Key Insights
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
The fashion industry produces about 20% of global wastewater
Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean every year
92 million tonnes of textile waste is created annually worldwide
Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned
Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
Production of clothing doubled between 2000 and 2014
The fashion industry produces more than 100 billion garments every year
Since 2000, the number of garment collections per year in Europe has increased from 2 to 5
Consumers buy 60% more clothing items today than they did in 2000
The average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
In the UK, the average garment is worn only 7 times before being discarded
The fashion industry loses $500 billion annually due to under-utilization of clothing and lack of recycling
93% of brands surveyed by the Fashion Checker aren't paying garment workers a living wage
The global second-hand market is projected to reach $64 billion by 2024
Consumer Behavior & Usage
Consumers buy 60% more clothing items today than they did in 2000
The average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
In the UK, the average garment is worn only 7 times before being discarded
33% of women consider clothes "old" after wearing them fewer than three times
One in three young women in the UK consider clothes "old" after wearing them once or twice
9% of UK customers admit to buying clothes for social media photos and then returning them
The average American throws away 37kg of clothes every year
Consumers in the UK have an estimated $38 billion worth of unworn clothes in their closets
20% of unsold clothes in the US are discarded because consumers return them and they cannot be resold
50% of people say they would buy more sustainable fashion if it were more accessible
40% of consumers admit to impulse buying fashion items they don't need
The average lifespan of a garment in the developed world is just over 2 years
20% of garments in consumers' wardrobes are never worn
Gen Z consumers spend 40% more on fashion than the average consumer
42% of millennials say they have purchased a fashion item they have never worn
Extending the life of a garment by just 9 months reduces its carbon, waste, and water footprint by 20-30%
E-commerce return rates for apparel can be as high as 40%, driving consumption cycles
People bought 5 times more clothing in 2018 than they did in 1980
72% of consumers use online channels to browse for fashion, accelerating impulse purchases
The average household in the UK owns £4,000 worth of clothes
Interpretation
We now buy roughly 60 percent more clothing than in 2000 while wearing garments far less; in the UK the average item is worn only seven times and closets hide billions worth of unworn clothes, a cycle driven by impulse buys, social media photo ops and high return rates that turns fashion into short lived theater with massive environmental costs, even though half of us say we would choose sustainable options if they were easier to find.
Economic & Social Cost
The fashion industry loses $500 billion annually due to under-utilization of clothing and lack of recycling
93% of brands surveyed by the Fashion Checker aren't paying garment workers a living wage
The global second-hand market is projected to reach $64 billion by 2024
The fast fashion market was valued at $106 billion in 2022
Garment workers in Bangladesh earn a minimum wage of approximately $95 per month, covering only a fraction of living costs
Returns cost US retailers $550 billion in 2020, with fashion being a primary driver
Modern slavery affects an estimated 49.6 million people, with the garment industry being a high-risk sector
The cost of a T-shirt would only increase by €0.12 - €0.25 to ensure living wages for workers
40 million people work in the garment industry globally
Women make up 80% of the garment workforce, often facing gender-based violence and lower pay
The cost of disposal of clothing is often borne by municipalities in developing nations, amounting to millions in management fees
Cotton subsidies in rich countries depress world prices, causing losses of $250 million a year for West African producers
For a £29 t-shirt, the garment worker receives on average only £0.18
Big fashion brands often pay suppliers months after delivery, causing economic instability in production countries
80% of garment workers in the EU (Eastern Europe) earn below the poverty line
The illicit trade of counterfeit fashion goods is worth nearly $500 billion a year
Rental fashion was valued at $1.26 billion in 2019, attempting to offset ownership costs
Repairing clothes can be 50% cheaper for the consumer than buying new, yet replacement rates are higher due to convenience
The apparel industry accounts for 2% of the world's GDP
Investing in circular business models could unlock a $700 billion economic opportunity by 2030
Interpretation
The fashion industry is a runaway contradiction: it fuels a $106 billion fast fashion market yet loses $500 billion a year to underused clothing and $550 billion from returns, shifts disposal costs onto cities and small producers, and leaves roughly 40 million mostly female garment workers earning pittance—sometimes only $95 a month or £0.18 from a £29 T-shirt—with 93 percent of brands not paying living wages even though adding just €0.12 to €0.25 per T-shirt would fix that, while the booming second-hand, rental and repair markets could instead unlock a $700 billion circular opportunity.
Environmental Impact
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
The fashion industry produces about 20% of global wastewater
Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean every year
Approximately 35% of all microplastics released into the world's environment are from synthetic textiles
It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally
70 million barrels of oil are used each year to make the world's polyester fiber
The fashion industry contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined
Cotton farming is responsible for 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides globally despite using only 3% of the world's arable land
Carbon emissions from the apparel industry are projected to increase by 50% by 2030
One pair of jeans requires approximately 7,500 liters of water to produce
The apparel industry generates 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually
Synthetic fibers like polyester can take up to 200 years to decompose
Viscose production is linked to the logging of 150 million trees annually
Growing non-organic cotton for one t-shirt uses one third of a pound of chemicals
43 million tonnes of chemicals are used in textile production every year
If the fashion industry continues on its current path, it will use 26% of the world's carbon budget by 2050
Leather tanning utilizes heavy metals like chromium which can contaminate local water supplies
9,000 liters of water are required to grow one kilogram of cotton
The footwear industry alone accounts for 1.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions
Interpretation
The fashion industry is quietly pillaging the planet, generating 10% of global carbon emissions and 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases, guzzling thousands of liters of water per garment, burning 70 million barrels of oil for polyester, dumping 43 million tonnes of chemicals and dye pollution into waterways, and shedding half a million tons of microfibers into the oceans each year, so at this rate fashion will eat up roughly a quarter of the world’s remaining carbon budget by 2050.
Production Volume & Growth
Production of clothing doubled between 2000 and 2014
The fashion industry produces more than 100 billion garments every year
Since 2000, the number of garment collections per year in Europe has increased from 2 to 5
Fast fashion brands like Zara offer 24 new collections per year
Ultra-fast fashion retailer Shein adds up to 10,000 new items to its app daily
Global production of textile fibers increased from 58 million tons in 2000 to 109 million tons in 2020
Polyester production volumes have increased by nearly 900% since 1980
It takes fast fashion brands as little as 15 days to move a design from drawing board to store shelves
The global apparel market is projected to grow from 1.5 trillion USD in 2020 to 2.25 trillion USD in 2025
14 million tons of cotton are produced by China and India combined annually
30% of fashion is produced without ever being sold
Global footwear production reached 24.3 billion pairs in 2019
H&M held $4.3 billion in unsold clothes inventory in 2018
The synthetic fiber market share grew from 20% to 60% over the last 20 years
60% of all garments produced are made of plastic (polyester, acrylic, nylon)
ASOS lists over 85,000 products on their site at any given time
Clothing production per person globally has increased by 60% since 2000
China exports $154 billion worth of textiles annually, making it the largest producer
3,000 billion textile and garment companies entered the market in 2018
The timeframe for fast fashion cycles compressed from 6 months to 2 weeks over the last two decades
Interpretation
The fashion industry now runs like a high-speed copy machine for cheap, plastic garments, churning out ever more polyester-packed collections at breakneck pace and leaving mountains of unsold inventory and environmental damage in its wake.
Textile Waste & Disposal
92 million tonnes of textile waste is created annually worldwide
Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned
Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
85% of all textiles in the US end up in landfills or are burned
The volume of textile waste to landfill in the UK is estimated at 350,000 tonnes a year
11.3 million tons of textile waste ended up in US landfills in 2018
Between 2000 and 2015, clothing utilization decreased by 36% while waste increased
57% of all discarded clothing ends up in landfill
15 million used garments arrive in Accra, Ghana every week for resale or disposal
40% of the used clothing imported into Ghana ends up as waste immediately
In the Atacama Desert in Chile, at least 39,000 tons of unsold clothing have been dumped
Australians dispose of 6,000 kilograms of fashion and textile waste every 10 minutes
The average American generates 82 pounds of textile waste each year
Of the total fiber input used for clothing, 87% is incinerated or landfilled
Textile waste is expected to increase by 60% annually between 2015 and 2030
Only 12% of material used for clothing globally is recycled in some way (mostly downcycled)
France bans the destruction of unsold non-food products (including clothes) worth over €800 million annually
New York City residents throw out 200,000 tons of clothing and textiles annually
30% of clothes produced specifically for the UK market are never sold and go to landfill
The EU exports 1.7 million tonnes of used textiles annually to Africa and Asia
Interpretation
We’re producing 92 million tonnes of textile waste a year—literally a garbage truck of clothes landfilled or burned every second—and with less than one percent of material recycled into new garments while millions of used items are exported, dumped or burned in vulnerable communities and fragile ecosystems, we’ve turned fashion into a fast-food habit for closets that shortens clothing lifespans, poisons places and is on track to grow roughly 60 percent by 2030 unless we change course.
Sources & References
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