Key Insights
The average American family spends approximately $1,700 on clothes annually
Women spend 226% more on clothes than men do over a lifetime
40% of consumers admit to buying clothes they never wear
The fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions
Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year
It takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
The global apparel market is valued at approximately $1.5 trillion
The US apparel market size created $343 billion in revenue in 2023
Asia-Pacific holds the largest share of the global apparel market at 37%
The average garment is worn only 7 times before it is thrown away
Clothing utilization (the number of times an item is worn) has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
82% of items in a typical wardrobe are worn less than 3 times a year
The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2027
Resale is expected to grow 11 times faster than traditional retail by 2025
62% of Gen Z and Millennials look for secondhand items before buying new
Consumer Behavior
The average American family spends approximately $1,700 on clothes annually
Women spend 226% more on clothes than men do over a lifetime
40% of consumers admit to buying clothes they never wear
The average person buys 60% more items of clothing than they did 15 years ago
70% of online shopping carts containing apparel are abandoned before purchase
56% of consumers say they would pay more for products that are sustainably produced
20% of US consumer clothing purchases are now made online
Approximately 30% of all online clothing purchases are returned
Impulsive shopping accounts for 40% of all clothing expenditure
UK households spend an average of £1,000 a year on new clothes
41% of consumers shop for clothes online at least once a month
88% of consumers prefer shopping for clothes in-store to try them on
The average woman has $550 worth of unworn clothing in her closet
1 in 6 young people don't feel they can wear an outfit again once it has been on social media
48% of global consumers say they are reducing their clothing consumption due to inflation
Men spend an average of 30 minutes shopping for clothes per trip, while women spend 90 minutes
65% of consumers check price tags before looking at the item detail
Mobile devices account for over 65% of all e-commerce traffic for fashion retailers
25% of consumers have purchased clothing based on a recommendation from an influencer
During the holiday season, clothing account for 44% of all gifts purchased
Interpretation
We're running a closet-shaped economy where the average American family spends about $1,700 a year, women buy far more than men, and 40% of shoppers admit to buying clothes they never wear; online behavior is frenetic, with 70% of apparel carts abandoned, roughly 30% of online purchases returned and over 65% of fashion traffic coming from mobile; yet 56% say they'd pay more for sustainably produced clothes even as social media makes outfits feel single-use for one in six young people and inflation pushes nearly half of consumers to cut back.
Environmental Impact
The fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions
Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year
It takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt
Textile dysing is the second largest polluter of water globally
92 million tonnes of textile waste is created annually
85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
Making a pair of jeans produces as much greenhouse gases as driving a car more than 80 miles
The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater
Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing
Synthetic fibers like polyester can take up to 200 years to decompose
The carbon footprint of a garment increases by 10% when it is returned by mail
Every second the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned
Cotton farming is responsible for 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides globally despite using only 2.4% of the world's arable land
Extending the life of clothing by just 9 months would reduce carbon, waste and water footprints by around 20-30%
60% of all clothing materials are plastic (polyester, acrylic, nylon)
35% of all microplastics released into the world's oceans are from laundering synthetic textiles
Fast fashion emissions are projected to grow by 50% by 2030
Fashion accounts for 20-35% of microplastic flows into the ocean
73% of the world's clothing eventually ends up in landfills
Traditional cotton farming requires 10,000 liters of water to produce one kilogram of cotton
Interpretation
If your wardrobe had a conscience it would blush, because fashion pumps out about 10% of global carbon, drowns oceans in microfibers and dye pollution, drains rivers to grow cotton, buries most garments in landfills while recycling almost nothing, and yet simply keeping clothes about nine months longer could cut its damage by roughly a quarter.
Garment Usage
The average garment is worn only 7 times before it is thrown away
Clothing utilization (the number of times an item is worn) has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago
82% of items in a typical wardrobe are worn less than 3 times a year
57% of women have a "skinny" section in their wardrobe for clothes that don't fit
A typical wardrobe consists of 148 items
22% of people say they keep clothes for sentimental reasons even if they don't fit
70% of wardrobe friction relates to fit issues rather than style issues
Consumers in the UK have an estimated $40 billion worth of unworn clothes in their closets
90% of our clothing is thrown away long before it needs to be
26% of people admit to wearing an item of clothing only once for a photo
Women wear only 20% to 30% of the clothes in their wardrobe
The average lifespan of a garment in the UK is 2.2 years
33% of women consider clothes "old" after wearing them fewer than three times
47% of people struggle to find space in their wardrobe for their clothes
14% of consumers dispose of clothes simply because they are "bored" with them
On average, men own 20 pairs of shoes, while women own 27
39% of people have forgotten what is in their wardrobe due to clutter
95% of discarded clothing is actually recyclable or reusable
Shoes take up to 40 years to decompose in a landfill
Jeans are washed on average after every 2.5 wears, reducing their lifespan
Interpretation
We treat clothes like flings: the average garment is worn only seven times before it's dumped, 82% of pieces are worn less than three times a year, and an estimated $40 billion of unworn UK clothing quietly rots while shoes sit for decades in landfills, proving impulse, poor fit, forgetfulness and boredom outweigh durability and the planet.
Market Economics
The global apparel market is valued at approximately $1.5 trillion
The US apparel market size created $343 billion in revenue in 2023
Asia-Pacific holds the largest share of the global apparel market at 37%
There are over 300 million people employed in the fashion industry value chain
The fast fashion market was valued at $106 billion in 2022
LVMH is the most valuable luxury clothing company in the world by market cap
Online sales channels are expected to claim 50% of the fashion market in developed countries by 2025
China is the largest exporter of clothes in the world, exporting $145 billion annually
The luxury apparel market is projected to reach $84 billion by 2025
Nike is the most valuable apparel brand in the world with a brand value of roughly $30 billion
The sportswear segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6% through 2028
The global menswear market is roughly $450 billion
Women's apparel constitutes nearly 60% of the total apparel market share
The bridal wear market is expected to reach $73 billion by 2024
Production of clothing has doubled between 2000 and 2014
The children’s wear market was valued at over $170 billion in 2022
Employment in the US apparel manufacturing sector dropped 85% between 1990 and 2020
The global lingerie market is valued at approximately $42 billion
43% of fashion executives expect inflation to be the top challenge in 2024
India's textile and apparel market is expected to reach $190 billion by 2025
Interpretation
The $1.5 trillion apparel industry reads like a tale of two wardrobes: Asia-Pacific and China power mass production and exports while online channels, sportswear growth and luxury names like Nike and LVMH cash in, even as doubled output, steep U.S. factory job losses and a booming fast fashion sector force uncomfortable questions about labor, sustainability and inflation.
Resale & Circularity
The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $350 billion by 2027
Resale is expected to grow 11 times faster than traditional retail by 2025
62% of Gen Z and Millennials look for secondhand items before buying new
Buying a used garment extends its life by 2.2 years on average
Buying one used item replaces the production of a new one, reducing its carbon footprint by 82%
70% of consumers have bought or are open to buying secondhand goods
The rental clothing market is projected to reach $2.5 billion by 2023
40% of the secondhand market consists of clothing, shoes, and accessories
Depop has over 30 million registered users, 90% of whom are under 26
Nearly 2 in 3 consumers believe their individual consumption habits have a significant impact on the planet
118 million Americans tried reselling fashion for the first time in 2021
The global clothing repair and alteration market is valued at $12 billion
Vinted, a secondhand marketplace, was valued at €3.5 billion in 2021
45% of Millennials refuse to buy from sustainable brands if the price isn't competitive
Only 15% of unwanted clothes are collected for recycling or reuse in the US
50% of fast fashion brands have no clear targets for reducing plastic packaging
60% of consumers say they would repair their clothes if they knew how
The luxury resale market grew by 24% in 2022
Upcycling fashion searches increased by 42% on Pinterest in one year
Goodwill industries diverts more than 3 billion pounds of clothing from landfills annually
Interpretation
Turns out your closet is the next climate frontline: resale and rental are exploding thanks to young shoppers and huge carbon savings from used garments, but with recycling rates low, repair know-how scarce, and price still king, scaling secondhand sales, repairs and upcycling is the only realistic way to outpace fast fashion's footprint.
Sources & References
Learn more about our research methodology and data verification process on our About page.