Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
1 in 3 young women, the biggest segment of consumers, consider garments worn once or twice to be old
The average person bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000, but kept each garment for half as long
The fast fashion market is expected to reach $133 billion by 2026
85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
Consumers discard an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste each year
Clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000
The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothing annually
62% of Gen Z prefers to buy from sustainable brands but only 13% actually do
1 in 2 people throw unwanted clothes straight in the trash
It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
20% of global wastewater comes from fabric dyeing and treatment
Only 1% of recycled textiles are used to make new garments
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
Consumer Behavior
- 1 in 3 young women, the biggest segment of consumers, consider garments worn once or twice to be old
- The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothing annually
- 62% of Gen Z prefers to buy from sustainable brands but only 13% actually do
- 1 in 2 people throw unwanted clothes straight in the trash
- 30% of clothes in European wardrobes haven’t been worn in over a year
- 69% of fast fashion consumers said they shop for clothes at least twice a month
- The average UK shopper spends £1,000 on clothing each year
- Millennials are twice as likely to purchase fast fashion compared to Gen X
- 31% of shoppers buy clothing to post on social media and never wear again
- Returns for online fashion purchases can be as high as 40%
- Black Friday sales peak fast fashion transactions by over 60%
- Over half of fast fashion customers dispose of garments within a year
- 40% of clothing purchased in fast fashion hauls are never worn
- Influencers drive 49% of Gen Z fast fashion purchases
- TikTok has over 10 billion views on #haul videos
- 88% of shoppers believe sustainability is important, but only 15% make sustainable choices often
- 70% of fast fashion consumers say affordability is their top priority
- People today keep clothes half as long as they did 15 years ago
- 64% of shoppers feel guilty after purchasing fast fashion
- 87% of shoppers want brands to be more transparent
- 41% of shoppers say fast fashion makes it easier to keep up with trends
- The majority of fashion consumers are unaware of the impact of their purchases
- 72% of consumers believe fast fashion harms the environment
- 58% of UK consumers plan to reduce their fast fashion purchases
- 65% of Gen Z prefer thrift shopping over fast fashion when affordable
- 60% of fashion shoppers believe social media overrepresents fashion needs
Interpretation
Fast fashion consumers preach sustainability, pose in barely-worn outfits for likes, and toss guilt (and garments) in the trash—proving that when it comes to clothes, conscience is out of style.
Environmental Impact
- 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
- Consumers discard an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste each year
- It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
- 20% of global wastewater comes from fabric dyeing and treatment
- Only 1% of recycled textiles are used to make new garments
- The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
- Polyester, a key fast fashion fabric, takes 200+ years to decompose
- Each year, 500,000 tons of microfibers end up in oceans from washing clothes
- 84% of clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators
- Only 15% of consumer-used textiles are recycled
- Fashion accounts for 35% of microplastics in the ocean
- 93 billion cubic meters of water are used annually by the fashion industry
- Textile production contributes more to climate change than international flights and maritime shipping combined
- A Levi’s 501 jean emits 33.4kg of CO2e during its lifecycle
- 59% of fashion companies have published targets for emissions reductions
- 45% of returned fast fashion items are not resold but end up in landfills
- Fast fashion contributes approximately 20% of all industrial water pollution
- A pair of jeans requires 7,500 liters of water to produce
- 79% of discarded clothing ends up in landfills globally
- Plastic packaging from fast fashion contributes 26% of total plastic waste in retail
- One garbage truck worth of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every second globally
- The fashion industry consumes more energy than the aviation and shipping industries combined
- An estimated 60% of fast fashion materials are plastic-based, such as polyester and nylon
- Fast fashion is responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions
- 70 million barrels of oil are used each year to produce polyester fibers for fast fashion
Interpretation
Fast fashion may dress us cheaply in the short term, but with oceans full of microplastics, landfills overflowing with last season’s trends, and more carbon than jet fuel, it’s costing the planet a runway-sized fortune we can’t afford.
Fashion Production and Consumption
- The average person bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000, but kept each garment for half as long
- Clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000
- Fast fashion brands produce new collections every 2 weeks on average
- Zara produces about 450 million items annually
- The average consumer wears a garment only 7 to 10 times before discarding
- Primark sold 1 billion units of clothing in 2022
- 90% of fast fashion workers are not paid a living wage
- The average item of clothing is worn approximately 14 times
- Average cost per wear for a fast fashion item is less than $1
- ASOS lists over 85,000 products at a time, with thousands added weekly
- Asia accounts for 80% of global textile production
- 90% of cotton grown globally is genetically modified, primarily for fast fashion brands
- Only 2% of the price of a fast fashion garment goes to the worker who made it
- Brands launch on average 24 collections per year compared to 2–4 decades ago
- Consumers’ clothing purchases have increased by 400% in the last two decades
- Even sustainable fashion brands release an average of 10 collections per year
- Clothing sales doubled from 2000 to 2015, but average garments worn dropped by 36%
- “Greenwashing” affects 42% of fast fashion brands making sustainability claims
- Shein adds 6,000+ new items to its website every day
- 85% of fast fashion garments are designed for fewer than 10 wears
Interpretation
In the breakneck world of fast fashion—where consumers shop like billionaires, wear like minimalists, and discard like amnesiacs—clothing has become so cheap, so prolific, and so fleeting that we've traded quality, ethics, and sustainability for a closet full of landfill.
Market Growth and Economics
- The fast fashion market is expected to reach $133 billion by 2026
- One in eight people globally is employed in the fashion industry
- The US fashion e-commerce market is expected to reach $100 billion by 2025
- Online fast fashion orders grew 38% during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
- Shein was valued at $100 billion in 2022, more than H&M and Zara combined
- The U.S. exports over 1 billion pounds of used clothing annually
- The resale market is expected to be twice the size of fast fashion by 2030
Interpretation
Fast fashion may be speeding toward $133 billion by 2026, but with a trail of used clothes shipped overseas, a booming resale market hot on its heels, and one in eight people stitching the seams, it’s clear the industry’s glittering growth masks a complex, global tug-of-war between profit, people, and planet.