Market Report

Global Clothing Waste Statistics

Global clothing waste is surging, threatening environment and human sustainability.

Key Statistics

The average person buys 60% more clothing now than 15 years ago

Clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000

The average garment is only worn 7-10 times before disposal

20% of all fashion garments go unsold annually

Global apparel consumption is expected to grow by 63% by 2030

Over 100 billion garments are produced each year globally

+66 more statistics in this report

Jannik Lindner
October 13, 2025

Key Insights

Essential data points from our research

92 million tonnes of textiles are wasted globally each year

The equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second

85% of textiles go to landfill each year

Less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new garments

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

The average person buys 60% more clothing now than 15 years ago

The average American throws away approximately 81 pounds of clothing annually

The textile industry produces 20% of global wastewater

Clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000

Around 57% of discarded clothes end up in landfills

The average garment is only worn 7-10 times before disposal

Synthetic materials like polyester can take up to 200 years to decompose

The average consumer throws away 60% of their clothes in the first year

Verified Data Points
Every second, a garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped into landfills—an alarming symbol of the 92 million tonnes of textile waste our planet grapples with annually, as the global fashion industry spirals into an environmental crisis.

Consumer Demand and Overproduction

  • The average person buys 60% more clothing now than 15 years ago
  • Clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000
  • The average garment is only worn 7-10 times before disposal
  • 20% of all fashion garments go unsold annually
  • Global apparel consumption is expected to grow by 63% by 2030
  • Over 100 billion garments are produced each year globally
  • EU citizens consume nearly 26 kg of textiles annually
  • People now keep clothes half as long as they did 15 years ago
  • Clothing sales doubled from 2000 to 2014
  • 80 billion clothes are consumed worldwide each year
  • Global demand for clothing could increase by 63% by 2030
  • Retailers burn or destroy over $500 million worth of unsold clothing annually

Interpretation

Fast fashion’s dizzying rise means we’re buying more, wearing less, and torching the rest—proving that style without sustainability is a well-dressed environmental disaster.

Environmental Impact and Emissions

  • The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions
  • The textile industry produces 20% of global wastewater
  • 35% of all microplastics in the ocean come from synthetic textiles
  • Garment production accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions
  • Fashion consumption annually uses 93 billion cubic meters of water
  • One cotton shirt requires 2,700 liters of water to produce
  • Fashion causes 20% of industrial water pollution
  • Roughly 1.4 million trillion microfibers are in the ocean from textiles
  • Textile dyes are the second-largest water polluter globally
  • Nearly 25% of the world's pesticides are used in cotton production
  • Clothing production emits 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent yearly
  • Over 500,000 tons of microfibers enter oceans each year from laundry
  • An estimated 79 billion cubic meters of water is used by textile production each year
  • 10% of global pesticide use is for cotton farming
  • Clothing production uses nearly 79 billion cubic meters of water annually
  • Fast fashion garments can emit up to 1000 times more carbon than reuse models

Interpretation

Fashion may dress us up, but behind the seams it guzzles water, spews carbon, poisons rivers, and sheds microplastics faster than a polyester shirt in a spin cycle—making it one of the planet’s most stylish environmental disasters.

Production and Supply Chain Practices

  • The fashion industry produces 53 million tons of fiber annually
  • More than 60% of fabric fibers are now synthetics
  • Less than 2% of workers in the global apparel supply chain earn a living wage
  • Less than 20% of fashion brands disclose water pollution data
  • Over 75% of global fashion supply chains rely on fossil fuels for energy

Interpretation

Fast fashion may dress us up in style, but behind the seams it’s an industry stitched with synthetic waste, fossil fuel dependency, and a threadbare commitment to human and environmental ethics.

Recycling and Circularity

  • Less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new garments
  • Less than 25% of post-consumer textile waste is collected in Europe
  • 12% of textile waste is downcycled into lower-product applications
  • Only 0.1% of textile waste is recycled back into textiles of equal quality
  • Chemical recycling could reduce textile waste by up to 80%
  • Clothing resale could grow from 7% to 40% of the market by 2030
  • Only 13% of clothing material is recycled in any form
  • Up to 95% of the clothes that end up in landfills could be reused or recycled
  • Only 15% of Americans recycle their used clothing

Interpretation

Despite wardrobes bursting at the seams, our clothing habits are less circular than a pair of skinny jeans—almost all of it ends up wasted, while viable solutions sit on the rack.

Textile Waste and Landfills

  • 92 million tonnes of textiles are wasted globally each year
  • The equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second
  • 85% of textiles go to landfill each year
  • The average American throws away approximately 81 pounds of clothing annually
  • Around 57% of discarded clothes end up in landfills
  • Synthetic materials like polyester can take up to 200 years to decompose
  • The average consumer throws away 60% of their clothes in the first year
  • One in two people throw unwanted clothes directly into the trash
  • Nearly 40% of global textile waste is from Europe and North America
  • Only 25% of clothing donations are actually resold
  • The average UK citizen throws away 3.1kg of textile waste annually
  • Textile waste in landfills is projected to increase 60% by 2030
  • Only 10-15% of donated clothes end up in thrift stores
  • 70% of global clothing donations are sent to Africa
  • Modular clothing and longer-lasting design could reduce waste by over 20%
  • By 2030, fashion waste will reach 148 million tons annually
  • Clothing waste contributes to 5% of municipal solid waste
  • Textile waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in many countries
  • The African market receives over 700,000 metric tons of used clothing
  • Landfilling costs for textile waste in the US is over $4 billion annually
  • Textile waste makes up 7% of all landfill space
  • In the UK, £140 million worth of clothing is sent to landfills annually
  • Each year, 26 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away in China
  • Australians throw away 23kg of clothing per person per year
  • 75% of discarded clothing made of plastic ends up in landfills
  • Canada generates around 500,000 tons of textile waste every year
  • 16 million tons of textile waste are generated annually in the U.S.
  • Clothes can take up to 40 years to decompose in landfills
  • Kenya imports between 100,000 and 150,000 tons of second-hand clothes annually
  • 12.8 million tons of clothing are sent to landfills in the US annually

Interpretation

We're dressing for destruction—every second, our closets contribute to a global avalanche of textile trash that buries the planet in polyester and missed opportunities for sustainability.