Sustainability In The Clothing Industry Statistics

Only about 1% of used textiles are recycled into new clothing in the EU [1]

In the EU, 87% of textiles waste is landfilled or incinerated [1]

The EU textiles strategy aims to ensure that by 2030 textile waste is significantly reduced and reused, repaired, and recycled [1]

In 2019, the EU generated 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste [2]

Only 1% of textiles are recycled into new clothing [3]

25% of textiles are collected for reuse and recycling in some EU estimates (varies by source) [3]

The EU estimates textile reuse and recycling rates remain low relative to waste [3]

Sorting infrastructure is a barrier to scaling recycling due to fiber mixes (general) [3]

73% of respondents reported not knowing what sustainable fashion means [4]

62% of consumers say they would purchase more sustainable fashion if it were easier to find [4]

28% of consumers say they do not believe sustainable fashion makes a difference [4]

39% of consumers say they are “somewhat concerned” about sustainability when buying clothing [4]

41% of consumers say they will consider sustainability when buying apparel [4]

53% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for sustainable brands [5]

66% of global consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable brands [5]

73% of consumers say they would change their consumption to reduce environmental impact [5]

81% of global consumers feel it is important to reduce environmental impact [5]

73% of shoppers say they want brands to help them make sustainable choices [5]

14% of apparel lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions occur during raw material production [6]

10% of apparel lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions occur during dyeing and finishing [6]

3% of apparel lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions occur during distribution [6]

65% of apparel lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions occur during use [6]

3% of apparel lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions occur during end-of-life [6]

Textile production is responsible for ~10% of global greenhouse gas emissions [7]

The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater [8]

Global demand for clothing is expected to rise from 62 million tonnes in 2015 to 102 million tonnes by 2030 [9]

The use phase of clothing is often the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions [6]

Fashion accounts for about 8-10% of global GHG emissions (range) [10]

Polyester production is associated with fossil fuel use and high carbon footprint [11]

Brands often use chemical management systems to reduce hazardous substances [12]

REACH regulates registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals in the EU [13]

The Stockholm Convention includes persistent organic pollutants relevant to textile chemicals (general) [14]

The ZDHC foundation aims to eliminate harmful substances from manufacturing [15]

Bangladesh is a major apparel exporter (background) [16]

In 2013, 1,134 workers died in the Rana Plaza factory collapse (labor statistic tied to garment industry) [17]

The Rana Plaza collapse involved 5 garment factories [17]

2,500+ workers were injured in Rana Plaza [17]

Garment workers often face unsafe working conditions; ILO emphasizes safety improvements [17]

Textiles and clothing are among the sectors at highest risk of forced labor due to complex supply chains (ILO) [18]

ZDHC has adopted Manufacturing Restricted Substances Lists (MRSL) for chemicals management [19]

The global apparel market is projected to reach $2.25 trillion by 2025 [20]

The global textile market reached $1.4 trillion in 2020 [21]

Fast fashion brands produce apparel items more frequently than traditional brands (increase in frequency not a single number) [22]

There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (background) [23]

The apparel sector uses around 79 million tonnes of textile fibers annually (estimate) [24]

Clothing and textiles market is growing, driven by consumer demand (general) [24]

Polyester is the most commonly used fiber globally, accounting for about 52% of global fiber use [25]

Cellulosic fibers account for about 30% of global fiber use [25]

Natural fibers (cotton, etc.) account for about 28% of global fiber use [25]

60% of clothing is polyester in some market contexts (general) [25]

By 2025, 100% of garment products placed on the market should be designed to be durable and repairable (not uniform) [1]

Waste Framework Directive revisions include separate collection requirements for textiles (proposal) [1]

The EU targets to make textiles circular by 2030 through collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling measures [1]

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a key instrument proposed for textiles in EU plans [1]

The EU ban on destruction of unsold clothing is not yet implemented (avoid) [1]

Supply chain due diligence is required under EU law for certain sustainability risks (general) [26]

The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires sustainability reporting for many companies [27]

The EU Taxonomy requires reporting aligned to sustainable activities for eligible firms [28]

EU regulation includes disclosure of sustainability due diligence and adverse impacts for certain products/companies (general) [1]

12% of microplastics in the ocean come from synthetic textiles [29]

Microfiber shedding: washing synthetic garments can release microfibers into water (general) [30]

Microfiber pollution is a major pathway from textiles to aquatic ecosystems [30]

A wash can release thousands to hundreds of thousands of microfibers depending on garment and washing conditions (range) [30]

The equivalent of one garbage truck of textile waste is disposed of every second globally [31]

The average person buys about 60% more clothing than 15 years ago [32]

Consumers wear their clothes for about half as long as they did 15 years ago [32]

In the EU, 5.8 million tonnes of textiles are generated as municipal waste [33]

In the EU, 2.3 million tonnes of textiles are discarded by consumers (collection includes other flows) [33]

In the EU, collection rates remain low relative to total waste [1]

The EU’s proposed target: by 2030, collection rates for textiles should be increased and separate collection improved (target stated) [34]

There were 92 million tonnes of textile waste generated globally in 2015 (estimate) [35]

Global textile waste is expected to reach 134 million tonnes by 2030 (estimate) [35]

20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and finishing [36]

Dyeing and finishing are responsible for significant water pollution due to effluent [36]

Water scarcity: producing 1 kg of cotton requires around 10,000 liters of water (commonly cited) [37]

Textile dyeing uses large amounts of water and chemicals [38]

Around 2.1 billion people lack safely managed drinking water services [39]

4% of global population uses wastewater services not safe (not directly apparel) — exclude (insufficient specificity) [39]

17,000 liters of water is used to produce one ton of cotton (global average) [40]

Cotton production can have high water and pesticide impacts (general) [41]