Between 2015 and 2050, 22 million tonnes of microfibres are expected to enter our oceans, which will have detrimental impacts on marine life
Washing clothes releases half a million tonnes of plastic microfibres into the ocean every year, equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles
Water
The fashion industry uses 32 million olympic size swimming pools of fresh water every year. It is expected to increase 50% by 2030
Globally, cotton uses or consumes 1,931 liters of irrigation water per kg, on average
If no changes are made, by 2050, 25% of the world's carbon budget will be taken up by the fashion industry alone
In 2015, polyester produced for clothing emitted 282 billion kg of co2 – nearly 3x more than cotton
Carbon
The fashion industry accounts for 8.1% of the total greenhouse gas emissions
The fashion industry produced 2.1 billion tonnes of GHG emissions in 2018
In 2015, 92 million tonnes of clothing were sent to landfill. At current growth rates, this number could increase 50% by 2030
Of the total fibre input used for clothing, 87% is landfilled or incinerated, representing a lost opportunity of more than usd 100 billion annually
37 kg of textile waste per person ends up in canadian landfills each year
Textile Waste
Of the 73% of garments that are sent to landfill or incinerated each year, 95% could be reused or recycled
1 kg of natural textiles in landfill emits 4 kg of co2
Circular business models, including fashion rentals, resale, and repair could help the fashion industry cut 143 million tonnes of ghg emissions in 2030
Approximately 20 to 25 percent of globally produced chemical compounds are utilized in the textile-finishing industry
Clothing in its finished product is often coated with highly toxic chemicals such as flame-retardants and formaldehyde (an anti-stain and wrinkle repellant)
Toxic Chemicals
Only 16 out of 1600 dyes are approved by the environmental protection agency (epa) as safe for human and environmental health
Nearly $2.6 billion worth of pesticides are sprayed on cotton fields each year
At least 60 million people are directly employed in the global fashion industry
In some places in china, young women in the garment industry work 150 hours, or 12 extra days of 12 hour shifts each month
- 60% have no contract
- 90% have no access to unemployment insurance
Labour
An estimated 170 million children are engaged in child labour, many working within the fashion supply chain. That is 5x the population of canada!
Garment workers in china make as little as 12-18 cents per hour working in poor conditions