10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics | Earth.Org (2024)

FAQs

What percent of fast fashion is wasted? ›

15% of the fabric used in production is wasted, and 57% of all discarded clothes end up in landfills. 150 million garments were produced in 2012 and it is estimated that at least 60% of those garments have been discarded.

More than $500 billion are lost every year due to lack of recycling and clothing utilisation. Garments given up early and thrown out instead of recycled combine to produce massive wastage, estimated at around $500 billion every year.

𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝟭% 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 • So, how do we change this? Globally, most of material that goes into clothing ends up either in landfill or an incinerator (about 73% of all material produced.)

Dyeing and finishing are responsible for 3 per cent of global CO2 emissions (predicted to increase to more than 10 per cent by 2050). That is more than the CO2 produced by shipping and aviation combined. It also causes over 20 per cent of global water pollution.

Even though many Americans donate clothes, textiles still make up a shocking amount of the US waste stream. The EPA reports that Americans generate 16 million tons of textile waste a year, equaling just over six percent of total municipal waste (for context, plastics make up 13 percent of our waste stream).

The Dark Side of Fast Fashion

It dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.

The target audience for fast fashion is consumers aged between 18 and 24, while women and young girls consume fast fashion more than any other demographic group.

Plastic fibres are polluting the oceans, the wastewater, toxic dyes, and the exploitation of underpaid workers. Fast fashion is big business, and while the environmental costs are rising, experts say there is another way: a circular economy for textiles.

The disadvantages of fast fashion include –

not paying fair living wages to workers, poor working conditions, child labor, environmental destruction from hazardous chemicals, plastic-derived materials, and increasing amounts of water pollution and textile waste.

About 91% of plastic isn't recycled, but why? The reasons behind the low percentage of plastic recycling are manifold. We often simply throw plastics away into the recycling bin, however, due to the material properties of plastics, not all can be recycled.

Does fashion recycle every 30 years? ›

From the resurgence of the '80s house music genre to the revival of style trends from the Y2K (the year 2000) era, people continue to show appreciation today for the art and culture of the past. Fashion trends have a long history of making a comeback every 20 to 30 years, according to Voices of Gen-Z and Z Feed.

Cotton requires the most water out of any other crop and needs a staggering 7,000-29,000 liters of water to produce just one kilogram of raw cotton [6].

However, textile waste generation does not occur equally. People with higher incomes generate on average 76% more clothing waste than people with lower incomes. Once textiles are discarded, 66% of them are sent to landfills in the U.S. where they decompose — some quickly and others over hundreds of years.

The Average US Consumer Throws Away 81.5lbs of Clothes Every Year. In America alone, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste – equivalent to 85% of all textiles – end up in landfills on a yearly basis.

Producing too much

A lot of this waste comes from manufacturers and retailers themselves, who generate around 13 million tons of textile waste every year. Why so much? Largely because they overproduce: every season about 30% of the clothes produced are never sold.

Profitable for manufacturers and retailers: The constant introduction of new products encourages customers to frequent stores more often, which means they end up making more purchases. The retailer does not replenish its stock—instead, it replaces items that sell out with new items.

Critics assert that fast fashion apparel cannot be sustainable by its very nature. The poor quality of the material makes it hard to recycle, even if the brands commit to recycling a certain percentage of used or unsold products.

What is a famous quote about fast fashion? ›

“Fast fashion is like fast food. After the sugar rush, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.” – Livia Firth, co-founder and creative director of Eco-Age, a leading consulting and creative agency specialised in integrated sustainability. 2. “Fast fashion is not free.

But Gen Z, which Bank of America once called the “most disruptive generation ever,” has a serious blind spot: its addiction to fast fashion. A 2020 survey by Vogue Business found that more than half of its Gen Z participants bought most of their clothes from fast-fashion brands, like H&M, Gap, Zara and Forever 21.

60% of Clothes Are Made With Plastic-based Materials

It is estimated that approximately 60% of fast fashion items are produced with plastic-based (which is made from fossil fuels) fabrics. Throughout their life cycles, these fabrics are significantly contributing to the worldwide plastic pollution crisis.

Social media has been an enormous catalyst in the proliferation of fast fashion. Many brands utilize social media to market their products. With thousands of ads on social media, brands reach consumers at all times of the day and night and wherever they are. Exposure to fast fashion marketing is unavoidable.

The Darker Side of Fast-Fashion

Fast-fashion production is outsourced in countries like India, Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh with cheap labor. This raises other concerns in relation to the exploitation of workers who work in unsafe and inhumane conditions with zero safety net and low wages.

Doubling the use of our clothes would, for example, cut the garment trade's climate pollution by nearly half. Shutting down worldwide clothing production for a year would be equal to grounding all international flights and stopping all maritime shipping for the same time period.

Fast fashion has a huge economic impact. It's responsible for the recent growth (on average 4.78%) and future growth (5.91% in the next three years) of the apparel industry. A world without any textiles is very difficult to imagine nowadays. The clothing and footwear industry plays a huge role in the global economy.

Individuals who are sensitive to chemicals or who are prone to fabric allergies may have reactions to these garments. Many of the chemicals that people use to treat the garments are often linked to long-term health risks, including cancer, developmental issues, and skin irritation.

The textile sector is a growing contributor to the climate crisis, with about 1% of crude oil production used to produce synthetic fibres. The sector is also an important source of plastic leakage into the environment.

Examples of non-recyclable plastics include bioplastics, composite plastic, plastic-coated wrapping paper and polycarbonate. Well known non-recyclable plastics include cling film and blister packaging.

Can you recycle 100% of plastic? ›

Nearly all types of plastics can be recycled. However, the extent to which they are recycled depends upon technical, economic and logistic factors. Plastics are a finite and valuable resource, so the best outcome after their initial use is typically to be recycled into a new product.

Yes, all plastic packaging including soft plastics and rigid/hard plastics can go in your recycling (green/blue) bin, provided it is clean, dry and loose.

Only 1% of clothing that's recycled is actually used to make new clothing. Around 35% is used to make other products like carpet padding, insulation, and painter's cloths. The clothing that can't be recycled into new products is either sent to other countries to resell, or to landfills.

Clothes are endlessly variable and unpredictable. So they're not ideal for recycling technologies, which require steady and consistent source materials. Even a seemingly simple garment may contain multiple materials, with fibre blends such as cotton/polyester and cotton/elastane being common.

Any clothes, shoes, accessories or household textiles that don't sell at thrift stores are sold in bulk as salvage to recyclers. And these recyclers sort the used textiles for further distribution and repurposing. All but about 5% of your old clothes can be completely transformed.

Cotton must be blended with other fibers to be made into new yarn for strength and durability, and therefore cannot continuously be recycled.

Place your faded clothes into your washing machine, add laundry detergent, and turn on the machine. In many cases, soaking your clothes in vinegar then washing them is all it will take to get them looking brighter. Choose the cycle that's appropriate for the clothes you're brightening.

Studies indicate that 2.16 million tons of waste is generated from jeans annually.

The main source of water pollution in the clothing production process is the “wet-processing” stage. After cotton has been spun and woven into fabric, it is wet-processed, in which the fabric is dyed, printed, and finished. Not only is this process water-intensive, but it also pollutes water.

Waste problem of the fashion industry

Clothing has clearly become disposable. As a result, we generate more and more textile waste. A family in Europe throws away an average of 11 kg of clothing each year. Only 15% is recycled or donated, and the rest goes directly to the landfill or is incinerated.

How is fast fashion a social problem? ›

Fast fashion is severely criticized for its negative social impacts. It doesn't promote decent work conditions, gender equality, diversity, or inclusivity. Instead, retailers foster a culture of discrimination, harassment, and violence.

Fast fashion relies on the construction of cheap and disposable garments that are made and distributed at very fast rates. Not only has it caused many disastrous effects on our society and the environment, but it also largely impacts the mindset of young consumers.

Polyester and nylon are water-resistant because they are made from materials with a chemistry that is similar to plastic. Instead of water being absorbed by the fibre it sits on, droplets stay on the surface and move around the fabric by running along the weave.

What's the environmental impact of fast fashion? Producing clothes uses a lot of natural resources and creates greenhouse gas emissions which are responsible for climate change.

The multinational clothing-retail company creates fast fashion for women, men, and pets.

Sadly, every season about 30% of the clothes produced are never sold. So to make space for shinier items, that unsold stock has to go somewhere.

Fast Fashion and Climate Change

Fashion and its supply chain is the third largest polluting industry, after food and construction. It emitted 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, releasing 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, more than the shipping and the aviation industry combined.

As a result, more than half of the world's total apparel output isn't selling in stores for its full retail value. Unsold clothing is a big problem because the fashion industry generates 150 billion garments a year, enough to supply 20 clothes for every person on Earth, so 30 percent is a lot of lost material.

Globally, the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry after the oil and gas sector. Responsible for 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, every UK household, as a result of their clothing consumption, produces the equivalent emissions of driving a modern car for 6,000 miles.

How can we solve fast fashion? ›

The target audience for fast fashion is consumers aged between 18 and 24, while women and young girls consume fast fashion more than any other demographic group.

The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world just after the oil industry. And the environmental damage is increasing as the industry grows. However, there are solutions and alternatives to mitigate these problems. The first step lies in building awareness and willingness to change.

Manufacturers dump toxic chemicals such as dyes, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals used in the fast fashion manufacturing process in waterways. They are contaminating the water supply and endangering aquatic life, human health, and wildlife.

Fast fashion became common because of cheaper, speedier manufacturing and shipping methods, an increase in consumers' appetite for up-to-the-minute styles, and the increase in consumer purchasing power—especially among young people—to indulge these instant-gratification desires.

The 45-54 age group spent the most on women's and girls' clothing in 2021, averaging $995. This age group is more likely to spend more money on clothing than other age groups.

In the United-States, 88% of consumers prefer shopping for fast fashion, followed by consumers in Europe (46%), India (25%) and China (21%). The most popular fast-fashion retailers in the world are Uniqlo (21%), H&M (18%) and Zara (18%). But fast fashion has an enormous social and environmental cost.

Where is fast fashion most consumed? ›