) [4]

Chemical recycling potential is growing but not widely deployed; current recycling into new fibres is under 1% (UNEP) [4]

Global textile waste is exported for reuse/recycling at about 14% (UNEP) [4]

Global textile waste is recycled at about 10% (UNEP) [4]

Germany has a separate textile collection scheme; reuse/recycling volumes are several hundred thousand tonnes (German Umweltbundesamt) [6]

In 2018, the US textile material flow: 14.3 million tons were discarded and 2.9 million tons were recovered (EPA) [3]

Global reuse/refurbishment is limited; only about 1% of textiles are recycled into new fibres (UNEP) [4]

20% of global wastewater comes from industrial and municipal sources of which textile industry is a major contributor (UNEP notes textiles are among the key sources) [4]

The textile sector uses about 79 trillion cubic meters of water each year globally for the production of textiles [4]

The textile sector contributes to 3.8 billion cubic meters of freshwater consumption annually in the EU context (order-of-magnitude noted in EEA) [1]

Textile production uses around 930 billion cubic meters of water annually (global estimate) [4]

The UN estimates that the global textile industry uses about 1.2 billion cubic meters of water per year (textiles lifecycle) [21]

In Bangladesh, textile effluent is a major pollution source; textile is among top sectors contaminating rivers (UNEP) [4]

Textile dyeing and finishing accounts for about 20% of industrial water pollution worldwide (UNEP) [4]

Textile dyeing/finishing contributes 17% to 20% of global industrial water pollution (UNEP) [4]

Wastewater treatment plants capture some fibres but not all; EEA notes a significant portion escapes into rivers/coasts (EEA) [1]

Dye wastewater is often discharged without adequate treatment; UNEP highlights large-scale untreated effluent causing high pollution loads (UNEP) [4]

Textile effluent can contain high levels of salts, dyes, surfactants and hazardous chemicals (UNEP) [4]

Textile wet processing accounts for about 20% of industrial water pollution (UNEP) [4]