FASHION AND CLIMATE CHANGE - FACTS

RESOURCES

FASHION & CLIMATE AND ECOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN

MAIN ISSUES ARE RELATED TO:

EMISSIONS/POLLUTION

EMISSIONS/POLLUTION

WATER POLLUTION

SOIL AND WATER POLLUTION

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

CO2 EMISSIONS

MICROPLASTICS RELEASE

20% of fresh water pollution comes from textile treatment and dyeing(2)

70 percent of Asia's rivers and lakes are contaminated by the 2.5 billion gallons of wastewater produced by that continent's textile industry. (16)

"The fashion industry is the second biggest polluter of freshwater resources on the planet.” (19)

Cotton is the world’s single largest pesticide-consuming crop, using 24% of all insecticides and 11% of all pesticides globally, adversely affecting soil and water. (13) (14)

In 2015, the total greenhouse gas emissions from textiles production was estimated at 1.2 billion tonnes annually of CO2 equivalent, more than those of all international flights and maritime shipping combined. (3)

The apparel industry alone represents 6.7% of emissions, equivalent to about 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 (almost the current estimate of the fossil CO2 emission of the EU 3.5 Gt). More than 50% of emissions come from three stages: Dyeing & Finishing, Yarn Preparation, and Fiber Production.(6)

Laundry of synthetic textiles (34.8%) is the largest source of release of primary microplastics to the world oceans. Every year, around half a million tonnes of microfibers released by washed garments contribute to ocean pollution – 16 times more than plastic microbeads from cosmetics.(7)

For an average wash load of 6 kg, over 700,000 microplastic fibres could be released per wash. (8)

Textiles are the largest source of both primary and secondary microplastics, accounting for 34.8% of global microplastic pollution(1)

OVERCONSUMPTION

WATER CONSUMPTION

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSUMPTION

DEFORESTATION

LOSS OF HABITATS

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY DUE TO INTENSIVE CULTIVATION

It takes between 10,000 and 20,000 litres of water to grow and produce 1kg of cotton (1 shirt and 1 pair of jean) (2)

Textiles production (including cotton farming) use of water is estimated between 79 billion cubic meters and 93 billion cubic metres annually. It is equivalent to 23-27 years of the total water household consumption in the UK*. This water consumption is expected to increase by 50% by 2030 (7) *based on an average on 140litres per person per day

The UN says that by 2050 the equivalent of almost three planets could be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles given the growth in global population. (12)

Over 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into fabrics like rayon, viscose, modal and lyocell.” (13)

Textile production is also responsible for the loss of habitat (30% of rayon and Viscose come from pulp sourced from endangered forests)(1)

Loss of biodiversity due to intensive cultivation of cotton crops (22% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of all pesticides are applied to cotton crops)(1)

BUSINESS AS USUAL

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT

LINEAR SYSTEM

SHORT LONGEVITY OF GARMENTS

GLOBAL CONSUMPTION

AND PRODUCTION INCREASE

If a business-as-usual scenario prevails, the apparel industry’s impact will steadily rise over the next 15 years, reaching a projected 49% increase in climate change impact by 2030. That means the apparel industry will emit 4.9 billion tonnes CO2-eq. (6)

"The textiles system operates in an almost completely linear way - In 2015, it was estimated that global clothing production has more than doubled globally over 15 years.” (3)

Worldwide, fewer than 1% of garments are recycled into new clothing each year, and 73% of material ends up landfilled or incinerated. (3)

Only 20 per cent of textiles are recycled at all (4)

The average consumer is now purchasing 60 percent more items of clothing in 2014 compared to 2000, but each garment is kept half as long. (11)

Global consumption of clothing and footwear is expected to increase by 63% by 2030, from 62 million tonnes in 2015 to 102 million in 2030. (7)

In 2015, it was estimated that global clothing production has more than doubled globally over 15 years. (3)

Clothing production has more than doubled globally over the last 15 years, and in the UK we’re buying twice as much as we were buying 15 years ago(1)

THROWAWAY CULTURE

LANDFILL

CLOTHING UTILIZATION

CLOTHING WASTE

PRODUCTION WASTE

In the UK £140m worth of clothing goes to landfill each year. (2)

In the UK, in 2016 it was estimated that the average piece of clothing lasts for 3.3 years before being discarded. (2)

Around 350,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK each year. Underwear, lone stocks, and out-of-style pieces are the first to be binned. (2)

Worldwide, clothing utilization – the average number of times a garment is worn before it ceases to be used – has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago. (3)

In the UK 30% in average wardrobe has not been worn in a year. (2)

Clothing waste is a growing problem worldwide. McKinsey & Company estimated in 2016 that 60% of all clothing produced ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being made. (9)

400 billion square meters of textiles are produced annually, of which 60 billion square meters are left on the cutting room floor. (10)

WORKERS CONDITIONS

TRUTH COST

NON-HUMAN WORK CONDITIONS

Most of the garments sold in the UK are produced in Asian countries where labour is cheap. consumers in the UK ‘are getting pleasure and enjoyment from fashion and that is coming at a cost to workers and the environment in exterritorial, overseas production routes as well as agriculture.’ (15)

Garment workers usually work with no ventilation, breathing in toxic substances, inhaling fiber dust or blasted sand in unsafe buildings. The overwhelming majority of workers are women. (18)

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