Fast fashion – the stats

OK so you know fast fashion is bad – the stats will shock you into action

Collections

In Europe, fashion companies went from an average offering of two collections per year in 2000 to five in 2011. European Parliament

Zara puts out 24 collections per year, while H&M offers between 12 and 16. European Parliament

Consumption

People bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000 and only kept the clothes for half as long. McKinsey

The average person buys 60 per cent more items of clothing every year. BBC Earth

Returns

Each year in the US alone, customers return approximately 3.5 billion products, of which only 20% are actually defective. BBC Earth

Each year, 5 billion pounds of waste is generated through returns.  BBC Earth

Production

Clothing production doubled from 2000 to 2014. BBC Earth

Producing polyester, a plastic fiber found in an estimated 60% of garments, releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton. Greenpeace

The fashion industry is also the second-largest consumer of water worldwide. UNECE

It takes about 700 gallons of water to produce one cotton shirt. That’s enough water for one person to drink at least eight cups per day for three-and-a-half years. WRI, Jul 17

It takes about 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. That’s more than enough for one person to drink eight cups per day for 10 years. UNEP

If 3% of garment transportation shifted from ship to air cargo – a burgeoning trend in the industry – it could result in over 100% more carbon emissions than if all garment transportation was by ship. Nature

Waste dumps

Up to 85% of textiles go into landfills each year. That’s enough to fill the Sydney harbor annually. UNECE

The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second. UNEP

Environmental impact

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions – that’s more emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. UNEP

If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, that share of the carbon budget could jump to 26% by 2050. EMAF, Dec 17

Fashion production dries up water sources. Business Insider

Textile dyeing is the world’s second-largest polluter of water, since the water leftover from the dyeing process is often dumped into ditches, streams, or rivers. UNEP

The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution worldwide. WRI, Jul 17

Polyester, a plastic fiber found in an estimated 60% of garments, does not break down in the ocean. Greenpeace

Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year — the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles. UNEP, EMAF, Nov 17

It’s estimated that 35% of all microplastics — very small pieces of plastic that never biodegrade — in the ocean came from the laundering of synthetic textiles like polyester. IUCN

Overall, microplastics are estimated to compose up to 31% of plastic pollution in the ocean. IUCN

Solutions

Some apparel companies are starting to buck these trends by joining initiatives to be more sustainable. In March 2019, the UN launched the Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, which will coordinate efforts across agencies to make the industry less harmful. Business Insider

Find out what you can do!

Sources

• Timeout for fast fashion Greenpeace
• Your brand new returns end up in landfill BBC Earth
• Clothing to dye for: the textile sector must confront water risks Guardian, Aug 13
• Style that’s sustainable: A new fast-fashion formula McKinsey, Oct 16
• Primary microplastics in the oceans, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Feb 17
• The Apparel Industry’s Environmental Impact in 6 Graphics, World Resources Institute, Jul 17
• One garbage truck of textiles wasted every second: report creates vision for change Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Nov 17
• A new textiles economy: redesigning fashion’s future Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Dec 17
• Fashion and the SDGs: what role for the UN? United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Mar 18
• Putting the brakes on fast fashion United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nov 18
• Environmental impact of the textile and clothing industry European Parliament, Jan 19
• By the Numbers: The Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts of “Fast Fashion” World Resources Institute, Jan 19
• The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined Business Insider, Oct 19
• The environmental price of fast fashion Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, Apr 20
• Fast fashion speeding toward environmental disaster, report warns Guardian, Apr 20