Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global waste water
It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make just one cotton t-shirt
The textile industry uses approximately 93 billion cubic meters of water annually
The fashion industry accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions
Fashion production emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined
The apparel industry's global emissions are predicted to increase by 50% by 2030
35% of all primary microplastics released into the ocean come from synthetic textiles
Roughly 500,000 tons of plastic microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing clothes
A single wash load of polyester clothes can release 700,000 microplastic fibers
92 million tonnes of textile waste is created annually globally
The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second
Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
Cotton cultivation uses 2.5% of the world's cultivated land but consumes 16% of all insecticides
24% of the world's insecticide market is used for growing cotton
43 million tonnes of chemicals are used in textile production every year
Chemicals & Soil Impact
- Cotton cultivation uses 2.5% of the world's cultivated land but consumes 16% of all insecticides
- 24% of the world's insecticide market is used for growing cotton
- 43 million tonnes of chemicals are used in textile production every year
- Over 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles
- 11% of the world's pesticides are used in cotton cultivation
- Hazardous chemicals like PFAs are found in stain-resistant clothing
- Non-organic cotton farming significantly degrades soil quality via monoculture
- 20,000 to 40,000 farmers die from pesticide poisoning annually mostly in cotton sectors
- Aldicarb a cotton pesticide is acutely toxic to humans and wildlife
- Chromium-6 used in leather tanning is a known carcinogen
- About 25% of the chemical compounds used in textile production are considered hazardous
- 1 kg of chemicals is needed to process 1 kg of textiles
- 77% of cotton produced globally is still grown with synthetic fertilizers
- Conventional cotton depletes soil nutrients requiring heavy fertilizer application
- Azo dyes can release carcinogenic amines and are banned in the EU but used elsewhere
- Chlorine bleaching release dioxins which are highly toxic persistent organic pollutants
- 30% of chemical use in low-income countries comes from the textile agriculture sector
- Formaldehyde is used in 15% of textile finishing processes to prevent wrinkling
- Heavy metals like lead and cadmium are frequently found in textile dyes
- Glyphosate use in cotton fields has increased resistance in weeds requiring stronger chemicals
Interpretation
A crop occupying only 2.5% of cultivated land has become a tiny but toxic empire that consumes 16% of global insecticides and 11% of pesticides, drives a 24% share of the insecticide market, fuels 43 million tonnes of textile chemicals each year including PFAS, chromium-6, formaldehyde and azo dye residues, strips soils through monoculture and heavy fertilizer use, kills and sickens thousands of farmers, and exports its pollution burden to the poorest countries that end up paying the highest price.
GHG Emissions & Energy
- The fashion industry accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions
- Fashion production emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined
- The apparel industry's global emissions are predicted to increase by 50% by 2030
- Polyester production for textiles in 2015 released about 706 billion kg of CO2e
- One pair of jeans releases 33.4 kilograms of CO2 equivalent during its lifecycle
- If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory its share of the carbon budget could jump to 26% by 2050
- Nylon manufacturing creates nitrous oxide a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2
- The footwear industry contributes 1.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions
- Producing a polyester shirt has double the carbon footprint of a cotton shirt
- 70% of the fashion industry’s emissions come from upstream activities like material production
- A single cotton t-shirt generates about 2.1 kg of CO2e
- Texturizing polyester requires 10 times more energy than producing the initial polymer
- Coal is the primary energy source for many textile manufacturing hubs in Asia
- The carbon footprint of a garment produced in Bangladesh can be 40% higher due to energy mix
- Buying one used item reduces its carbon footprint by 82%
- The annual greenhouse gas emissions from textile production are 1.2 billion tonnes
- Energy consumption in the textile industry is estimated at 15-20 MJ per kilogram of finished product
- Synthetic fibers rely on fossil fuel extraction causing significant methane leakage
- Online shopping returns in the US alone created 15 million metric tons of carbon emissions in 2020
- Laundry alone accounts for approx 120 million tonnes of CO2e annually in the US
Interpretation
Fast fashion is running the planet's climate account into the red: from polyester and nylon's fossil-fuel addiction and potent nitrous oxide emissions to energy-hungry texturizing, coal-fired factories that can make garments 40% dirtier, and the hidden footprint of laundry and returns, the industry already emits about 10% of global greenhouse gases and could claim over a quarter of the carbon budget by 2050 unless we switch materials, clean up energy, and embrace reuse.
Microplastics & Synthetics
- 35% of all primary microplastics released into the ocean come from synthetic textiles
- Roughly 500,000 tons of plastic microfibers are released into the ocean every year from washing clothes
- A single wash load of polyester clothes can release 700,000 microplastic fibers
- Microfibers from synthetic fabrics created the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles dumped into the ocean
- 73% of deepwater fish in the Northwest Atlantic have microplastics in their stomachs often from textiles
- Synthetic fibers now account for over 60% of global fiber production
- Acrylic fabric releases nearly 730,000 microfibers per wash
- Microplastics have been found in the placentas of unborn babies often linked to synthetic polymers
- 2.2 million tons of microfibers enter the ocean every year
- Wearing kinetic synthetic clothing releases microfibers into the air not just water
- Microfibers make up to 85% of human-made debris on shorelines worldwide
- Polyester does not biodegrade and can remain in landfills for 200 years
- 84% of microplastics found in the air are from synthetic textiles
- The release of primary microplastics from textiles is expected to increase by 54% by 2030
- Wastewater treatment plants only capture about 65% to 90% of microfibers
- Microplastics from textiles have been discovered in the Arctic snow
- 16-35% of global microplastics released to oceans are from synthetic textiles
- 40% of microfibers entering wastewater treatment plants end up in sludge applied to agricultural land
- Global production of polyester fibers increased from 5.2 million tons in 1980 to 53.7 million tons in 2018
- About 60 million tons of synthetic fibers are produced annually
Interpretation
Our favorite outfits have become stealthy polluters, with polyester production ballooning to about 60 million tons a year and a single wash shedding as many as 700,000 microfibers; synthetic textiles now account for a massive share of microplastics, dumping the equivalent of tens of billions of plastic bottles and trillions of fibers into oceans, air, Arctic snow and even human placentas, overwhelming wastewater plants that catch only a portion and sending fiber‑laden sludge onto farms, and the problem is set to grow by roughly 54% by 2030 unless we change what we wear and how we wash it.
Textile Waste & Landfill
- 92 million tonnes of textile waste is created annually globally
- The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned every second
- Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
- The average American throws away approximately 81.5 lbs of clothes every year
- Textile waste has increased by 811% since 1960 in the United States
- Global clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014
- 57% of all discarded clothes end up in landfills
- The average number of times a garment is worn has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
- In the UK roughly 300,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in household bins every year
- 87% of the total fiber input used for clothing is eventually incinerated or landfilled
- Only 12% of collected clothing is recycled globally mostly into lower value insulation
- Up to 40% of textile shipments in Ghana's Kantamanto market are discarded as waste
- Approximately 15 million used garments arrive in Ghana every week
- 30% of clothes produced are never sold
- Australia recycles only 7% of its textile waste
- The Atacama Desert in Chile contains a dump of 39,000 tons of discarded clothing
- 95% of textiles sent to landfill could be recycled or reused
- Textile waste is expected to create 148 million tons annually by 2030
- The value of lost clothing material globally is estimated at $500 billion per year
- Hong Kong sends 343 tonnes of textiles to landfills daily
Interpretation
We're treating clothing like disposable confetti, producing 92 million tonnes a year—enough to send a garbage truck of textiles to be landfilled or burned every second—while recycling less than 1% into new garments and squandering an estimated $500 billion as landfills, deserts and markets from Hong Kong to Ghana overflow and the crisis heads toward 148 million tons by 2030.
Water Usage & Pollution
- The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global waste water
- It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make just one cotton t-shirt
- The textile industry uses approximately 93 billion cubic meters of water annually
- Textile mills generate one-fifth of the world's industrial water pollution
- In India, the textile industry is the third largest consumer of water after agriculture and paper
- Producing a single pair of jeans requires approximately 7,500 liters of water
- 85% of the daily water needs of the entire population of India would be met by the water used to grow cotton for textiles
- Water consumption in the fashion industry is projected to increase by 50% by 2030
- Conventional textile finishing consumes around 100 liters of water per kilogram of textile
- The Aral Sea has shrunk to 10% of its former volume largely due to cotton irrigation
- Textile processing creates 2.5 billion tons of wastewater annually in China
- About 200,000 tons of dyes are discharged into waterways every year globally
- Dye houses in Bangladesh can dump heavily toxic wastewater directly into rivers
- One kilogram of cotton production requires an average of 10,000 liters of water
- 40% of the water used in textile dyeing is discharged as effluent containing harmful chemicals
- The Citarum River in Indonesia is considered one of the most polluted in the world due to 400+ textile factories
- 20% of freshwater pollution flows from textile treatment and dyeing
- Producing one kilogram of fabric generates between 30 and 600 liters of wastewater
- Global water use for apparel production is enough to fill 37 million Olympic swimming pools annually
- It takes four times more water to produce a cotton shirt than the lifecycle water intake of a person
Interpretation
Knowing it takes about 2,700 liters to make a single cotton T shirt and roughly 7,500 liters for a pair of jeans, it's not hard to see how an industry that guzzles roughly 93 billion cubic meters of water a year—enough to fill 37 million Olympic swimming pools—generates billions of tons of toxic wastewater and hundreds of thousands of tons of dye that choke rivers from the Aral Sea basin to the Citarum, consumes so much cotton water that production could meet 85 percent of India's daily needs, and is on track to increase consumption by 50 percent by 2030 is fashionable yet utterly ruinous to our shared water supply.
References
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