Key Insights
93% of brands surveyed by Fashion Checker were not paying garment workers a living wage
The minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh is approximately $75 per month while a living wage is estimated to be $480
Garment workers in Ethiopia are among the lowest paid in the world earning as little as $26 a month
The fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater
Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity's carbon emissions
85% of all textiles go to the dump each year rather than being recycled
The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 killed 1134 garment workers
Over 2500 workers were injured in the Rana Plaza collapse
50% of garment workers suffer from musculoskeletal disorders due to repetitive motions
100 billion items of clothing are produced each year
Consumers buy 60% more clothing items today than they did in the year 2000
The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
80% of the world's 75 million garment workers are women aged 18-35
170 million children are engaged in child labor with many in the textile and garment supply chain
1 in 3 female garment workers in Vietnam has reported sexual harassment in the workplace
Environmental Impact
The fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater
Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity's carbon emissions
85% of all textiles go to the dump each year rather than being recycled
Washing clothes releases 500000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year
It takes about 2700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
The apparel industry dumps over 92 million tonnes of waste annually
Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally
A single pair of jeans requires 7500 liters of water to produce
Every second the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned
35% of all microplastics in the ocean come from the laundering of synthetic textiles
The fashion industry consumes 79 trillion liters of water annually
Polyester production releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton
60% of materials used by the fashion industry are plastic-based like polyester
Buying just one white cotton shirt produces the same amount of emissions as driving 35 miles
Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
Cotton farming is responsible for 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides globally
The Citarum River in Indonesia is considered the most polluted river in the world largely due to 400 textile factories
Fast fashion emissions are projected to grow by 50% by 2030
70 million barrels of oil constitute the polyester used in fabrics each year
Viscose production is linked to the deforestation of 150 million trees annually
Interpretation
Fast fashion sells you a bargain while charging the planet the rest of the bill: one cotton shirt can swallow thousands of liters of water and a pair of jeans even more, mills spew half a million tons of microfibers and toxic dyes into waterways, 85% of textiles end up in dumps, the industry is responsible for roughly 10% of global carbon emissions and leans on oil-hungry polyester and deforestation, so our cheap impulse purchases are really long-term environmental debt.
Health & Safety
The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 killed 1134 garment workers
Over 2500 workers were injured in the Rana Plaza collapse
50% of garment workers suffer from musculoskeletal disorders due to repetitive motions
In Dhaka 60% of garment factory buildings were found to be vulnerable to collapse
Garment workers are often forced to work 14 to 16 hours a day 7 days a week
Since 1990 more than 400 workers have died in garment factory fires in Pakistan alone
90% of workers in the leather tanning industry in Bangladesh die before age 50 due to toxic chemicals
Workers sandblasting denim for the distressed look contract silicosis a fatal lung disease
In 2012 the Ali Enterprises fire in Pakistan killed 254 garment workers due to barred windows and locked exits
80% of garment workers report not having access to potable water at work
25% of garment workers in Bangalore reported being refused toilet breaks
The Tazreen Fashions fire in 2012 killed 112 workers because fire escapes were lacking
Regular exposure to formaldehyde in textile factories increases cancer risk by 30%
40% of workers in Cambodian manufacturing faint at work due to malnutrition and heat
During the pandemic factory outbreaks were common with a 20% infection rate in some Sri Lankan factories
Hearing loss is reported by 25% of textile workers due to unmitigated machinery noise
Byssinosis or brown lung disease affects thousands of cotton mill workers globally
Garment workers who become pregnant are often fired or reassigned to dangerous tasks to force resignation
In the Tirupur garment hub suicide rates among young female workers are higher than the national average
60% of factories inspected in Bangladesh lacked adequate fire fighting equipment
Interpretation
These staggering statistics show that the bargain‑basement prices of fast fashion are literally bought with human lives and health, from Rana Plaza and deadly factory fires to toxic chemicals, forced 14 to 16 hour shifts, barred exits, malnutrition fainting, denied toilet breaks and the routine stripping away of workers’ basic rights.
Labor Rights & Wages
93% of brands surveyed by Fashion Checker were not paying garment workers a living wage
The minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh is approximately $75 per month while a living wage is estimated to be $480
Garment workers in Ethiopia are among the lowest paid in the world earning as little as $26 a month
Between 2020 and 2021 garment workers globally lost $11.85 billion in unpaid wages and severance
Less than 2% of the people who make the clothes on our bodies earn a living wage
In the UK suppliers in Leicester were found paying workers £3.50 an hour which is less than half the minimum wage
77% of UK retailers believe there is likely modern slavery in their supply chains
It takes a garment worker 18 months to earn what a top fashion brand CEO earns on their lunch break
Only 4 cents of the price of a $30 t-shirt goes to the worker who made it in the Global South
Approximately 25 million people are trapped in forced labor worldwide with many in the fashion supply chain
50% of the surveyed garment factories in India did not pay the legal minimum wage
Garment workers in Los Angeles earn an average of $5.85 per hour due to piece-rate pay loopholes
35% of all forced labor cases are found in the manufacturing sector which includes garment production
During the COVID-19 pandemic brands refused to pay for $16 billion worth of goods already produced depriving workers of wages
The largest fashion brands claim to encourage unions but fewer than 10% of workers worldwide have union representation
Research suggests more than 1 million Uyghurs have been detained in camps often associated with cotton production
Cambodian garment workers reported a 20% decrease in wages during the pandemic despite increased living costs
In Vietnam the gap between the minimum wage and a living wage is approximately 64%
98% of garment workers in Myanmar reported not receiving their full wages during political instability
Only 5% of major fashion brands can demonstrate that they pay their workers a living wage
Interpretation
Put bluntly, these statistics show that while top fashion CEOs can earn in a lunch break what a garment worker toils 18 months to make, less than two percent of the people who sew our clothes get a living wage, millions are trapped in forced or unpaid labor from Bangladesh to Myanmar, unions are almost nonexistent, and during the pandemic brands refused to pay billions for finished orders, turning the cheap garments on our backs into someone else’s lifelong debt and danger.
Production & Consumption Volume
100 billion items of clothing are produced each year
Consumers buy 60% more clothing items today than they did in the year 2000
The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
The fast fashion market size was valued at $106.42 billion in 2022
One garbage truck of clothes is burned or landfilled every second largely due to overproduction
Up to 30% of fashion products made are never sold and end up destroyed
Shein adds approximately 6000 new styles to its website every single day
Clothing production has doubled between 2000 and 2014
The average American throws away approximately 81 pounds of clothing per year
40% of clothes purchased in some developed nations are never worn
The global volume of textile fiber production increased from 58 million tonnes in 2000 to 109 million tonnes in 2020
Fast fashion brands like Zara have a design-to-retail cycle of just 2 to 4 weeks
5.2% of the waste in US landfills is textiles mostly from discarded clothing
The value of unworn clothing in wardrobes in the UK is estimated at £30 billion
Online return rates for fashion are between 30% and 40% creating massive reverse logistics waste
Between 2000 and 2015 the number of clothing collections released by European apparel companies rose from 2 to 5 per year
Global consumption of apparel is projected to rise by 63% to 102 million tons by 2030
Fast fashion giant H&M reported $4.3 billion in unsold inventory in 2018
60% of German consumers admit to buying clothes they do not need
The textile industry is growing at a rate of 4.4% annually driven by fast fashion demand
Interpretation
Fast fashion has turned clothing into disposable ephemera, with factories producing about 100 billion garments a year while consumers buy 60% more and wear items 36% less, brands like Shein adding thousands of new styles daily and retailers racing out multiple collections per year, leaving up to 30% of product unsold, billions in unworn wardrobe value, one garbage truck of clothes burned or landfilled every second, and mountains of returns and inventory that translate into environmental devastation and economic waste.
Social Demographics & Gender
80% of the world's 75 million garment workers are women aged 18-35
170 million children are engaged in child labor with many in the textile and garment supply chain
1 in 3 female garment workers in Vietnam has reported sexual harassment in the workplace
In the spinning mills of Tamil Nadu 60% of workers are Dalit women facing caste-based discrimination
Women in the garment sector are paid 18% less on average than their male counterparts
90% of workers in the Cambodian garment industry are women
43% of female garment workers in Bangalore reported experiencing sexual violence at work
In Bangladesh's garment sector 60% of female workers lack a written contract
Migrant workers in Thailand's garment sector earn 25% less than local Thai workers
Children as young as 6 or 7 are found working in cotton fields in India and Uzbekistan
75% of female garment workers in Indonesia have experienced verbal abuse
Syrian refugee children have been documented working in Turkish sweatshops supplying European brands
Less than 15% of management positions in garment factories are held by women despite them being the majority workforce
61% of garment workers in Jordan are migrants often stripped of their passports
In 2018 80% of workers in the Ethiopian garment industry were under the age of 25
Female garment workers in El Salvador have a 40% prevalence rate of untreated repetitive strain injuries
Discrimination against pregnant women affects 25% of the workforce in Lesotho's textile industry
The Sumangali Scheme in India employs thousands of young girls under promises of a wedding dowry that is often withheld
70% of female workers in Guangzhou garment factories are internal migrants without city residency rights
Female workers in garment factories report a 15% higher rate of anemia than the general population due to poverty wages
Interpretation
Fast fashion's glamour masks an industry powered largely by young women, many of them migrants, Dalits or children, who are paid less, denied contracts and promotions, subjected to sexual and verbal violence, and forced to trade their health and childhood for garments that line distant brands' pockets.
Sources & References
Learn more about our research methodology and data verification process on our About page.