Wardrobe Statistics

In the UK, the average household spends about £1,400 per year on clothing and shoes [1]

In the US, consumers spend about $1,400 per year on clothing (2019 estimate) [2]

In Germany, average household expenditure on clothing and footwear was about €1,000 per year (2019) [3]

In the US, e-commerce share of apparel and accessories sales was 10.7% in 2023 [4]

In the UK, online penetration for clothing and footwear was about 35% in 2023 [5]

In Germany, online penetration for clothing and footwear was about 24% in 2023 [6]

In France, online penetration for clothing and footwear was about 14% in 2023 [7]

In Japan, online penetration for clothing and footwear was about 14% in 2023 [8]

In Australia, online penetration for apparel was about 29% in 2023 [9]

In Canada, online penetration for apparel was about 26% in 2023 [10]

In the US, fashion & apparel is the biggest retail category by online spend [11]

In the UK, 63% of consumers consider sustainability when purchasing apparel (survey) [12]

In the US, 43% of consumers say they want to buy fewer, higher-quality items (survey) [13]

In a global consumer survey, 66% of respondents said they would pay more for sustainable brands [14]

In a 2021 survey, 72% of consumers said they would change their consumption habits to reduce environmental impact [15]

In the US, the average number of times clothes are worn before disposal is about 7 times (survey) [16]

In the EU, textiles are estimated to have an average lifetime of about 2-3 years for fast fashion items (estimate) [17]

In the UK, consumers buy on average 27 items of clothing per month (survey/estimate) [18]

In the US, 60% of consumers say they have unworn clothes at home (survey) [19]

In a US survey, 90% of respondents reported owning clothes they don’t wear regularly [20]

In a survey, 74% of consumers say they are motivated by sustainability in clothing purchases [21]

In the UK, 57% of consumers say they would consider buying pre-owned clothing (survey) [22]

Share of clothing that is returned in online apparel purchases was about 30% in the US (estimate) [23]

Online apparel returns rates can be as high as 40% (industry estimate) [24]

In the US, apparel returns costs retailers billions of dollars annually (estimate) [25]

In the EU, 24.6 kg of textile waste per person is generated annually (EU estimate) [26]

In the EU, textile waste accounts for 5.8% of the total waste generated [26]

In the UK, 2.7 million tonnes of textiles were sent to landfill or incineration in 2019 [27]

In the UK, 1.2 million tonnes of textiles are estimated to be incinerated annually [28]

In the US, textile waste generated was 17.5 million tons in 2017 (EPA estimate) [29]

In the US, 11.3 million tons of textiles were discarded in 2017 [29]

In the US, 2.9 million tons of textiles were recycled/repurposed in 2017 [29]

In the US, 2.6 million tons of textiles were recovered for reuse in 2017 [29]

Globally, the fashion industry contributes about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (widely cited estimate) [30]

The fashion industry uses about 93 billion cubic meters of water annually (estimate) [30]

The fashion industry accounts for about 20% of global wastewater (estimate) [30]

Microfiber pollution from textiles contributes significantly to ocean plastic microfibers (estimate) [31]

It is estimated that 35% of the world’s microplastics come from textiles (estimate) [31]

Synthetic textiles release microplastics during washing (estimate about 700,000 fibers per wash for a load) [32]

A study found that laundering polyester garments releases thousands to hundreds of thousands of microfibers per wash (range) [32]

Textile dyeing and finishing is responsible for around 20% of global industrial water pollution (estimate) [33]

In the EU, only about 1% of textiles are recycled into new textiles (estimate) [26]

In Europe, textile sorting results in that 30% can be reused after sorting (estimate) [26]

In the EU, 73% of textiles are not recycled and are disposed or used for energy (estimate) [26]

In the US, clothing and textiles are among the top 4 waste categories by material volume in municipal solid waste (EPA) [34]

Globally, textile production uses more than 1 trillion cubic meters of water annually? (needs exact) [35]

Water Footprint of Fashion estimated that producing clothing uses on average 2,700 liters per item of cotton? (needs exact) [35]

Life cycle assessment indicates cotton t-shirt water footprint is about 2,200 liters (estimate) [36]

A typical cotton T-shirt has a carbon footprint of about 2.1 kg CO2e (study) [37]

Producing polyester fabric can have higher carbon footprint than some alternatives (study) [38]

In the UK, the average consumer uses about 5 kg textiles annually (estimate) [39]

In England, 1.8 million tonnes of clothing and textiles were thrown away in 2019 (estimate) [40]

The average EU resident consumes about 26 kg of textiles per year (estimate) [41]

The average European generates about 12.6 kg of textile waste per person per year (EEA estimate) [41]

In 2020, the UK had a textiles recycling rate of about 24% (WRAP estimate) [42]

In Germany, textiles recovery rates were about 45% (estimate) [26]

In the EU, textile reuse/recycling collectively were about 25% (estimate) [41]

Fast fashion is linked to shorter garment lifespans (average lifespan 3 years for many garments, estimate) [43]

Average lifetime of clothing items in the EU is estimated at 2-3 years for many categories (estimate) [44]

The textile sector in the EU generates about 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste annually? (need exact) [26]

The EU textile strategy notes that 87% of textiles are not collected for recycling (estimate) [45]

The EU estimates that 10 kg of textiles per person were consumed in 2020 (estimate) [45]

The average lifespan of garments is decreasing over time (estimate) [44]

In the EU, 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste were generated in 2020 (estimate) [41]

In the EU, around 2.5 million tonnes of textiles were collected for recycling in 2019 (estimate) [41]

In the EU, 60% of collected textiles are reused or recycled domestically (estimate) [41]

In the EU, 50% of collected textiles are reused in other countries (estimate) [41]

In the US, 84% of clothing and textiles were disposed rather than recycled in 2017 (implied) [29]

Global apparel market size was estimated at $1.8 trillion in 2023 [46]

The global fashion e-commerce sales were forecast to reach $1.1 trillion in 2024 [47]

The global online fashion apparel market is forecast to grow from about $436 billion in 2020 to about $1,100 billion in 2024 [48]

In India, the retail market size for apparel was about $64 billion in 2022 [49]

In Brazil, the apparel retail sales reached about $38 billion in 2022 [50]

In China, the apparel market size was about $214 billion in 2022 [51]

In Japan, apparel retail sales were about $63 billion in 2022 [52]

In South Korea, apparel market size was about $13.8 billion in 2022 [53]

In France, clothing and shoe sales were about €24.6 billion in 2022 [54]

In Spain, clothing and shoe sales were about €15.3 billion in 2022 [55]

In Italy, clothing and shoe sales were about €18.8 billion in 2022 [56]

In the US, revenue in the online clothing & accessories segment was about $43 billion in 2023 [57]

In the UK, revenue in online fashion sales was about £18 billion in 2023 [58]

In Germany, revenue in online fashion sales was about €14 billion in 2023 [59]

In India, the fashion e-commerce market size was about $14 billion in 2023 [60]

Global “fast fashion” share of clothing spend in some markets was about 60% (estimate) [61]

In 2023, the global apparel brands market (top 100) generated about $1.1 trillion in revenue (estimate) [62]

The top 10 apparel companies account for about 8% of global industry revenue (estimate) [62]

The global “ready-to-wear” market size was about $500 billion in 2023 (estimate) [62]

The global “workwear” market size was about $72 billion in 2023 (estimate) [62]

The global “sportswear” market size was about $300 billion in 2023 (estimate) [62]

The global “luxury apparel” market was about $95 billion in 2022 (estimate) [62]

The global “children’s apparel” market was about $210 billion in 2022 (estimate) [62]

The global “menswear” market was about $500 billion in 2023 (estimate) [62]

The global “womenswear” market was about $600 billion in 2023 (estimate) [62]

The “industrial laundry” market size in the US was about $10 billion in 2022 (estimate) [63]

The global “uniforms” market size was about $150 billion in 2022 (estimate) [62]

In the EU, textile consumption grew by 40% between 1996 and 2015 (estimate) [26]

OECD estimates that global material use is rising and is linked to clothing consumption growth (estimate) [64]

Share of polyester in global fiber production was 62% in 2022 (estimate) [65]

Cotton share in global fiber production was about 24% in 2022 (estimate) [65]

Viscose/rayon share in global fiber production was about 4% in 2022 (estimate) [65]

Global synthetic fiber production was about 70 million tonnes in 2022 (estimate) [65]

Global cotton production was about 24 million tonnes? (exact varies year) [66]

Global man-made fiber production reached about 115 million tonnes in 2022 (estimate) [67]

Global textile fiber production total was about 110 million tonnes in 2022? (estimate) [67]

In 2022, the share of recycled polyester in global polyester demand was about 12% (estimate) [68]

Textile Exchange reports global demand for organic cotton was about 3 million metric tonnes in 2022 (estimate) [68]

Textile Exchange “Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report” 2023 provides organic cotton demand numbers (exact) [69]

The EU plans for reuse/recycling targets: 55% by 2025 (proposal) [45]

EU textiles strategy sets target: 77% by 2030 (proposal) [45]

EU textiles strategy sets target for recycling 25% by 2030 (proposal) [45]

EU strategy aims for extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles by 2025 (proposal) [45]

EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation includes digital product passports starting with some product groups [70]

EU Waste Framework Directive sets targets for recycling municipal waste: 55% by 2025 (general EU target) [71]

EU Landfill Directive target: landfilling no more than 10% of municipal waste by 2035 (target) [72]

US EPA textile diversion goal: 50% reduction by 2030? (needs exact) [73]

UK government target: 50% reduction in total waste by 2042 (general) [74]

UK government recycling target: recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035 (England) [75]

Scotland target: 70% of all waste to be recycled by 2030 (Scotland) [76]

California SB 49 textiles recycling? (law) [77]

California SB 54 (2014) includes? (no textiles) [78]

California textile reuse/recycling program under SB 15? (needs exact) [79]

UK WRAP and industry plan to increase textile reuse and recycling to 50% by 2025 (target) [80]

Massachusetts proposed textile EPR bill: aims to establish EPR for consumer goods including textiles (proposal) [81]

New York bill aims to create textile EPR; (proposal) [82]

California SB 277 requires EPR for products? (no exact) [78]

EU “Right to Repair” directive includes repairability requirements for certain goods [83]

EU “Green Claims” directive includes substantiation for environmental claims (relevance to sustainable apparel claims) [84]

EU Digital Product Passport concept in ESPR (Sustainable Products Regulation) starts from 2026 for some product groups (timeline) [85]

US FTC Green Guides apply to environmental marketing claims, including for apparel [86]

California Proposition 65 requires warnings for certain chemicals; affects apparel labeling [87]

EU REACH regulation restricts chemicals in consumer products; including textiles [88]

EU POPs regulation limits persistent organic pollutants (relevance to dyes/finishes) [89]

The EU’s 2021 corporate sustainability due diligence directive covers large companies requiring due diligence across supply chains [90]

ILO Convention 1 sets working time limits (labor conditions relevant to apparel supply chain) [91]

ILO Convention 182 prohibits worst forms of child labor [92]

The Bangladesh garment sector employed about 4.1 million workers in 2022 (BGMEA estimate) [93]

In 2023, the EU found that forced labor in global supply chains is a significant risk (report) [94]

Bangladesh minimum wage for garment workers set at 8,000 taka/month (2023) [93]

Cambodia’s garment minimum wage was raised to $192/month (2022) (estimate) [95]

Pakistan garment minimum wage was set at PKR 25,000/month (2022) (estimate) [95]

In 2020, global textile and apparel industry employed about 75 million people (ILO estimate) [96]

ILO estimates around 40 million people are employed in garment sector globally (estimate) (need exact) [97]

ILO estimates that about 1.6 million people are victims of forced labor in specific sectors (textile risk) [98]

In 2016, about 1,000 garment workers died in industrial disasters (estimate) [95]

Rana Plaza collapse killed 1,134 people (exact) [99]

Rana Plaza collapse left more than 2,500 injured (approx) [99]

US Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment in apparel manufacturing was about 482k in 2023 (estimate) [100]

US BLS: employment in textile mills was about 75k in 2023 (estimate) [101]

Bangladesh supplied about 6.8% of global apparel exports in 2022 (estimate) [102]

Vietnam supplied about 4% of global apparel exports in 2022 (estimate) [103]

China supplied about 30% of global apparel production (estimate) [104]