Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
Fast fashion companies can release up to 52 "micro-seasons" of clothing per year
By 2030, global apparel consumption is projected to rise by 63%, from 62 million tons to 102 million tons
It takes about 2,700 liters of water to produce the cotton needed for a single t-shirt
The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, about 4% of all freshwater available in the world
Around 20% of global wastewater is produced by the fashion industry
85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second
The average consumer buys 60% more clothes today than 15 years ago but keeps them for half as long
Polyester, a plastic found in an estimated 60% of garments, takes up to 200 years to decompose
Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year—the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles
Fashion production comprises 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and textile treatment
Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments
Consumer Behavior
- The average consumer buys 60% more clothes today than 15 years ago but keeps them for half as long
- Fast fashion’s business model relies on encouraging high volumes of clothing purchases, often promoting wearing each piece just 7–10 times
- The average number of times a garment is worn before being discarded has decreased by 36% in 15 years
- Nearly 40% of apparel online shoppers in the U.S. purchase monthly or more frequently
- On average, people buy 60% more clothes than they did in 2000, but keep them half as long
- Every year, consumers discard globally over $400 billion worth of clothing they could continue to wear
- Clothing sales doubled from 2000 to 2014, while the average number of times a garment was worn declined by 36%
- 60% of millennials say sustainability is an important factor in their fashion purchases
- Over 65% of clothes in wardrobes are never worn or worn infrequently
Interpretation
In a world where closets overflow and conscience lags behind, fast fashion turns fleeting trends into landfill fodder—proving that while we buy more clothes than ever, we treasure them less than never.
Environmental Impact
- The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
- It takes about 2,700 liters of water to produce the cotton needed for a single t-shirt
- The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, about 4% of all freshwater available in the world
- Around 20% of global wastewater is produced by the fashion industry
- Polyester, a plastic found in an estimated 60% of garments, takes up to 200 years to decompose
- Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year—the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles
- Fashion production comprises 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and textile treatment
- The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water worldwide
- The fashion industry contributes to 35% of microplastics in the ocean
- Approximately 70 million barrels of oil are used each year to make polyester fiber, a key fabric in fast fashion
- Cotton farming is responsible for 24% of global insecticide use and 11% of global pesticide use
- Fashion is accountable for more carbon emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined
- The global textile dyeing industry discharges more than 500,000 tons of dyes into rivers annually
- Over 60% of fabrics used in fast fashion are synthetic, derived from fossil fuels
- Producing one pair of jeans emits as much as 33.4 kg of CO₂
- Dyeing processes in fashion use enough water to fill 2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools annually
- Synthetic garments are responsible for up to 35% of microplastics in the marine environment
- Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined
- Fast fashion consumes about 100 million tons of non-renewable resources annually
- Nearly 20% of global industrial water pollution is from textile dyeing and treatment
- Producing one kilogram of fabric generates 23 kilograms of greenhouse gases
- In Australia alone, 6000 kilograms of clothing is dumped into landfill every 10 minutes
- More than 200,000 tons of dye are lost to effluents every year
- Fashion contributes to 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions
- Garment manufacturing is expected to be responsible for 26% of global carbon emissions by 2050 if trends continue unchecked
Interpretation
Fast fashion may dress us for cheap today, but it’s overdrawing Earth’s water, saturating its air with carbon, and spinning a legacy of plastic and poison that no trendy t-shirt can possibly justify.
Market Trends and Forecasts
- By 2030, global apparel consumption is projected to rise by 63%, from 62 million tons to 102 million tons
- In 2021, the global apparel market was valued at approximately $1.5 trillion
- The global secondhand apparel market is expected to grow to $77 billion by 2025
- The global fast fashion market is expected to grow from $106 billion in 2022 to $185 billion in 2027
- Fast fashion has grown 21% globally over the past three years
Interpretation
As the fast fashion industry sprints toward a $185 billion future fueled by skyrocketing consumption, a growing secondhand market quietly hems the edge of a crisis stitched together by profit, waste, and overconsumption.
Production and Supply Chain
- Fast fashion companies can release up to 52 "micro-seasons" of clothing per year
- Fast fashion workers in Bangladesh typically earn about $96 per month
- Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014
- Fast fashion brands like Zara and H&M can design, produce, and distribute a new garment in as little as two weeks
- China is responsible for producing approximately 50% of global textiles
- Garment workers are paid as little as $3 per day in some fast fashion manufacturing countries
- 93% of brands surveyed by Fashion Revolution are not paying garment workers a living wage
- 98% of workers in the global fashion industry do not receive a living wage
- Only 13% of brands provide information on the environmental impact of their supply chains
- 1 in 6 people in the world work in some part of the fashion industry
- 72% of fast fashion items are made from synthetic fibers
Interpretation
Fast fashion moves faster than ethics can catch up—churning out clothes weekly, underpaying its global workforce, and cloaking environmental damage in trendy fabrics, all while dressing exploitation in the season’s latest colors.
Waste and Recycling
- 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
- The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second
- Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments
- Globally, we produce 92 million tons of textile waste each year
- The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothes each year
- Up to 95% of the clothes thrown away could be recycled or reused
- Around 35 million garments are sent to landfill in the UK each year
- Only 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled
- Approximately 500 billion dollars of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilization and lack of recycling
- The UK sends 300,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill every year
- Africa is a major recipient of secondhand fast fashion waste from Western nations
- 82% of discarded textiles end up in landfills, while only 15% is recycled
- Only 20% of textiles are collected for reuse or recycling globally
- H&M reportedly burned 12 tons of unsold clothing in a single year
- Some 60% of all garments made end up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being produced
- In the EU, over 5 million tons of textile waste are generated annually
- Only 1% of clothing donations to major charities are sold in the shops where they are donated
Interpretation
Fast fashion doesn’t just cost us our wallets—it buries the planet in a mountain of barely-worn clothes, torches billions in value, and turns wardrobes into waste bins at breathless speed, all while recycling less fabric than it takes to stitch a single sleeve.