Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The average person only wears 20% of their wardrobe regularly
The global apparel market is valued at $1.5 trillion
The average American throws away about 81 pounds of clothing each year
Fast fashion produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions
The average woman owns 103 items of clothing
40% of clothes in the wardrobe are never or rarely worn
Americans spend about $1,866 per person per year on apparel
T-shirts and jeans are the most commonly worn clothing items globally
The average American buys 68 garments a year
The global used clothing market is projected to reach $218 billion by 2026
60% of materials made into clothing are plastic
Fashion is the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply
Only 15% of clothing is recycled or donated
Consumer Behavior
- The average person only wears 20% of their wardrobe regularly
- The average woman owns 103 items of clothing
- 40% of clothes in the wardrobe are never or rarely worn
- Americans spend about $1,866 per person per year on apparel
- T-shirts and jeans are the most commonly worn clothing items globally
- The average American buys 68 garments a year
- The average lifespan of a piece of clothing is about 2.2 years
- Secondhand clothing sales have increased 21 times faster than retail clothing sales
- 60% of consumers consider sustainable clothing when shopping
- Fast fashion companies release 52 "micro-seasons" per year
- The average length of time a garment is used before disposal has declined by 36% in 15 years
- One in three young women considers an item worn once or twice to be old
- In the U.S., women own an average of 30 outfits, one for every day of the month
- 1 in 2 people throw unwanted clothes directly into the trash
- Stitch Fix reported that 67% of women feel overwhelmed by their clothes
- The average Cost Per Wear (CPW) of fast fashion is significantly higher than slow fashion when factored over time
- The average fashion consumer purchases 60% more clothing compared to 2000
- Ecological and ethical considerations now influence 80% of millennials' wardrobe choices
- Over 30% of fashion purchases are returned
- More than 20% of clothing owned by millennials is unworn
- Each household owns an average of 300,000 items including clothing
- Children outgrow clothes seven times faster than adult usage cycles
- Global clothing utilization is down by 36% compared to 15 years ago
Interpretation
We dress ourselves in choices we don’t wear, spend money we can’t justify, toss garments we barely use, and chase trends so fast they outrun both our closets and our conscience.
Environmental Impact
- The average American throws away about 81 pounds of clothing each year
- Fast fashion produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions
- 60% of materials made into clothing are plastic
- Fashion is the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply
- Only 15% of clothing is recycled or donated
- Synthetic clothing can take up to 200 years to decompose
- Cotton farming for textiles uses 16% of the world’s insecticides
- A single pair of jeans requires about 1,800 gallons of water to produce
- About 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year
- Fashion accounts for 20% of global wastewater
- 73% of clothing eventually ends up in landfills or incinerated
- Producing one cotton shirt takes about 700 gallons of water
- 95% of clothes thrown away could be reused or recycled
- The EU generates 12.6 million tons of textile waste annually
- 64% of clothing fiber inputs are from fossil fuels
- Apparel is the 4th largest cause of environmental pressure in the EU
- It takes 2,700 liters of water to produce a cotton shirt—enough for one person to drink for 2.5 years
- 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment
- The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined
- 84% of clothing is discarded in landfills or incinerators
- Synthetic clothing accounts for 35% of ocean microplastics
- The UK sends 300,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill each year
- Buying one used item reduces its carbon footprint by 82%
- 92 million tons of textile waste is created annually
- Only 1% of textiles are recycled into new garments
- Fewer than 20% of clothes donated to charity shops are sold at retail
- 60% of clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of production
- Circular fashion could reduce textile waste by up to 90%
- The average T-shirt emits 2.1 kg of CO2 during production
- Rent the Runway has saved 1.3 million items of clothing from production
- Replacing one out of five fast fashion purchases with a second-hand item reduces carbon emissions by 39%
Interpretation
In a world where your closet might be the most toxic thing in your home, fast fashion is dressing humanity for environmental disaster—one barely-worn, plastic-laced outfit at a time.
Labor & Ethical Concerns
- Fast fashion workers often earn less than $3 a day
Interpretation
While we chase bargain trends for the price of a latte, fast fashion workers stitch our style for less than what their daily bread might cost.
Market Size & Economic Impact
- The global apparel market is valued at $1.5 trillion
- The global used clothing market is projected to reach $218 billion by 2026
- The resale clothing market is expected to double in the next five years
- Online secondhand clothing retailers are growing 25% annually
- $500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilization and lack of recycling
- Clothing sales have doubled since the year 2000
- Polyester accounted for 52% of fiber production in 2021
- Approximately 150 billion garments are produced globally each year
- Clothing production has doubled in the last 20 years
- 70% of global clothing donations are sent to Africa
- Vintage resale is growing 5x faster than traditional retail fashion
- In 2018, the US textile recycling industry processed 3.8 billion pounds of used textiles
- Americans spend $76 billion annually on clothing
- In 2020, global textile consumption totaled about 110 million tons
- Rental clothing services are projected to be worth $2.5 billion by 2025
Interpretation
In a world where $1.5 trillion fuels fashion’s fast lane and $500 billion is lost to clothes we barely wear, the booming secondhand and rental markets suggest that future style won’t just be about what you wear—but how smartly, sustainably, and circularly you wear it.