Dirty Fashion - Changing Markets (2024)

FAQs

How dirty is the fashion industry? ›

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries on the planet. According to the World Bank, 20 percent of water pollution globally is caused by textile processing, making it the second biggest polluter of freshwater resources on the planet.

Waste occurs at every stage of the garment manufacturing process, harming wildlife, degrading land, and polluting soil and water. The fast fashion industry is a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for as much as 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Inexpensive, low-quality clothing tends to be the biggest culprit, so buying fewer of those types of products can make the most difference. “When you do purchase clothes, try to buy items made from organic natural fibers. Those tend to consume fewer resources and cause less pollution,” Gui suggested.

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.

Moreover, the fashion industry is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, petroleum consumption, and textile waste . The negative social and environmental impacts of the fashion industry are driven by big brands that determine production, location, and pricing, leading to unsustainable practices .

The environmental impact of this behaviour is significant: the clothing and textile industry is depleting non-renewable resources, emitting huge quantities of greenhouses gases and using massive quantities of energy, chemicals and water.

Climate pollution: All of this merchandise pollutes the environment long after it winds up trashed. Incinerating garments creates harmful air pollution. Clothing releases methane in landfills, a powerful greenhouse gas. The fashion industry overall is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions.

As of 2023, the fashion industry produced a startling 97 million tons of waste annually, of which 18 million were leftover textiles, 2.5 million were chemical waste, and 3 million were packaging materials. Unsettling patterns show an increase in fast fashion contributions, which exacerbates environmental issues.

And the Christmas period is one of the worst offenders; last year £3.5 billion was spent on Christmas party clothes in the UK alone, resulting in 8 million items being sent to landfill. Globally, the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry after the oil and gas sector.

On average, 700,000 tons of used clothing gets exported overseas and 2.5 million tons of clothing are recycled. But over three million tons are incinerated, and a staggering 10 million tons get sent to landfills.

Why we should reduce fashion waste? ›

Limiting textile waste combats climate change

Clothing and footwear are responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and this is largely due to fast fashion. Fast fashion, the current norm of the fashion industry, is the process of producing high volumes of trendy and inexpensive clothes.

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.

However, forced labor accounts for an estimated 81% of total human trafficking cases (Human Rights First). One contributor to “forced labor” is fast fashion, which is defined as cheap, trendy clothing that transitions directly from the catwalk or celebrity culture to retail stores for consumer purchasing (Good on You).

Fast fashion is widely considered to be low-quality apparel produced rapidly to follow current trends in the industry and sold at rock-bottom prices. Although the monetary cost is low, textile workers and the environment are paying a high price. Fast fashion is cheap because workers are not paid adequately.

More than 15,000 chemicals can be used in the manufacturing process of clothing, including dyes, solvents, detergents, flame retardants, stain repellents, softeners, and carriers (Palacios-Mateo, 2021). Many of these chemicals can be toxic to humans.

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.

Waste problem of the fashion industry

Only 15% is recycled or donated, and the rest goes directly to the landfill or is incinerated. Synthetic fibers, such as polyester, are plastic fibers, therefore non-biodegradable, and can take up to 200 years to decompose. Synthetic fibers are used in 69% of our clothing.

3 – Fashion, the third most polluting industry and produces about 10% of our annual carbon footprint – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined!