Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The fashion industry is responsible for approximately 20 percent of global wastewater
The textile industry discharges an estimated 79 billion cubic meters of water annually
Textile dyeing and treatment contributes to 17 to 20 percent of total industrial water pollution
Over 3500 chemical substances are used in textile production many of which end up in wastewater
Approximately 10 percent of the chemicals used in the textile industry are considered hazardous to human health
Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) banned in the EU have been detected in wastewater from textile factories in Asia
Textiles are the largest source of primary microplastics accounting for 35 percent of microplastics released into world oceans
Approximately 500000 tons of plastic microfibers are released into the ocean annually from washing textiles
A single wash load of polyester clothes can discharge 700000 microplastic fibers
About 200000 tons of dyes are lost to effluents every year during textile colorization
The efficiency of dye fixation on cotton is only about 70 percent meaning 30 percent washes away as waste
Reactive dyes used for cellulose fibers hydrolyze in water increasing the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of effluent
In Bangladesh the textile industry consumes as much groundwater as the entire population of Dhaka
70 percent of rivers and lakes in China are contaminated largely due to the textile industry
The Citarum River in Indonesia is considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world due to 400 textile factories lining its banks
Chemical Contamination
- Over 3500 chemical substances are used in textile production many of which end up in wastewater
- Approximately 10 percent of the chemicals used in the textile industry are considered hazardous to human health
- Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) banned in the EU have been detected in wastewater from textile factories in Asia
- Textile wastewater contains high concentrations of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) used for water repellency
- Heavy metals like lead mercury and arsenic are frequently detected in wastewater from textile dyeing units
- Alkylphenols usually used as surfactants linger in aquatic environments for decades after discharge
- Phthalates used in printing inks and artificial leather are significant endocrine disruptors found in fashion effluents
- Roughly 25 percent of the worlds pesticides are used for growing non-organic cotton leading to groundwater runoff pollution
- The solvent carbon disulphide used in viscose production is highly toxic and often contaminates local water supplies
- Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) used in leather and textiles have been found in remote waterways due to industrial runoff
- A single textile mill can release up to 100 kg of chemical dyes into water systems per year if untreated
- Antimony a toxic metalloid is washed out of polyester fibers during wet processing
- Formaldehyde is used in wrinkle-free finishes and is a known carcinogen often released in wastewater
- The biological oxygen demand (BOD) in untreated textile wastewater is often 10 to 20 times higher than aquatic life can support
- Brominated flame retardants used in textiles persist in water and bioaccumulate in marine wildlife
- Chromium VI widely used in leather tanning is a potent carcinogen found in tannery wastewater
- Potassium permanganate used for denim distressing results in manganese contamination in water effluent
- Organotin compounds used as biocides in textiles are toxic to aquatic life at extremely low concentrations
- Chlorine bleaching processes result in the formation of dioxins which are highly toxic persistent organic pollutants
- Azo dyes can break down into carcinogenic aromatic amines in wastewater environments
Interpretation
We buy fashion for its sparkle while rivers pick up the tab, as textile production washes thousands of chemicals, from PFAS and heavy metals to banned surfactants, carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, into waterways, poisoning ecosystems and communities and leaving a toxic legacy no trend can disguise.
Dyeing & Finishing
- About 200000 tons of dyes are lost to effluents every year during textile colorization
- The efficiency of dye fixation on cotton is only about 70 percent meaning 30 percent washes away as waste
- Reactive dyes used for cellulose fibers hydrolyze in water increasing the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of effluent
- Dye carriers required for polyester dyeing often contain chlorinated benzenes which are toxic to aquatic life
- Finishing agents for water and stain resistance account for 20 percent of pollution load in finishing wastewater
- Salt concentrations in dyeing wastewater can reach 80000 ppm making it difficult to treat biologically
- Denim finishing uses up to 150 liters of water per jean largely for washing down dyes
- Sulphur dyes used for dark colors usually result in high sulfide content in wastewater which is corrosive to sewer pipes
- Digital textile printing can reduce water usage by 60 percent compared to rotary screen printing but still produces ink waste
- Cold pad batch dyeing utilizes less water but uses high concentrations of silicate which alkalizes wastewater
- Roughly 60 to 70 percent of dyes are azo dyes which require anaerobic treatment to break down efficiently
- Mercerization of cotton uses sodium hydroxide generating highly alkaline wastewater with pH over 11
- Scouring wool produces effluent with high Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) due to natural grease and suspended solids
- Desizing separates starch from fabrics contributing up to 50 percent of the total BOD load in textile wastewater
- Pigment printing requires no washing off but uses binders that contribute to microplastic pollution in wash water
- Foam dyeing technology can reduce water consumption in dyeing by up to 50 percent reducing effluent volume
- The color of dyeing effluent blocks sunlight penetration in water bodies halting photosynthesis for aquatic plants
- Using supercritical carbon dioxide for dyeing polyester eliminates water use entirely but is not yet widely scaled
- Stone washing denim creates sludge waste that accounts for 15 percent of total fabric weight processed
- Optical brighteners in finishing effluents are resistant to biodegradation and stick to fish gills
Interpretation
Fashion's color obsession is literally dyeing our waterways: roughly 200,000 tons of dyes and a toxic cocktail of salts, chlorinated carriers, sulfides, alkalinity, high BOD, persistent brighteners and microplastic binders are flushed out each year because fixation is only about 70 percent and processes that use huge amounts of water such as denim finishing and desizing keep washing pollution downstream, while promising fixes like digital printing, foam dyeing and supercritical CO2 remain too niche to stop the tide.
Global Wastewater Volume
- The fashion industry is responsible for approximately 20 percent of global wastewater
- The textile industry discharges an estimated 79 billion cubic meters of water annually
- Textile dyeing and treatment contributes to 17 to 20 percent of total industrial water pollution
- Approximately 200 tons of water are used to produce just one ton of dyed fabric
- The global volume of water used in fashion production is projected to increase by 50 percent by 2030
- Roughly 85 percent of the water used in textile processing ends up as wastewater
- The apparel industry generates more wastewater than the entire construction industry
- Global textile production has doubled over the last 15 years causing a parallel surge in wastewater volume
- Industrial wastewater from textiles often has a chemical oxygen demand (COD) 5 times higher than legal limits in developing nations
- Water consumption in fashion is expected to reach 118 billion cubic meters by 2030
- The volume of wastewater generated by one average sized textile mill is approximately 1.6 million liters per day
- Textile mills are responsible for 8 percent of the total industrial wastewater discharge in China
- Less than 50 percent of the water used in the textile industry is recycled or treated before discharge globally
- The wet processing stage of textile production requires up to 100 liters of water per 1kg of textile product
- The textile industry is the third largest consumer of water in the world
- Without intervention the fresh water consumption of fashion will outstrip supply by 40 percent by 2030
- Effluent from textile plants can increase the temperature of receiving water bodies by 5 to 10 degrees Celsius disrupting ecosystems
- The accumulated wastewater from the fashion industry could fill the Mediterranean Sea every two years
- Current water treatment technologies in fashion only recover about 60 percent of water for reuse
- The footprint of water consumed for clothing uses nearly 93 billion cubic meters annually mainly for washing and dyeing
Interpretation
If fashion were a country it would guzzle nearly 93 billion cubic meters of water a year and drown coastlines in wastewater equal to filling the Mediterranean every two years, contributing roughly 20 percent of global wastewater, often exceeding legal pollution limits and heating rivers, recycling less than half of what it uses, and barreling toward a 2030 scenario where demand could outstrip supply by 40 percent unless it cleans up its act.
Microplastic Pollution
- Textiles are the largest source of primary microplastics accounting for 35 percent of microplastics released into world oceans
- Approximately 500000 tons of plastic microfibers are released into the ocean annually from washing textiles
- A single wash load of polyester clothes can discharge 700000 microplastic fibers
- Synthetic fibers represent about 14 percent of global plastic production but a much higher percentage of ocean microplastic
- Microfibers from textiles have been found in the stomachs of plankton and small fish entering the food chain
- Up to 40 percent of microfibers pass through wastewater treatment plants and enter waterways directly
- The Arctic Ocean contains high concentrations of polyester fibers carried there by ocean currents
- Fleece fabrics shed approximately 85 percent more microfibers than other polyester knits during washing
- Wastewater treatment plants release an estimated 13 billion microfibers per day in the UK alone
- Synthetic textiles contribute more microplastic accumulation in deep sea sediments than floating plastics
- Nylon fibers which are denser than water sink and pollute sediment environments in freshwater systems
- It is estimated that 22 million tons of microfibers will enter the ocean between 2015 and 2050
- Washing synthetic textiles releases microfibers that attract persistent organic pollutants in wastewater making them more toxic
- Acrylic fabrics release roughly 730000 fibers per wash cycle significantly more than polyester-cotton blends
- Over 80 percent of tap water samples worldwide contain microplastic fibers mostly originating from textiles
- Standard wastewater treatment captures large solids but fails to remove 98 percent of fibers smaller than 5 micrometers
- Recycled polyester (rPET) still sheds microfibers shedding at similar rates to virgin polyester
- The shedding of microfibers increases by 300 percent for older garments compared to new ones
- 2.2 million tons of microplastics are added to the environment annually from the tire and textile sectors combined
- Industrial laundering of workwear contributes disproportionately to microfiber release due to high mechanical action
Interpretation
The fashion industry may dress us in trends, but it quietly launders roughly 500,000 tons of plastic microfibers into the oceans each year, with a single wash releasing hundreds of thousands of fibers, wastewater plants passing along up to 40 percent, recycled and older garments shedding just as badly, and those invisible threads carrying toxic pollutants, sinking into sediments and turning up from tap water to the Arctic, which proves that our wardrobe’s convenience has become a persistent planetary pollution crisis.
Regional Impact & Scarcity
- In Bangladesh the textile industry consumes as much groundwater as the entire population of Dhaka
- 70 percent of rivers and lakes in China are contaminated largely due to the textile industry
- The Citarum River in Indonesia is considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world due to 400 textile factories lining its banks
- In Tirupur India textile units were ordered to close in 2011 for discharging untreated brine into the Noyyal River
- 22000 liters of toxic waste is dumped into the Citarum river every day by the fashion industry
- Ground water levels in textile hubs like Dhaka are dropping by 2 to 3 meters per year due to industrial extraction
- Farmers in the Faisalabad region of Pakistan use untreated textile wastewater for irrigation impacting crop safety
- Textile pollution in the Ganges River contributes to high rates of cancer in villages downstream of Kanpur tanneries
- In Cambodia the fashion industry accounts for 88 percent of industrial water use placing stress on the Mekong Delta
- Vietnam’s textile sector discharges 3 million cubic meters of wastewater daily often into the Red River Delta
- The Aral Sea shrunk to 10 percent of its original size largely due to cotton irrigation for the fashion industry
- In Turkey the Ergene River has turned pitch black due to discharge from the Tekirdag textile industrial zone
- Textile Wastewater in regions of India has increased soil salinity rending thousands of hectares of farmland infertile
- 90 percent of local groundwater in certain industrial zones of Bangladesh is unsuitable for drinking due to textile contaminants
- The demand for water by the textile industry in Ethiopia is predicted to triple creating conflict with local agriculture
- In Mexico the Atoyac River is heavily polluted by denim factories with water containing high levels of indigo and bleach
- 60 percent of the population in textile producing regions of Punjab rely on brackish groundwater due to industrial overuse
- Sri Lanka's textile processing zones generate 45 percent of the country's total industrial effluent load
- The dyeing industry in Rajasthan India consumes 30 million liters of water daily in a desert state
- Pollution from textile mills in Lesotho creates "blue rivers" that compromise the water security of downstream communities
Interpretation
From Dhaka's vanishing aquifers to rivers running indigo, pitch black and poisonous, the global fashion industry is not just making clothes but voraciously draining and contaminating water supplies, leaving farmers, fishers and city-dwellers to shoulder the toxic bill.
References
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