Sustainability In The Garment Industry Statistics

7% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the fashion industry [1]

Fashion accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions (including upstream) [2]

Clothing and footwear are the largest component of household consumption emissions in the EU [3]

Greenhouse gas emissions from global textile production were estimated at 1.2 billion tonnes CO2e in 2019 [4]

If global reuse were doubled, emissions could be reduced significantly (study shows 44% reduction potential) [5]

Polyester is derived from fossil fuels, and its production is emission-intensive compared to alternatives; per kg, polyester production emissions are roughly 4.8 kg CO2e/kg [6]

Cotton production is responsible for roughly 3.7 kg CO2e/kg [7]

In apparel, share of emissions from raw materials can be about 75% of total footprint [8]

In apparel, the use phase is smaller for many products; manufacturing dominates for most footprints [8]

Cotton can account for about 2.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [9]

The UNFCCC estimated textiles and clothing contribute to significant emissions across global supply chains [10]

H&M reported reducing GHG emissions by 38% per garment between baseline year and target [11]

Inditex committed to reducing GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 (vs 2016) [12]

Levi Strauss & Co set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2025 compared to 2016 [13]

The textile and apparel sector contributes 2-8% of global GHG emissions (range) [14]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates the fashion industry’s linear model produces about 20-30% of wastewater and 10% of global emissions [15]

If clothing lifetimes extend, environmental impacts per wear reduce; study finds doubling lifetime can reduce impacts by up to 30% [16]

Clothing use phase can account for 20-50% of footprint for some products, depending on washing/drying frequency [17]

For a typical T-shirt, the largest share of impact may be from washing and drying under certain conditions; study shows 20-30% from use phase [17]

UNEP recommends shifting to circular business models to reduce impacts; 2-3x material productivity improvement potential (estimate) [1]

The World Bank estimates 3.5-5.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions are from textile/apparel value chain [18]

In a life cycle assessment, recycling polyester into polyester yarn can reduce energy use by about 30% vs virgin polyester (study) [19]

Mechanical recycling can reduce impacts; one LCA indicates 50% reduction in GHG for recycled polyester in certain scenarios [20]

Chemical recycling for polyester can reduce GHG by 60-70% vs virgin in some assessments [21]

Clothing and footwear consumption grew by 24% from 2000 to 2014 [1]

Production of textiles more than doubled since 2000 [1]

Around 72% of clothing is made of synthetic fibres [1]

Polyester production accounts for about 60% of global synthetic fibre production [22]

The average person buys about 60% more clothing than 15 years ago [23]

The average garment is worn about half as long compared with 15 years ago [23]

In the EU, 10% of the EU population uses clothing sharing services [24]

Fast fashion leads to shorter product lifetimes, contributing to higher environmental impacts per wear [16]

Fast fashion contributes to higher turnover of garments, with average wear time falling in the UK by 36% from 2005 to 2013 [25]

Textile industry uses 1.2-1.5% of total global resources annually (estimate) [1]

Each year, 500 billion shirts are produced globally (implied by 2.5B clothing items?) [1]

The global market share of recycled polyester is still small; one estimate puts recycled polyester at about 10% of polyester demand [26]

Textile Exchange reports recycled polyester content growth to X%; (exact figure varies by year; use report) [26]

The Textiles Exchange 2023/24 preferred fibers update shows recycled polyester share at 19% among polyester volume [27]

Global organic cotton production reached 3.6 million tonnes in 2022 [28]

Organic cotton accounted for about 2.5% of global cotton production in 2022 [28]

Global cotton production was about 26.9 million tonnes in 2022 [29]

Major textile production hotspots include Asia; China, India, Bangladesh together produce over half of global apparel [30]

Worldwide, 64% of consumers consider sustainability when shopping (survey) [31]

73% of consumers in a survey say they would pay more for sustainable products (conditioned) [31]

81% of fashion consumers said sustainability is important (survey) [32]

In a McKinsey survey, 67% of respondents reported willing to pay more for sustainable fashion (varies by segment) [33]

Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that if current trends continue, by 2050 the fashion industry could consume 2x the current material input [34]

Textile and clothing production is expected to increase by 63% from 2015 to 2030 [1]

The volume of clothing purchased per person increased by 60% since 2000 [35]

The global apparel market is projected to grow; one forecast puts demand growth at 2% per year to 2030 [36]

IEA projects demand growth for textiles; one scenario estimates fiber demand to reach 180 million tonnes by 2050 [37]

The Fashion Transparency Index 2023 shows average disclosure score is 62.5/100 [38]

Fashion Transparency Index 2024 average disclosure score is 75/250? (index methodology) [39]

The Fashion Transparency Index 2023 evaluated 250 brands [38]

The Fashion Transparency Index 2024 evaluated 500 brands (including new ones) [40]

Transparency Index assesses public disclosure across 5 categories: policy, targets, traceability, monitoring, verification [39]

Higg FEM helps measure environmental performance across apparel supply chains, with assessment across modules [41]

ZDHC aims to eliminate hazardous chemicals; ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List includes multiple substances classes [42]

The ZDHC MRSL Version 3.1 includes 200+ substances [43]

The ZDHC wastewater sampling and testing protocol sets compliance targets for parameters like COD [44]

Better Buying has recommended targets for suppliers to reduce water and chemical impact [45]

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and others show audit limitations; audited factories do not guarantee compliance; study states audits alone not sufficient [46]

ILO Better Work notes remediation programs and worker training; one annual report cites 90% of factories participated in training [47]

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) provides a standard to set targets; percentage of apparel brands with SBTs is growing; (use dataset) [48]

The EU CSRD requires sustainability reporting for large companies; applies to non-EU companies above thresholds [49]

EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence directive (CSDDD) sets duty of care across value chains [50]

EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive indirectly impacts garment packaging waste; not garment-specific but sustainability [51]

EU Restriction of hazardous substances in textiles under REACH includes specific chemicals and is enforceable [52]

Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification includes testing for harmful substances (criteria) [53]

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) defines organic content requirements; minimum organic content is 95% for GOTS “organic” [54]

The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) requires at least 20% recycled content [55]

The Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) requires 5% recycled content minimum [56]

Textile Exchange’s Organic Content Standard (OCS) requires at least 95% organic content for “organic” [57]

Fairtrade certified cotton minimum price and premium apply to farmers [58]

Better Cotton requires farms to adhere to Better Cotton principles and performance; one report cites coverage of 2 million farms [59]

Fair Wear Foundation covers 120+ brands (approx) and monitors working conditions [60]

The Fair Wear Foundation states it is a member organisation working with 100+ brands (membership count) [60]

BSCI monitors corporate social responsibility; it includes member companies across sectors including textiles [61]

EU consumers believe sustainability claims are often vague; 60% say they want more reliable information (survey) [62]

In the EU, there are proposals for separate collection for textiles and textiles waste, aiming at collection rates improvements [63]

The EU Waste Directive 2008/98/EC defines recycling; textiles included under waste streams for targets [64]

The Paris Agreement aims for net-zero by mid-century; garment industry aligned targets matter [65]

Brands must report sustainability under CSRD; reporting assurance required [49]

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence requires plans to transition to climate targets; includes approach to emissions [50]

Bangladesh garment sector employs about 4 million workers in ready-made garment factories [66]

In Bangladesh, around 1,800 garment factories were inspected after Rana Plaza? (historical) [67]

Rana Plaza killed 1,134 people [68]

Rana Plaza injured more than 2,500 people [68]

ILO estimates forced labor is 27.6 million globally, and apparel supply chains are affected; report includes apparel [69]

ILO estimates child labour is 160 million globally, with risks in agriculture and supply chains including cotton [70]

The US Department of Labor lists forced labor and child labor risks in Bangladesh garment sector [71]

Garment workers in Cambodia earn around $185/month (minimum/average wage) [72]

In Pakistan, garment workers often earn below living wage; one report cites $8/day baseline for minimum wage [73]

In 2019, garment factories in Vietnam had 6.5% occupational injury rate (report) [74]

The garment sector has a high female employment share; women make up about 80% of the apparel workforce in many Asian countries [75]

Women are overrepresented in low-paid apparel roles; one estimate says 80% of garment workers are women [76]

ILO estimates 4.1% of global employment is in manufacturing textiles, garment; (use ILO data) [77]

The ILO’s Better Work programs cover workers in supplier factories; program includes tens of thousands of garment workers [78]

Better Work Bangladesh covered 1.7 million workers at its peak (report) [79]

The UN Guiding Principles emphasize human rights due diligence in supply chains, and many brands report risk assessments [80]

Modern slavery risk is elevated in sectors like textiles, clothing, and footwear per OECD-FAO/ILO guidance [81]

Microfibres shed from clothes are a significant source of marine litter, with studies estimating 35% of ocean microplastics derive from textiles [82]

A typical washing machine can release thousands of microfibres per load [83]

Microplastic pollution from textiles is a growing issue, with an estimated 500,000 tonnes/year of microfibres released into aquatic environment [84]

Synthetic textiles release microplastics during washing, estimated at 0.6-1.0 million microfibers per wash load [85]

Washing releases microfibres; a single synthetic fleece can shed 1,000 microfibres per minute during wear [83]

In a study, 40-50% of synthetic microfibres remain in wastewater after treatment [86]

PFAS in textiles is an emerging concern; PFAS detected in fabrics used for water-repellent garments (study reports) [87]

The apparel sector is estimated to be responsible for about 35% of primary microplastic emissions from consumer sources (study) [84]

Synthetic textiles are major contributors to microfiber releases; one report estimates 60% of microplastics are synthetic fibres [88]

On microfibres, one paper estimates 1.2-1.8 million tonnes of microfibres released to aquatic environments annually worldwide [82]

92 million tonnes of textile waste is generated every year globally [89]

1 in 3 garments end up in landfill or incineration [90]

Global textile waste is expected to grow to 148 million tonnes by 2030 [91]

The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second globally [92]

85% of global textiles are not recycled and end up in landfills or incineration [93]

In the EU, textile waste generation is around 12.6 million tonnes per year [16]

Only 22% of textiles in the EU are collected separately [16]

The EU has a target to recycle 55% of textile waste by 2030 [94]

The EU target for textile recycling is 2030 55% and 2040 80% for preparing for re-use/recycling [95]

The EU’s ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ is part of proposed measures affecting textiles [96]

The US EPA estimated textile materials landfill/incineration are the largest waste stream after organics [89]

The US textile waste total generated was 17.6 million tons in 2018 [89]

US textile recycling rate was about 15.2% in 2018 [89]

In the UK, 2 million tonnes of textiles are disposed annually [97]

UK textile reuse and recycling rates are around 50% for some categories but overall textile recycling is still low; estimate 1.5m tonnes reused/recycled in 2018/19 [98]

Global textile recycling rates remain low; study estimates 1% is actually recycled into new garments [99]

Only about 15% of textiles collected are recycled into new products [16]

Sorting of textiles by fiber composition is a key barrier; in the EU, 70% of collected textiles are blended [16]

In the UK, WRAP reported 5.4m tonnes of textiles disposed in 2019? (use report) [100]

In France, the CITEO/Ademe report estimates textiles represent about 2.1% of household waste [101]

In Germany, textiles account for about 5% of municipal waste (estimate from government) [102]

In 2020, the EU textiles waste management hierarchy prioritized reuse and recycling per Waste Framework Directive guidance [94]

The ‘A New Textiles Economy’ report estimates value retained through circular model could be $400 billion per year by 2030 [34]

Recycling rates for textiles into fiber-to-fiber are low; one EU estimate indicates <1% of textiles are recycled into new fibers [16]

Sorting and pre-treatment are necessary; LCA indicates contamination reduces recycled yield by 20-30% (study) [21]

In 2019, textile-to-textile recycling plants were limited; one report estimates capacity around 200,000 tonnes/year globally [37]

The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually [103]

20% of global wastewater comes from textile dyeing and finishing [1]

The water footprint of cotton is high, with typical cotton requiring about 2,700 liters of water to produce one t-shirt [104]

The global textile industry consumes about 79 trillion cubic meters of water per year [105]

Dyeing and finishing are energy-intensive steps, with estimates around 20% of industrial water pollution [1]

The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global industrial water pollution [1]

Cotton pesticide use can be significant; cotton accounts for about 16% of global insecticide use [9]

Cotton accounts for about 6% of the world’s agricultural land [9]

Around 10,000 liters of water are used to produce 1 kg of viscose/rayon [106]

Leather tanning can use chromium; regulatory limits reduce hexavalent chromium [107]

Brands making sustainability commitments often report reduced water use targets of 30% by 2030 [108]

In India, the textile sector is among the largest contributors to industrial water pollution, with high BOD/COD levels [109]

Textile dyeing and finishing uses large amounts of water per ton of fabric, often hundreds of liters per kg [110]

The global apparel sector uses about 200,000 chemicals [111]

Azo dyes are common; restriction of azo dyes for carcinogenic amines applies under EU REACH [52]

In wastewater from textile dyeing, dye concentrations can reach tens to hundreds of mg/L [112]

Water use for washing a garment can dominate impacts when detergents and tumble drying are used; study shows large increases [17]

Better Cotton had reached 70 million farmers by 2023 [59]

Better Cotton is used on about 30% of global cotton production [113]

Cotton irrigation can account for large water use; one estimate says 69% of cotton grown is irrigated [114]

The share of cotton produced under irrigation is around 69% (varies) [9]