Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
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.
References
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