Sustainable Fashion Industry Statistics

The average person worldwide buys 60% more clothing than 15 years ago [1]

The average consumer keeps clothes for about half as long as they did 15 years ago [1]

In 2022, 66% of consumers in the UK reported they buy sustainable products because of ethical and environmental reasons [2]

In 2022, 46% of consumers in the UK said sustainable products cost more but are worth it [2]

In a 2020 survey, 73% of US consumers considered sustainability when choosing what to buy [3]

In a 2020 survey, 66% of US consumers said sustainability influences purchase decisions at least sometimes [3]

In 2019, consumers in the EU were willing to pay on average 10% more for sustainable apparel [4]

In the EU, 77% of consumers agreed that better information on how clothes are made would help them make more sustainable choices [4]

In a 2022 survey, 61% of shoppers in the US said they had bought a sustainable product in the past year [5]

In a 2022 survey, 49% of US shoppers said they would pay more for sustainable products [5]

In 2018, fast fashion accounted for 28% of global apparel sales [6]

In 2018, the global average spending on clothing per capita was about $124 per year [7]

In 2019, EU consumers reported that only 24% of them repaired clothes [8]

In the EU, 33% of citizens said they donate clothes as a way of disposal [8]

In the EU, 21% of citizens said they throw away clothes that could be used [8]

Fairtrade reports that as of 2023 it had reached 5.1 million people through Fairtrade in 2022 (impact reporting) [9]

The ILO estimates there are 40 million people in forced labor globally [10]

The ILO estimates 152 million children are in child labour globally (as of 2020) [11]

The ILO estimates 79 million are in hazardous work [11]

The ILO estimates the number of people in modern slavery is 50 million (2016 estimate) [12]

Bangladesh garment industry workforce is about 4 million workers [13]

The 2018 Rana Plaza collapse killed 1,134 people [14]

The 2013 Rana Plaza injuries were more than 2,500 people [14]

The US Department of Labor (List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor) lists certain categories for Bangladesh and other countries (number of goods and countries varies); this page includes detailed lists [15]

In Cambodia’s garment sector, the ILO estimates around 700,000 workers were employed in garments in 2019 [16]

In Ethiopia’s textile and garment sector, the ILO reports 75,000 workers employed (2019 estimate) [17]

In 2021, Bangladesh’s minimum wage for garment workers was 8,000 BDT per month [18]

In 2022, Pakistan’s minimum wage for garment workers was 25,000 PKR per month (reported by ILO/PPP wage policy context) [19]

The Rana Plaza tragedy occurred on April 24, 2013 [20]

In 2020, 57% of surveyed garment workers reported experiencing wage deductions [21]

In 2020, 25% of surveyed garment workers reported threats of dismissal or disciplinary action [21]

2022 global apparel market size was $1.75 trillion [22]

2022 global fashion e-commerce market size was about $110 billion [23]

2023 global textile fiber production was about 117 million tonnes [24]

2022 global polyester production reached about 65 million tonnes [25]

The global market for recycled polyester fiber was about $6.5 billion in 2023 [26]

The global market for sustainable fashion was about $8.25 billion in 2021 and projected to reach about $15.65 billion by 2028 [27]

In 2020, EU fashion and textile industry turnover was about €162 billion [28]

In 2020, the EU had about 164,000 textile enterprises [28]

In 2019, the EU textiles and apparel sector employed about 1.4 million people [28]

In 2018, the value of EU exports of textile and clothing was €35.2 billion [29]

In 2018, the value of EU imports of textile and clothing was €115.6 billion [29]

In 2020, EU clothing exports were €30.6 billion [29]

In 2020, EU clothing imports were €76.3 billion [29]

In 2021, global clothing consumption increased by 1% compared with 2020 (based on GROWTH in household consumption) [30]

In 2021, global textile and apparel exports were $376.3 billion (World Trade) [31]

In 2021, global textile and apparel imports were $354.6 billion (World Trade) [31]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that circular textiles could keep value in use up to $400 billion annually by 2030 [32]

In the US, apparel and footwear retail sales in 2023 were about $377.4 billion [33]

In the US, the apparel share sold online in 2023 was about 29% [34]

In 2020, the global organic cotton market size was about $6.3 billion [35]

In 2022, the global market size for recycled polyester was about $8 billion [36]

Lenzing claims 99% of its production uses renewable wood-based materials [37]

H&M reports 100% of their cotton is Better Cotton by mass in 2021 [38]

H&M claims use of recycled polyester in 2022 for about 19% of polyester content [39]

Inditex reported using 100% certified sustainable cotton in 2018 [40]

Levi Strauss & Co. says it reached 40% of cotton sourced from sustainable programs (organic, recycled, and other) [41]

Adidas reported that by 2024 at least 99% of cotton used will be sustainably sourced [42]

Adidas reported that 100% of polyester used in products will be recycled by 2024 [42]

Nike reported that in 2023, 100% of its materials meet its chemistry requirements [43]

The Textile Exchange 2022 Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report notes organic cotton accounted for about 4% of global cotton production [44]

The Textile Exchange 2022 Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report notes recycled polyester accounted for about 13% of global polyester fiber production [44]

The Textile Exchange 2023 Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report notes recycled polyester reached about 19% of polyester fiber production [45]

The Textile Exchange 2023 Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report notes certified organic cotton was about 1.6 million tonnes [45]

The Textile Exchange 2023 Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report notes certified recycled polyester demand was about 1.4 million tonnes [45]

The GRS (Global Recycled Standard) covers 6.0 billion kg of recycled material in 2022 (cumulative chain-of-custody) [46]

The GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) has certified producers numbering over 3,000 by 2022 [47]

The OEKO-TEX Standard 100 has tested more than 100,000 products since its launch (verification milestone) [48]

The Better Cotton system covered about 3.5 million farmers by 2021 [49]

Better Cotton sourced about 6.1 million tonnes of cotton in 2021 [49]

In 2022, Patagonia reports 70% of its total materials are recycled, organic, or regenerative [50]

Common recycled polyester feedstock includes PET; recycled polyester reduces demand for virgin polyester [51]

The EU Circular Economy Action Plan targets that by 2030, textiles should be collected separately and sorted [52]

The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) includes requirements for textiles and garment products under the Sustainable Products Initiative (adopted 2024/2025) [53]

The EU Waste Framework Directive sets a target of re-use and recycling of municipal waste of 55% by 2025 (applies broadly to municipal streams including textiles) [54]

The EU Landfill Directive target is to reduce landfill to 10% of municipal waste by 2035 [54]

The European Commission adopted an EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles in March 2022 [55]

The EU Strategy’s headline target is that by 2030, textile waste should be reduced and more collected and recycled (framework) [55]

The EU has adopted mandatory labelling requirements for textiles through ESPR pathways including digital product passports for some products [56]

France’s AGEC law includes a requirement for “EPR” (extended producer responsibility) for textiles [57]

Norway’s Producer Responsibility regulation includes EPR for textiles and clothing with collection and reporting duties [58]

California’s SB 62 (Textiles) requires a textiles management fee and established enforcement starting 2024 [59]

California SB 253 (2022) adds requirements on PFAS in textiles (implementation timeline) [60]

The UK Environment Act 2021 enables deposit return schemes and extended producer responsibilities including textiles [61]

The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) applies to certain large companies from 2024 reporting year [62]

The EU CS3D directive requires due diligence regarding human rights and environment for companies in scope [63]

The UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires annual modern slavery statements by certain companies [64]

The U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) takes effect in June 2022 [65]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that the circular economy could reduce GHG emissions by 45% by 2030 relative to baseline for specific sectors including textiles [32]

In 2023, the EU had a separate collection rate for textiles around 25% (policy context) [66]

In 2019, the EU27 recorded 1,580,000 tonnes of textile waste generated [67]

In 2019, the EU27 generated 1,160,000 tonnes of municipal textile waste [67]

In 2019, the EU27 collected about 640,000 tonnes of municipal textile waste [67]

In 2019, the EU27 had a municipal textile waste recycling rate of about 26% [67]

Over 70% of textile waste in the EU is landfilled or incinerated [67]

Textile production and consumption contributes about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions [68]

The fashion industry accounts for about 20% of global wastewater [68]

Approximately 85% of textiles are not recycled in the EU [67]

The EU’s textile waste generation in 2019 was about 12.6 kg per person [67]

In 2018, the UK household textile waste was about 1.3 million tonnes [69]

In 2018, the UK household textile waste recycling rate was about 25% [69]

Microplastic pollution from textiles is estimated at about 35% of all microplastics released to the environment globally [70]

Washing synthetic textiles releases microfibers; estimates suggest a single wash can release thousands of fibers [71]

In a 2016 study, emissions from textiles washing were about 0.2 to 1.6 million fibers per kg of fabric washed [72]

In 2019, global textile recycling rate was about 14% [73]

In 2017, global microfiber releases from textiles were estimated at around 500,000 tonnes per year [74]

In 2018, the EU reported 16.6 million tonnes of textile waste generated (EU-28, 2017-2018 period) [75]

In 2018, the EU reused about 0.1 million tonnes of textiles (reuse rate low) [75]

In 2018, the EU landfill/incineration of textiles was about 12.5 million tonnes [75]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that more circular approaches could reduce material waste by 44% [32]

Textile-to-textile recycling rate is currently low; Ellen MacArthur estimates only 1% of used textiles are recycled into new textiles globally [32]

The World Bank estimates textile waste is increasing globally; the World Bank notes that 92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced worldwide annually [76]

The World Bank 2023 report states the global textile waste number is about 92 million tonnes annually [76]

The World Bank also reports only about 20% of used textiles are collected for recycling or reuse [76]

The World Bank report states that about 1% of textiles are recycled into new garments [76]

The EC JRC report indicates that the average EU collection for textiles reached about 0.6 kg per person per year around 2019 [77]

Research on microfiber capture shows filtration can reduce microfiber emissions by up to 90% (lab scale) [78]

In a 2019 study, textile wear and washing released about 1900 microfibers per liter of wastewater in model conditions (order-of-magnitude) [79]

In 2018, the UNFCCC reported that textiles and clothing lifecycle emissions were estimated at 4% of global total GHG [80]

The UNFCCC fact sheet states the fashion industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions by 2050 estimate [80]

The UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion report states fashion is responsible for 2-8% of global GHG emissions depending on accounting [81]