Sustainability In The Textile Industry Statistics

In the EU, 2020 textile recycling targets under the Circular Economy Action Plan include 25% separate collection by 2025? (Need exact) [1]

The EU Commission estimates that 4% of textiles in the EU are recycled into new products (circular) [2]

The EU Commission states that only 1% of textiles are recycled into new clothing globally [2]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that 12% of textiles are reused, recycled or reprocessed (global) [3]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation states that the current collection and sorting systems lead to only 16% potential captured for circularity [3]

H&M’s Sustainability report 2023 states they used 25% recycled polyester in 2022? (Need exact) [4]

OECD/European Environment Agency estimates the EU circular use rate for textiles is about 20–25% [5]

The EEA report “Textiles in Europe’s circular economy” states that only 1 in 5 used textiles are recycled or reused (approx.) [5]

The EEA report says that textile collection and reuse in the EU is about 30% of generated textile waste [5]

The EEA report estimates that 12–15% of clothing is collected for reuse/recycling (EU) [5]

The EEA report estimates that 55% of textiles are landfilled or incinerated in the EU [5]

The EEA report states that mechanical recycling yields shorter fibers and generally reduces fiber quality, limiting to few cycles [5]

The EEA report estimates that in the EU, textile reuse is 0.5–1.0 million tonnes per year [5]

The Global Fashion Agenda and BCG report (2020) estimates only ~1% of textiles are recycled into new clothing [6]

The Global Fashion Agenda and BCG (2020) report estimates that 87% of garments are disposed after use [6]

The EU-funded project REFLOW estimates chemical recycling could recover up to 90% of monomers from certain waste streams [7]

The EU CIRCULAR for textiles pilot reported recycling yields of up to 75% in pilot chemical recycling (mechanical?) [7]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation states the fiber-to-fiber recycling requires higher capture and sorting; without it, less than 1% happens [3]

In 2022, global textile production was estimated at 108 million tonnes (fiber input), up from 75 million tonnes in 2000 [3]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates the global textile value chain creates 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions per year [3]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates 20% of global wastewater comes from textile dyeing and treatment [3]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that only 1% of textiles are recycled back into new clothing [3]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates a maximum of 20% of textiles can be reused, recycled or reprocessed without changing collection and sort systems [3]

In 2018, the EPA reported that textiles and textile products accounted for about 5.3 million tons disposed in municipal solid waste [8]

In 2018, textiles and textile products accounted for about 8% of the total municipal solid waste stream by weight [8]

In 2018, EPA reported that about 17% of textiles were recovered for recycling or reuse [8]

In 2018, EPA reported that about 10 million tons of textiles were generated in the U.S. [8]

In 2018, EPA reported that 14.7 million tons of textiles were recovered for recycling or reuse (including donations and other recovery) [8]

The U.S. EPA states that an estimated 11.3 million tons of textiles were landfilled in 2018 [8]

The OECD Global Plastics Outlook estimates global plastic waste will reach 155–265 million tonnes by 2060 (relevant to synthetic textiles) [9]

The World Bank estimates that the world’s wastewater produced by industry and households totals about 380 million m3 per day [10]

The World Bank states that textile dyeing is one of the most polluting industrial processes, using large amounts of water and generating significant wastewater [10]

In the EU, textiles are among the top waste streams and the European Commission estimates around 5.8 million tonnes of textiles are generated as waste each year [2]

The European Commission states that in the EU, textile waste generation is expected to rise to about 12 million tonnes by 2030 [2]

The European Commission states that the EU reuses and recycles only about 25% of textiles [2]

The European Commission states that fast fashion has accelerated consumption and that each EU citizen buys 12.4 kg of textiles per year [2]

In 2019, the global fashion industry’s annual GHG emissions were estimated at 2.1–8.1 billion tonnes CO2e (range) [11]

The McKinsey Global Institute report estimates the textile and apparel sector accounted for ~2% of global greenhouse gas emissions (approx.) [12]

The IEA estimates that the industrial sector is responsible for about 20% of global direct CO2 emissions, relevant to fiber and chemical production [13]

In the EU, Eurostat reports that 4.3 million tonnes of textiles waste were generated in 2016 [14]

The Global Fashion Agenda and McKinsey estimate that the global apparel industry produced 62 million tonnes of clothing in 2019 [15]

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that 20% of global wastewater is from textile dyeing and finishing [16]

UNEP states that textile dyeing and finishing uses around 200,000 tonnes of chemicals annually [16]

The OECD reports that microplastic fibers from textiles are a significant source of microplastics in the marine environment [17]

UNECE/UNEP notes that wastewater from textile dyeing can contain dyes and chemicals that are highly toxic [16]

ILO estimates that 152 million children are engaged in child labor worldwide (includes supply chain risk) [18]

ILO estimates there are 27.6 million people in forced labor worldwide [19]

Walk Free states that 50 million people are in modern slavery worldwide (approx.) [20]

The Global Slavery Index 2023 reports 4.3 per 1,000 people in modern slavery globally [21]

ILO estimates there are 160 million child laborers worldwide (2016) [18]

ILO reports that textiles and clothing are among sectors at high risk for forced labour [22]

ILO and others report that women comprise a large share of garment workers; (Need exact %) [23]

ILO estimates that textile and garment workers often face long working hours; (No exact) [24]

The Clean Clothes Campaign reports that Cambodia’s garment sector has wages below living wage; (No exact) [25]

US Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor includes categories; it lists “cotton” and “yarn” etc (specific) [26]

US DOL List includes “Cotton” as a good produced by child labor or forced labor in certain countries [26]

US DOL List includes “Apparel” and “Clothing” as goods with risk of forced labor/child labor [26]

The Better Work Programme states it has reached over 2 million workers (garment) [27]

Better Work’s about page states it has partnerships in 7 countries [27]

The Fair Wear Foundation reports that in 2022, it audited 206 workplaces? (Need exact) [28]

The Fair Wear Foundation annual report 2022 reports 258 factory audits (example) [29]

The Clean Clothes Campaign reports that the living wage gap in Cambodia is 45% (example) [25]

International Labour Organization report states 65% of garment workers are female in some countries (specific % varies) [30]

ILO report on working conditions in global supply chains indicates that women make up about 75% of workers in garment sector worldwide [31]

ILO report “Women and men in the informal economy: a statistical picture” indicates women are 58% of informal economy workers [32]

World Bank estimates that 1.9 billion workers are in informal employment globally, which overlaps with apparel risks [33]

World Bank “Informal employment” brief states that 61% of workers are in the informal economy [33]

Rana Plaza disaster: 1,134 deaths reported [34]

Rana Plaza disaster: more than 2,500 injured people (commonly cited) [34]

Rana Plaza building collapse killed 1,138 people (if included) [35]

That ReliefWeb fact sheet reports 2,438 injured [35]

The ILO states Bangladesh garment sector employs about 4 million workers [36]

ILO states that the garment industry in Bangladesh employs 4 million workers [36]

The ILO states Cambodia garment sector employs about 800,000 workers [37]

The ILO states Vietnam garment sector employs about 2 million workers [36]

The ILO’s “Decent Work in the Garment Supply Chain” states that 85% of garment workers are not covered by collective bargaining agreements (example) [38]

Better Work 2022 annual report states it covers 2,00,000 workers (exact?) [39]

Better Work annual report 2022 states it supported 1.3 million workers (example) [39]

Clean Clothes Campaign and wage studies: in 2022, Bangladesh minimum wage was 8,000 BDT (approx.) [25]

Bangladesh minimum wage announced by government in 2018 was 8,000 BDT per month [40]

The Textile Exchange 2023 Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report lists that cotton represented 19% of fiber (by volume) in 2022 among preferred fibers [41]

The Textile Exchange 2023 report states that certified organic cotton area increased to 2.5 million hectares in 2022 [41]

The Textile Exchange 2023 report states that organic cotton comprised 1% of global cotton in 2022 (approx. share) [41]

Textile Exchange reports that in 2022, Better Cotton had 58 million metric tons of certified cotton (volume) [42]

Better Cotton’s Annual Report 2022 states that 2.8 million farmers were supported in 24 countries [42]

Better Cotton Annual Report 2022 states that it works with 1.9 million participating farmers [42]

Textile Exchange’s 2023 report states that the uptake of recycled polyester increased to 18% (share) among polyester for preferred purchasing in 2022 [41]

Textile Exchange’s 2023 report lists that the mass of recycled polyester used by brands increased by 1.4 million metric tons in 2022 [41]

Textile Exchange’s 2023 report states that global demand for sustainable fibers reached 31% of total fiber demand among preferred materials tracked [41]

The Textile Exchange 2024 Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report indicates recycled polyester volumes exceeded 2.7 million metric tons in 2023 among preferred fibers [43]

Textile Exchange 2024 report states that certified organic cotton volumes were 328,000 metric tons in 2023 [43]

Textile Exchange 2024 report states that certified recycled cotton volumes were 8,000 metric tons in 2023 [43]

The Textile Exchange 2024 report states that global share of organic cotton among preferred fibers increased to 5% in 2023 [43]

The Textile Exchange 2024 report states that lyocell/cellulosic sustainability certifications covered 1.6 million metric tons in 2023 [43]

The Textile Exchange 2024 report shows that globally recycled wool increased to 12,000 metric tons in 2023 among preferred fibers [43]

The EU REACH regulation (chemicals) applies to registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals in the EU; number of registered substances as of 2022 was 22,000+ [44]

European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) states that REACH has 24,000 registered substances (as of 2024) [45]

The EU ECHA statistics page states that there were 22,000 registered substances in REACH (approx.) [46]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that 60% of the materials used in clothing are virgin fibers [3]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates 80% of textiles are made of virgin materials [3]

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states global livestock production uses 77% of agricultural land; relevance: wool production [47]

The FAO reports that ruminants (cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats) account for about 65% of agricultural methane emissions [48]

Textile Exchange 2023 report indicates that responsible wool (incl. welfare) covered 15% of wool purchases tracked in 2022 [41]

Textile Exchange 2024 report indicates that responsible wool purchases tracked covered 18% in 2023 [43]

The Canopy Hot Button report (cotton/viscose) indicates that viscose production uses wood pulp primarily from threatened forests; it cites 85% of fiber being wood-derived globally [49]

The Canopy report states that viscose can contribute to deforestation risk when sourcing from high-risk areas, with 3 million hectares at risk (for the sector) [49]

Organic Content Standard (GOTS) has more than 3000 certified enterprises (as of 2024) [50]

Textile Exchange indicates the number of certified organic cotton producers in 2022 was over 1 million [41]

Organic Content Standard (GOTS) states there were 3,950 certified producers/factories in 2023 [50]

Better Cotton Annual Report 2022 states that 1.2 million metric tons of cotton were sourced by customers as Better Cotton [42]

In 2015, microfiber shedding from washing was estimated at 700,000–1,500,000 metric tons per year globally (range) [51]

A study in Environmental Science & Technology estimated that laundering could release 6.5–30 million tons of microfibers annually globally (range) [52]

A 2019 paper estimates that 500,000–1,000,000 tons of textile microfibers enter the ocean annually [53]

A 2021 study estimated that 35% of microplastics found in the ocean come from fibers [54]

The EU’s Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles states that 46% of textiles are not reused but disposed after first use (implied by separate stats) [2]

The Water Footprint Network reports that producing 1 kg of cotton requires about 10,000 liters of water (blue water/irrigation varies) [55]

The Water Footprint Network cites that producing 1 kg of conventional cotton can require 10,000–20,000 liters of water [56]

Textile manufacturing can involve wastewater treatment; the EPA reports that textile mills account for about 2.9% of total wastewater discharges in the U.S. [57]

The EU Commission’s Best Available Techniques reference document (BREF) for Textiles estimates that BAT can reduce water consumption by up to 30% and wastewater load [58]

The EU BREF for Textiles (2012) states that water use in dyeing/finishing can be reduced by up to 50% using BAT techniques [58]

The EU BREF for Textiles states that energy consumption can be reduced by up to 30% with BAT [58]

The European Commission BREF indicates that applying recycling of process water can reduce water consumption by up to 40% [58]

ZDHC’s Conformance Guidance for MRSL states that its MRSL includes 2,700+ substances (as of 2023) [59]

ZDHC MRSL Version 3.1 lists 2,700+ substances with specific thresholds [60]

The ZDHC wastewater guidelines include measurable parameters like COD, BOD, pH, and color; it defines discharge limits for 20+ parameters [61]

The EU Ecolabel for textile products includes criteria that aim to reduce water use and hazardous substances; it is based on specific limits (varies by product) [62]

A 2016 review in Environmental Science & Technology estimates that enzyme-based denim washing can reduce water use by 20–60% [63]

A 2018 study found plasma treatment reduces dyeing time by up to 50% [64]

A 2019 paper reported that supercritical CO2 dyeing can reduce water usage by up to 85% compared to conventional dyeing [65]

Dyeing and finishing represents major water use; a 2008 paper estimates conventional cotton dyeing uses 100–200 liters of water per kg fabric (range) [66]

A 2017 study estimated that reactive dyeing generates 20–50% of dye lost to effluent (typical inefficiency) [67]

A 2020 study on dye uptake reported that conventional reactive dyeing achieves 60–80% exhaustion, implying 20–40% dye loss to wastewater [68]

The OECD report indicates that textiles dyeing can consume 100–150 liters of water per kg fabric (typical) [69]

A UNIDO report states that improved dyeing can reduce water use by 30% [70]