Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The fashion industry produces 92 million tons of textile waste annually
Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
A truckload of textiles is dumped in landfill or incinerated every single second
The fashion industry consumes approximately 93 billion cubic meters of water annually
It takes about 2700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt
Producing a single pair of jeans requires approximately 7500 liters of water
The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions
Fashion’s emissions are more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined
The apparel industry’s global emissions are projected to increase by 50% by 2030
The average consumer buys 60% more clothing items now than 15 years ago
Consumers keep clothing items for about half as long as they did 15 years ago
50% of fast fashion items are discarded within one year of purchase
There are approximately 75 million garment workers worldwide
Less than 2% of garment workers globally earn a living wage
80% of garment workers are women aged 18 to 35
Carbon Footprint & Emissions
- The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions
- Fashion’s emissions are more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined
- The apparel industry’s global emissions are projected to increase by 50% by 2030
- Polyester production for textiles released about 706 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2015
- A polyester shirt has more than double the carbon footprint of a cotton shirt (5.5kg vs 2.1kg CO2)
- 70% of the fashion industry's emissions come from upstream activities like material production
- If the fashion sector continues on its current path it will use 26% of the carbon budget by 2050
- Online shopping returns in the US alone create 15 million metric tons of CO2 annually
- Buying one used item reduces its carbon footprint by 82% compared to buying new
- Air freight of clothing creates 40 to 50 times more CO2 emissions than sea freight
- Leather production has a high carbon potential due to methane from livestock rearing
- The carbon footprint of a pair of running shoes is approximately 13.6 kg CO2e
- Switching to renewable energy in the supply chain could reduce emissions by 37%
- Nylon manufacturing creates nitrous oxide a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2
- Garment care (washing/drying) accounts for roughly 20-25% of a garment's total carbon footprint
- Fast fashion brands emit as much CO2 per year as the entire country of Germany
- Localizing supply chains (nearshoring) can reduce logistics emissions by 20%
- Footwear accounts for 1.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions
- Skipping one in six washing loads saves the emissions equivalent of a 35-mile car drive
- Organic cotton farming produces 46% less CO2e compared to conventional cotton
Interpretation
Put bluntly, fashion is dressing the planet in emissions: it already generates 8 to 10 percent of global CO2, more than all international flights and shipping combined, and if polyester-driven production, nylon that emits potent nitrous oxide, methane from leather, excessive air freight, online returns and constant washing continue unchecked the sector could consume roughly a quarter of our carbon budget by 2050, yet simple moves like buying used, choosing organic cotton, localizing supply chains, switching factories to renewable energy and skipping a few washes would slash emissions dramatically.
Consumer Behavior & Usage
- The average consumer buys 60% more clothing items now than 15 years ago
- Consumers keep clothing items for about half as long as they did 15 years ago
- 50% of fast fashion items are discarded within one year of purchase
- One in three young women in the UK consider clothes 'old' after wearing them once or twice
- 90% of consumers typically wash clothes at temperatures higher than necessary (over 30°C)
- Extending the active life of 50% of UK clothes by 9 months would save 8% carbon 10% water 4% waste
- 60% of consumers say they are interested in sustainable fashion but only 30% buy it
- The average American woman has $550 worth of unworn clothing in her closet
- 88% of consumers want brands to help them be more environmentally friendly
- Women wear a garment just 7 times on average before getting rid of it
- 19% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products
- Over 33% of consumers have repaired damaged clothes to extend their life
- 40% of consumers have reduced clothing consumption for sustainability reasons
- 69% of clothes in wardrobes are not in active use
- Washing clothes at 30°C instead of 40°C saves 40% energy per load
- 57% of consumers would boycott a brand if they found it harmed the environment
- The resale market grew 21 times faster than the retail apparel market over the last three years
- 75% of Millennial consumers are willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings
- Only 15% of consumers recycle their old clothes while the rest throw them in the trash
- 25% of global consumers have purchased second-hand clothing in the past year
Interpretation
We buy 60% more clothes than 15 years ago, wear them for about half as long and often toss them after a single outing while washing everything hotter than necessary, proving that despite widespread concern and clear fixes like wearing garments nine months longer, washing at 30°C, repairing and buying secondhand, our closets are full of unused promises rather than sustainable action.
Production & Labor
- There are approximately 75 million garment workers worldwide
- Less than 2% of garment workers globally earn a living wage
- 80% of garment workers are women aged 18 to 35
- Global clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014
- The fashion industry is the second biggest sector at risk for modern slavery
- Polyester accounts for over 54% of total global fiber production
- Cotton cultivation covers 2.5% of the world's arable land
- 93% of brands surveyed are not paying living wages to any of their suppliers
- Bangladesh’s garment industry accounts for 80% of the country’s manufacturing exports
- Approximately 100 billion items of clothing are produced each year
- 60-70% of cost in a garment is material while labor is often less than 1-3%
- China produces nearly 60% of the world's chemical fibers
- Forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China affects 20% of the world’s cotton supply
- Organic cotton represents less than 1% of total global cotton production
- The number of fashion collections per year has increased from 2 to over 50 for some major chains
- 3500 chemicals are used in textile production processes
- A garment worker in Ethiopia earns a base salary of about $26 a month
- 4% of global apparel is produced in the United States
- Nearly 60% of all clothing produced globally is made from plastic (polyester/nylon/acrylic)
- Over 50% of workers in the fashion supply chain lack a formal contract
Interpretation
Fashion's business model looks like a fast-moving crisis: it churns out roughly 100 billion mostly plastic garments with polyester making up over half of fibers, uses thousands of toxic chemicals and concentrated supply chains linked to forced cotton, cranks out dozens of collections while refusing living wages to nearly all suppliers, and depends on predominantly young, often contractless women earning pennies a month, proving our appetite for cheap newness exacts a catastrophic human and planetary toll.
Waste & Circularity
- The fashion industry produces 92 million tons of textile waste annually
- Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
- A truckload of textiles is dumped in landfill or incinerated every single second
- The average American throws away approximately 81 pounds of clothing each year
- Synthetic fibers like polyester take up to 200 years to decompose in landfills
- 87% of the total fiber input used for clothing is ultimately incinerated or sent to a landfill
- Textile waste is estimated to increase by about 60% between 2015 and 2030
- Europe exports 1.3 million tonnes of used textiles to Africa and Asia annually
- 15% to 20% of fabric used in garment production ends up as scraps on the cutting room floor
- Only 12% of discarded clothing is recycled globally in any form (including lower-value applications)
- In the UK alone 300000 tonnes of clothing end up in household bins every year
- Up to 40% of clothes bought online are returned with many ending up in landfill due to processing costs
- Extending the life of a garment by just 9 months reduces its waste footprint by around 20%
- The secondhand clothing market is projected to be double the size of fast fashion by 2030
- 73% of apparel ends up burned or in landfills at the end of its life
- Ghana’s Kantamanto market receives 15 million garments a week largely waste from the Global North
- 30% of clothes produced are never sold and often destroyed
- Nylon fishing nets recycled into Econyl reduce the global warming impact of nylon by up to 90%
- Circular business models like rental and resale could be worth $700 billion by 2030
- 85% of all textiles thrown away in the US are dumped into landfills or burned
Interpretation
Our fashion habits are turning the planet into a wardrobe-shaped landfill, producing 92 million tons of textile waste a year with less than one percent recycled, a truckload burned or buried every second, synthetic fibers that can linger for centuries, vast consignments of unwanted clothes shipped to Africa and Asia and staggering rates of incineration and landfill disposal, yet extending a garment’s life by just nine months and scaling resale, rental and recycled-fiber solutions could unlock hundreds of billions and begin to stitch this runaway industry back into a circular future.
Water & Chemical Impact
- The fashion industry consumes approximately 93 billion cubic meters of water annually
- It takes about 2700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt
- Producing a single pair of jeans requires approximately 7500 liters of water
- 20% of global industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment
- Textiles are the largest source of primary microplastics accounting for 35% released into oceans
- About 0.5 million tonnes of microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing synthetics
- 43 million tonnes of chemicals are used in textile production every year
- Cotton farming consumes 16% of all insecticides globally
- Traditional wet processing of textiles uses 0.5 kg of chemicals for every 1 kg of fiber
- The Aral Sea has shrunk to 10% of its original size largely due to cotton irrigation
- One load of laundry can release 700000 microplastic fibers into the water supply
- 11 hazardous chemicals found in clothing are restricted by Greenpeace’s Detox campaign
- Chrome tanning of leather results in toxic chromium accumulating in water systems
- Viscose production is linked to carbon disulphide poisoning of water and workers
- Organic cotton uses 91% less water than conventional cotton
- Digital textile printing can reduce water consumption by up to 90% compared to traditional methods
- 8000 synthetic chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles
- Polyester production releases two to three times more carbon than cotton but uses less water
- Dyeing and finishing contribute to 3% of global CO2 emissions and high water toxicity
- Jeans treated with ozone technology reduce water usage in finishing by 50%
Interpretation
The fashion industry is like a glamorous but destructive roommate: it drinks about 93 billion cubic meters of water a year, stains rivers with dyes and chrome, sheds half a million tonnes of microfibers into the oceans and relies on thousands of toxic chemicals and pesticide-heavy cotton, proving that glamour has a toxic price unless brands scale low-water, low-chemical solutions such as organic cotton, digital printing and ozone finishing.
References
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