Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The global fashion industry generates approximately 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually
Textile waste generation is projected to increase by 60% between 2015 and 2030 reaching an estimated 148 million tonnes
The United States generates over 17 million tons of textile municipal solid waste per year
The average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
Consumers in the UK have an estimated $30 billion worth of unworn clothing in their wardrobes
One in three young women in the UK consider clothes 'old' after wearing them once or twice
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
Textile dyeing and finishing are responsible for approximately 20% of global clean water pollution
Synthetic fibers like polyester take between 20 to 200 years to decompose in a landfill
Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing globally
Only 12% of textile material is recycled into lower-value applications like insulation or cleaning cloths
In the US the recycling rate for all textiles was only 14.7% in 2018
The fashion industry produces 100 to 150 billion items of clothing annually for 8 billion people
Approximately 15% to 20% of fabric used in garment production ends up as cutting floor waste
Overproduction accounts for 30% of all garments made which are never sold
Consumer Behavior
- The average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
- Consumers in the UK have an estimated $30 billion worth of unworn clothing in their wardrobes
- One in three young women in the UK consider clothes 'old' after wearing them once or twice
- 50% of people throw unwanted clothes directly in the trash rather than donating them
- The average American throws away approximately 81.5 lbs of clothes every year
- 60% of German consumers admit to buying clothes they never wear
- Extending the life of clothing by just nine months of active use would reduce carbon to waste footprints by 20-30%
- 30% of unwanted clothes in the UK end up in landfill because consumers do not know how to recycle them
- Online returns have a high probability of entering the waste stream with some estimates suggesting 20-30% of returns are discarded
- 1 in 10 shoppers admit to buying clothes to take a photo for social media and returning them
- Consumers buy 60% more clothing items today than they did in the year 2000
- 85% of textiles thrown away in the US are dumped into landfills or burned
- On average consumers retain clothing for only half as long as they did 15 years ago
- 54% of consumers surveyed would pay more for sustainable products designed to be recycled
- Nearly 60% of millennials say they are willing to buy second-hand clothing
- In France the average consumer buys 9kg of clothes per year but only half is ever recycled
- The top reason consumers discard clothes is 'fit' followed closely by 'damage' or 'wear and tear'
- Approximately 20% of items in consumer wardrobes are never worn
- 69% of consumers are confused by clothing labels regarding disposal or recycling
- Washing clothes releases half a million tonnes of microfibers into the ocean every year equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles
Interpretation
Our closets have become a $30 billion monument to one-wear wonders and impulse buys for the perfect selfie, with people buying 60 percent more clothes than in 2000 yet keeping them half as long and sending most of them to landfill or incineration while microfibers choke the ocean, even though wearing garments just nine months longer and clearer recycling information could cut fashion's carbon footprint by up to 30 percent.
Environmental Impact
- The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions
- Textile dyeing and finishing are responsible for approximately 20% of global clean water pollution
- Synthetic fibers like polyester take between 20 to 200 years to decompose in a landfill
- Wearing a garment 50 times instead of 5 times reduces carbon emissions by 400% per item per year
- The production of a single pair of jeans requires approximately 7500 liters of water
- Microplastics from textiles make up about 35% of the microplastics in the oceans
- Cotton farming is responsible for 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides used globally despite covering 2.4% of land
- The carbon footprint of a polyester shirt is double that of a cotton shirt (5.5 kg vs 2.1 kg CO2)
- Textile waste that decomposes in landfills releases methane a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO2
- If the fashion industry continues on its current path it will use 26% of the world's carbon budget by 2050
- Incinerating 1 ton of textile waste generates approximately 1.3 tons of CO2
- Viscose production is linked to the logging of 150 million trees annually causing deforestation
- 85% of human-made debris on shorelines around the world is microfibers
- Leather tanning utilizes chemicals like chromium which is toxic and can cause waterways to become carcinogenic
- The fashion industry consumes around 79 trillion liters of water annually
- Shoes take up to 1000 years to decompose in a landfill due to Ethylene Vinyl Acetate
- Replacing 20% of conventional cotton with organic cotton could save 38 billion liters of water
- Nylon manufacturing creates nitrous oxide a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide
- 70 million barrels of oil satisfy the demand for polyester fiber in the fashion industry annually
- A single laundry load of polyester clothes can discharge 700000 microplastic fibres
Interpretation
Fashion isn't just frivolous—it's an environmental tax on air, water and time: it accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions, guzzles around 79 trillion liters of water a year while dyeing alone causes a fifth of water pollution, sheds microfibers that make up roughly 35% of ocean microplastics, drives deforestation and heavy pesticide use, and leaves behind plastics and toxic waste that persist for centuries, so wearing clothes longer, choosing better fibers and washing less are the smallest revolutions our closets can start.
Global Generation & Market
- The global fashion industry generates approximately 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually
- Textile waste generation is projected to increase by 60% between 2015 and 2030 reaching an estimated 148 million tonnes
- The United States generates over 17 million tons of textile municipal solid waste per year
- In Europe the average person generates approximately 11 kg of textile waste per year
- China generates approximately 26 million tons of textile waste annually
- Textiles represent the fourth highest pressure category for the use of primary raw materials and water in the EU
- Approximately 5.8 million tons of textiles are discarded in the EU every year
- The global second-hand apparel market is expected to grow 127% by 2026
- Australia is the second-highest consumer of textiles per person in the world after the US discarding 23kg per person annually
- The Canadian apparel industry generates roughly 500 million kilograms of waste per year
- In Hong Kong approximately 343 tonnes of textile waste go to landfills daily
- The total value of raw materials lost to landfill and incineration annually is estimated at USD 100 billion
- Textile waste in the UK amounts to roughly 350000 tonnes going to landfill each year
- By 2050 the total weight of clothing in the market equates to more than 300 million tonnes
- Post-consumer textile waste in India is estimated at 7793 tonnes per year for major cities
- The Nordic region generates approximately 350000 tonnes of used textiles annually
- Clothing consumption globally has doubled in the last 15 years while usage rates have declined
- The volume of textile waste in landfills in the US increased by 78% between 2000 and 2017
- It is estimated that a truckload of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every second globally
- Small Island Developing States import a disproportionate amount of textile waste relative to their population size
Interpretation
We're dressing the planet into a landfill, as clothing consumption has doubled in 15 years while garments are worn less, the industry now produces about 92 million tonnes of waste annually and is on track to reach 148 million tonnes by 2030, squandering roughly USD 100 billion in raw materials and sending a truckload of textiles to landfill or incineration every second, with major contributors like China, the United States, Europe and Australia discarding tens of millions of tonnes and small island states bearing a disproportionate burden, leaving only a rapidly expanding second hand market as a slim hope of averting more than 300 million tonnes of clothing in circulation by 2050.
Industry & Production
- The fashion industry produces 100 to 150 billion items of clothing annually for 8 billion people
- Approximately 15% to 20% of fabric used in garment production ends up as cutting floor waste
- Overproduction accounts for 30% of all garments made which are never sold
- Luxury brands destroyed over $500 million worth of unsold goods in 2018 to protect brand value
- Global production of polyester fibers has increased from 5.8 million metric tons in 1980 to 63 million metric tons in 2022
- The volume of polyester production is expected to nearly double by 2030
- Fast fashion cycles have compressed production times from 6 months to as little as 2 weeks
- 60% of all clothing produced globally is made from synthetic fibers
- Between 2000 and 2014 clothing production doubled while the global population increased by only 20%
- Deadstock fabric typically accounts for 10% of a factory's total fabric volume
- 35% of all materials in the supply chain end up as waste before a product reaches the consumer
- The fashion industry's use of plastic fibers is projected to increase leading to 17.6 million tonnes of microfibre pollution annually by 2050
- 97% of data regarding supply chain waste is estimated rather than measured due to lack of transparency
- The number of garment collections released by European apparel companies rose from 2 to 5 per year between 2000 and 2011
- Zara offers 24 new clothing collections each year
- Ultra-fast fashion retailer Shein adds up to 10000 new items to its site every day
- The costs of waste disposal in the fashion supply chain can account for up to 5% of total production costs
- Only 20% of global textile waste is collected for reuse or recycling while the rest is lost during production or disposal
- Global fiber production hit a record high of 113 million tonnes in 2021
- Offcut waste in garment manufacturing in Bangladesh is estimated at 500000 tonnes annually
Interpretation
Fashion churns out 100 to 150 billion garments a year for 8 billion people, feeds a boom in synthetic fibers with polyester rising from 5.8 million tonnes in 1980 to 63 million in 2022 and global fiber production hitting 113 million tonnes in 2021 and likely to nearly double by 2030, yet it wastes relentlessly: 15 to 20 percent is lost on cutting floors, 30 percent is overproduced and never sold, deadstock is about 10 percent of factory fabric, 35 percent of supply chain materials become waste before reaching consumers, offcuts in Bangladesh total some 500,000 tonnes a year, only 20 percent of textile waste is recycled while 97 percent of supply chain waste is estimated rather than measured, luxury labels destroyed over $500 million of unsold goods in 2018 to protect brand value, disposal costs can account for up to 5 percent of production, and retailers from Zara's 24 collections to Shein's thousands of daily new items accelerate a tide of plastic fibers that could result in 17.6 million tonnes of microfibre pollution annually by 2050, proving that style has become synonymous with surplus and environmental debt.
Recycling & Management
- Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing globally
- Only 12% of textile material is recycled into lower-value applications like insulation or cleaning cloths
- In the US the recycling rate for all textiles was only 14.7% in 2018
- The sorting of used textiles is 40% manually driven requiring high labor costs
- Automated sorting technologies could identify over 50% of post-consumer textiles suitable for recycling
- Europe converts only 1.7 million tonnes of textile waste into recycled secondary raw materials annually
- Approximately 70% of clothing donations in the West are sold to developing nations potentially disrupting local markets
- In Ghana's Kantamanto market 40% of imported secondhand clothing is discarded instantly as waste
- Chemical recycling of polyester currently accounts for less than 0.1% of global production
- The cost of collecting and sorting textile waste often exceeds the revenue generated from selling it
- 1.6 million tonnes of used textiles are exported from the EU annually mostly to Africa and Asia
- Chile's Atacama desert receives an estimated 39000 tonnes of unsold clothing imports annually
- The recycling of cotton into new high-quality cotton fibers is limited to about 20-30% content due to fiber shortening
- Only 1% of clothing brands claim to have full closed-loop recycling systems in place
- Elastane mixed with other fibers makes garments nearly impossible to recycle using current technology
- France is the only country with a mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for textiles since 2007
- By 2025 all EU member states are required to establish separate collection systems for textile waste
- 35% of recycled polyester comes from PET bottles rather than old textiles
- Textile-to-textile recycling could create a $10-20 billion annual profit pool by 2030
- Australia recycles only 7% of the 800000 tonnes of textile waste generated each year
Interpretation
It’s almost comical how little of our clothing is truly recycled: less than one percent is remade into new garments, only about twelve percent is downcycled into low-value uses, the US and Australia recycle roughly 14.7 and 7 percent respectively, chemical recycling of polyester is virtually nonexistent, sorting remains labor intensive while millions of tonnes are exported or sold abroad disrupting markets from Ghana’s Kantamanto to Chile’s Atacama, and yet with automated sorting, mandatory producer responsibility and scaled textile to textile recycling we could stop shipping our problems overseas and unlock a $10 to $20 billion annual opportunity by 2030.
References
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