Market Report

Garment Industry Statistics

Fashion industry exploits labor, pollutes heavily, and wastes staggering global resources.

Key Statistics

The fashion industry is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions

The average consumer bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000 but kept each garment half as long

Producing polyester releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton

Garment production represents 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions

Textiles account for 5-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions

Cotton cultivation uses 24% of global insecticides

+72 more statistics in this report

Jannik Lindner
October 13, 2025

Key Insights

Essential data points from our research

The global apparel market was valued at approximately $1.5 trillion in 2021

The fashion industry is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions

The fashion industry consumes around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually

About 20% of global wastewater comes from the fashion and textile industry

Nearly 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year

It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt

The fashion industry employs over 300 million people worldwide, many of whom are women

The average consumer bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000 but kept each garment half as long

Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014

The fashion industry generates approximately 92 million tons of textile waste each year

The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothes each year

Workers in Bangladesh garment factories earn around $95 per month

Only 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments

Verified Data Points
Beneath the runway lights and glossy storefronts lies a $1.5 trillion industry that fuels our closets—but also pollutes our planet, exploits millions of low-wage workers, and generates mountains of waste with every fast fashion drop.

Environmental Impact

  • The fashion industry is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions
  • The average consumer bought 60% more clothing in 2014 than in 2000 but kept each garment half as long
  • Producing polyester releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton
  • Garment production represents 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions
  • Textiles account for 5-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions
  • Cotton cultivation uses 24% of global insecticides
  • The global fashion industry produced over 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2021
  • Clothing and footwear account for more than 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions
  • Fashion industry greenhouse gas emissions could rise more than 50% by 2030 if no action is taken
  • Producing one T-shirt emits roughly 2.1 kg of CO2
  • Nitrous oxide emissions from synthetic dyeing processes contribute to global warming 300 times more than CO2

Interpretation

Fashion may change with the seasons, but its carbon footprint is a year-round catastrophe—proof that looking good is costing the planet dearly.

Market Size and Economic Impact

  • The global apparel market was valued at approximately $1.5 trillion in 2021
  • The fashion industry employs over 300 million people worldwide, many of whom are women
  • Polyester is the most widely used fiber in clothing, accounting for over 50% of global fiber production
  • In 2023, China remained the world’s top textile exporter with 31.7% market share
  • Bangladesh is the second-largest apparel exporter globally, responsible for about 6.8% of garment exports
  • The U.S. apparel market is worth over $343 billion annually
  • India’s textile and apparel industry contributes about 2% to its GDP
  • The fashion resale market is projected to reach $77 billion by 2025
  • The global sustainable fashion market is projected to grow to $9.81 billion in 2025
  • Clothing sales doubled from 2002 to 2015, outpacing population growth
  • The fashion industry could create 24 million new jobs by 2030 with sustainable practices
  • The clothing industry lost an estimated $500 billion per year due to underutilized clothes and lack of recycling
  • About 60 million people are employed in the industry globally
  • Only about 20 brands control the majority of the fashion market
  • The fashion industry contributes $2.5 trillion to global manufacturing
  • Many developing countries import over $5 billion in second-hand clothing annually
  • Used clothing exports from the U.S. exceeded $700 million in 2020
  • Second-hand clothing sales are expected to grow 11 times faster than traditional retail
  • Brands lose $100 billion in missed economic opportunity every year by not recycling clothing

Interpretation

Behind the glitz of a $2.5 trillion global fashion empire lies a tangled thread of economic opportunity, environmental cost, and social complexity—where 300 million people stitch garments of polyester for 20 dominant brands, while $500 billion worth of wasted clothes silently unravels both sustainability and potential.

Production and Supply Chain

  • Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014
  • Workers in Bangladesh garment factories earn around $95 per month
  • Garment factory fires have killed more than 1,000 workers in Bangladesh since 2006
  • 93% of brands surveyed by Fashion Checker aren’t paying garment workers a living wage
  • The average garment worker in Ethiopia earns $26 per month, the lowest globally
  • Fast fashion brands release new collections as frequently as every two weeks
  • Over 100 billion garments are produced each year
  • Garment workers in Cambodia earn around $190 per month
  • Women hold 80% of jobs in the garment industry
  • Approximately 75 million people work in fashion and textiles worldwide
  • Workers in India’s textile industry can work up to 16 hours a day
  • Less than 2% of garment workers earn a living wage
  • Between 2000 and 2020, clothing production increased by 400%
  • Some fast fashion retailers launch more than 20 collections per year
  • Less than 10% of fashion brands disclose supply chain environmental impacts
  • Garment workers often receive less than 3% of the retail price of clothing
  • The average pair of jeans travels over 50,000 kilometers during production and distribution
  • Garment workers in Pakistan are paid on average $110 per month
  • The average fashion product development cycle lasts only 5 weeks in fast fashion

Interpretation

Behind the glitter of 100 billion garments a year lies a global assembly line where underpaid workers—mostly women—stitch clothes at breakneck speed for cents on the dollar, while fast fashion races ahead and accountability lags far behind.

Resource Consumption

  • The fashion industry consumes around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually
  • It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
  • Around 60% of garments are made of synthetic materials derived from fossil fuels
  • The fashion industry uses enough water annually to meet the needs of 5 million people
  • The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply
  • One kilogram of cotton can take 20,000 liters of water to produce
  • Clothing is the 4th largest pressure category on resources and the environment in the EU
  • It takes 7,500 liters of water to make a pair of jeans
  • An estimated 79 trillion liters of water are used by the fashion industry annually
  • Garment industry uses over 8,000 chemicals in textile processing and dyeing
  • Over 2,000 liters of water are needed to produce one cotton T-shirt
  • Around 70 million barrels of oil are used annually to make polyester fibers

Interpretation

In a world where it takes more water to make a T-shirt than to keep a person hydrated for three years, the fashion industry struts a glamorous catwalk over a parched and polluted planet.

Waste and Pollution

  • About 20% of global wastewater comes from the fashion and textile industry
  • Nearly 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
  • The fashion industry generates approximately 92 million tons of textile waste each year
  • The average American throws away 81 pounds of clothes each year
  • Only 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments
  • Fashion accounts for 35% of microplastics released into the ocean
  • Consumers discard clothing after an average of seven to ten wears
  • Only 12% of clothing is collected for recycling globally
  • Over 70% of Asia’s rivers and lakes are contaminated by textile industry waste
  • 40% of clothing purchased in some countries is never worn
  • Textile dyeing is the second-largest polluter of water globally
  • Textile manufacturing represents 20% of global industrial water pollution
  • Approximately 300,000 tonnes of clothing are sent to landfill in the UK each year
  • Over $127 billion worth of clothes are thrown away annually worldwide
  • Over 1 million tons of textiles are sent to U.S. landfills each year
  • 91% of textile waste ends up in landfills or incinerated
  • Up to 35% of microplastics in the environment come from textiles

Interpretation

Fast fashion may be trendy, but with toxic dyes, landfill mountains, and oceans full of microfibers, it’s clear the real cost isn’t on the price tag—it’s on the planet.