Fashion Sustainability Statistics

The fashion industry is responsible for between 2% and 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions [1]

In the EU, textile consumption had on average the fourth highest impact on the environment and climate change from a life-cycle perspective [2]

In the EU, textile consumption had on average the fifth highest use of primary raw materials and greenhouse gas emissions [2]

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions [3]

In 2020, textile consumption in the EU caused about 270 kilograms of CO2 emissions per person [4]

In 2015, global textile production emitted 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent [4]

Textile production in 2015 generated more greenhouse gases than all international flights and maritime shipping combined [4]

The fashion industry consumes more energy than the aviation and shipping industry combined [3]

Polyester production emitted 706 billion kg of greenhouse gases in 2015 [3]

The apparel industry emits 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 annually [3]

By 2050, fashion emissions could rise to 26% of the global carbon budget if current trends continue [5]

The fashion industry currently makes up around 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [6]

The fashion industry emitted roughly 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2018 [6]

More than 70% of fashion emissions come from upstream activities such as material production, preparation and processing [6]

Tier 2 suppliers account for 52% of emissions in the fashion value chain [6]

Tier 4 material production accounts for 36% of emissions in the fashion value chain [6]

Consumer use phase accounts for 22% of fashion emissions [6]

The top 20 fashion brands could reduce their emissions by over 1 billion tons cumulatively by 2030 [6]

Polyester has nearly double the carbon footprint of cotton per tonne [6]

For some companies, air freight can account for 5% of total greenhouse gas emissions [6]

Organic cotton farming emits up to 46% less greenhouse gas than conventional cotton farming [7]

Organic cotton farming can use 62% less energy than conventional cotton farming [7]

Fashion accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions [8]

Producing one kilogram of fabric can generate an average of 23 kilograms of greenhouse gases [8]

The global apparel and footwear industry generated 8.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 [9]

The global apparel and footwear industry emitted 3.99 billion tonnes of CO2e in 2019 [9]

Raw material production accounted for 38% of apparel and footwear value chain emissions in 2019 [9]

Tier 2 processing accounted for 36% of apparel and footwear value chain emissions in 2019 [9]

End-of-life accounted for 22% of apparel and footwear value chain emissions in 2019 [9]

Transportation accounted for 3% of apparel and footwear value chain emissions in 2019 [9]

In 2020, EU households spent on average €600 per person on clothing [4]

Between 2000 and 2015, clothing production approximately doubled while the average number of times a garment was worn decreased by 36% [1]

The average UK adult buys 28 new clothing items a year [10]

The average UK adult has 118 items of clothing in their wardrobe [10]

26% of clothing in UK wardrobes has not been worn in the past year [10]

33% of women consider clothes worn once or twice to be old [10]

Discounting can increase fashion emissions by as much as 28% because it drives overproduction [6]

In 2017, the value of apparel and footwear sold worldwide reached €1.3 trillion [4]

Between 1996 and 2018, the amount of clothes bought in the EU per person increased by 40% [4]

The average person buys 60% more clothing items than 15 years ago [11]

Clothes are kept for only about half as long as they were 15 years ago [11]

The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2027 [12]

The secondhand market is projected to nearly double by 2027 [12]

Resale is expected to grow 9 times faster than the broader retail clothing sector by 2027 [12]

Fast fashion is expected to grow 20% by 2027 [12]

62% of Gen Z and Millennials look for secondhand items before buying new items [12]

55% of consumers are concerned about the environmental impact of the apparel industry [13]

67% of consumers consider the use of sustainable materials to be an important purchasing factor [13]

63% of consumers consider a brand’s promotion of sustainability to be an important purchasing factor [13]

58% of consumers consider transparent communication about sourcing to be important [13]

66% of global consumers say they are willing to pay more for sustainable brands [14]

73% of global Millennials say they are willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings [14]

Textile exchanges’ preferred fibers and materials represented 30% of total fiber production in 2022 [15]

Polyester represented 54% of global fiber production in 2022 [16]

Global fiber production reached a record 116 million tonnes in 2022 [16]

Global fiber production is expected to rise to 147 million tonnes in 2030 if business-as-usual continues [16]

Manmade cellulosic fibers represented 6% of global fiber production in 2022 [16]

Cotton represented 20% of global fiber production in 2022 [16]

Fashion Revolution’s 2023 Index found that 52% of major brands disclose their first-tier manufacturers [17]

Only 12% of major brands disclose the number of workers in their supply chain receiving a living wage [17]

Washing clothes releases half a million tonnes of microfibres into the ocean every year [5]

Synthetic textiles account for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment [4]

The fashion industry is thought to be responsible for 20% of global wastewater [1]

The equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles are released into the ocean every year from synthetic textiles [5]

Textile dyeing is the world’s second-largest polluter of water [18]

More than 8,000 chemicals are used in turning raw materials into textiles [4]

About 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing products comes from the fashion industry [8]

500,000 tonnes of plastic microfibres from washing clothes are released into the ocean each year [18]

Around 60% of garments today are made with plastic [1]

Cotton is responsible for 16% of global insecticide releases [19]

Cotton is responsible for 6% of global pesticide use [19]

Virgin fossil-based synthetic fibers still represented 98% of the synthetic fiber market in 2022 [15]

The fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater [8]

Washing synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of the primary microplastics released into the environment [8]

Textile dyeing and treatment use 43 million tonnes of chemicals every year [20]

Leather production, especially tanning, can use more than 2,500 chemicals [20]

Textile dyeing and treatment are responsible for 20% of global industrial water pollution [20]

Approximately 60% of material made into clothing is plastic [1]

Around half a million tonnes of plastic microfibres are shed into the ocean annually during washing [1]

Europeans consume nearly 26 kg of textiles and discard about 11 kg of textiles per person each year [2]

Less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new textiles [11]

The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second [11]

Less than half of used clothes are collected for reuse or recycling when no separate collection system exists [21]

The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by around 36% compared to 15 years ago [5]

Global clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2015 [5]

More than $500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilisation and the lack of recycling [5]

87% of the total fibre input used for clothing is ultimately incinerated or disposed of in landfill [5]

73% of clothing is landfilled or incinerated at end of use [5]

12% of material used for clothing is recycled into lower-value applications such as insulation materials, mattress stuffing and wiping cloths [5]

Around 2% of textile waste is recycled back into fibres for clothing [5]

By 2030, global apparel consumption is projected to rise by 63% from 62 million tonnes to 102 million tonnes [22]

An estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste are created globally each year [1]

Every second, the equivalent of one rubbish truck of textiles is landfilled or burned [1]

In 2020, the EU generated 6.95 million tonnes of textile waste [4]

In 2020, the EU generated 16 kilograms of textile waste per person [4]

Of textiles discarded in Europe, 87% are incinerated or landfilled [4]

Less than 1% of clothing worldwide is recycled into new garments [4]

85% of all textiles go to the dump each year [3]

The average American throws away 81.5 pounds of clothes each year [3]

Twice a week, enough clothing is thrown away in the UK to fill Wembley Stadium [10]

In the UK, £140 million worth of clothing goes to landfill each year [10]

Extending the average life of clothes by just 9 months would reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by around 20-30% each [10]

In the UK, 300,000 tonnes of clothing end up in household bins every year [10]

Recycled polyester accounted for 14.8% of global polyester production in 2022 [15]

Less than 1% of the global fiber market came from pre- and post-consumer recycled textiles in 2022 [16]

The global market share of recycled cotton was about 1% in 2022 [15]

The global market share of recycled wool was 8.1% in 2022 [15]

The global market share of recycled nylon was 2.9% in 2022 [15]

The global market share of recycled cashmere was 7.2% in 2022 [15]

Textile production requires around 215 trillion litres of water per year, equivalent to 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools [2]

Producing a cotton T-shirt requires about 2,700 litres of fresh water [23]

Producing one pair of jeans requires about 7,500 litres of water [24]

In the EU, textile consumption had on average the third highest pressure on water and land use from a life-cycle perspective [2]

The global fashion industry uses 93 billion cubic metres of water annually [1]

In 2020, textile consumption in the EU required on average 9 cubic metres of water per person [4]

In 2020, textile consumption in the EU required 400 square metres of land use per person [4]

In 2020, textile consumption in the EU used 391 kilograms of raw materials per person [4]

Cotton covers 2.4% of the world’s cultivated land [19]

Conventional cotton can require more than 20,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of cotton [19]

Organic cotton farming uses 91% less water than conventional cotton farming [7]

Organic cotton causes 26% less soil erosion than conventional cotton [7]

The global market share of organic cotton was 1.4% in 2022 [15]

The apparel sector is expected to use 35% more land for fibre production by 2030—an extra 115 million hectares that could remain forest [20]

The industry used 79 billion cubic metres of water in 2015 [20]

20,000 litres of water are needed to produce 1kg of cotton [20]

It takes more than 3,000 litres of water to make one cotton shirt [20]

Producing clothes can require 215 trillion litres of water each year [1]

The fashion industry is one of the biggest consumers of water globally [1]

The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water annually [1]