The True Cost of Fast Fashion: 10 Alarming Statistics We Need To Recognise
The fast fashion industry is growing, and the devastation it’s leaving behind is nothing short of shocking.
Most of us have no idea what the environmental impact of producing cheap clothes really is, but it’s time we did. The fast fashion engine must slow down or the decades ahead will leave no doubt as to why we should have encouraged and implemented systematic change in the industry.
We cannot afford to wait for huge corporations to drive change. While there are numerous environmentally-conscious fashion brands like Patagonia, Levi’s, Pact, and Tentree, they are the minority, representing only a tiny slice of the giant clothing industry.
Unfortunately, the big market players profit off our ignorance, and so have little to no motivation to encourage us to buy less and make more sustainable decisions. It’s up to us, independently and collectively, to make a stand and demand change through our actions.
In this post I’ll be highlighting 10 statistics that show the severity of the situation and provide reasons why we should be optimistic about the future and our ability to drive change. We should always bear in mind that while significant damage has been done, we have the power to take steps towards putting it right.
Fast fashion: 10 alarming statistics we need to recognise
- The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. At this pace, the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions will surge more than 50% by 2030.
- The average person today buys 60% more clothing than in 2000.
- The average number of times a piece of clothing is worn decreased by 36% between 2000 and 2015. In the same period, clothing production doubled.
- At the current rate of fashion consumption, we will see about a 60% increase, amounting to approximately 148 million tons of fashion waste from now until 2030.
- Less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new garments.
- Just 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled.
- A single pair of jeans requires a kilogram of cotton. Producing this kilo requires between 7,000–29,000 litres of water, equivalent to about 10 years worth of drinking water for one person.
- Around 20% of wastewater worldwide comes from fabric dyeing and treatment.
- It is 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.
- Continuing to actively wear a garment for just nine months longer could diminish its environmental impacts by 20–30%.
How can we start contributing to sustainable fashion?
The statistics listed above are not exactly feel-good reading. They are also not ambiguous, and so for the purpose of this article I would rather focus on the process of setting sustainable trends for the future, rather than doing a deep dive into the extent of the damage done.
You may have noticed, however, that the final statistic is a positive one. It shows the impact of a small, independent behavioural change.
This particular statistic was reported by WRAP, and sends a very clear message. I’ll repeat — continuing to actively wear a garment for just nine months longer could diminish its environmental impacts by 20–30%. That is a big difference. If applied to the majority of items in our wardrobe, it would have a significant impact on the amount of waste ending up in landfills.
As the consumers, we can start making a contribution by wearing our clothes for longer and buying less. The former comes down to extending their lifecycle through clothing repair, while the latter requires us to make a stand against overconsumption and rethink what we are really doing when we decide to go out and buy some new cheap clothes we don’t need.
The fashion supply chain is long and complex. There are many stakeholders involved which brings challenges when it comes to transitioning to sustainable practices. Nevertheless, the continued deterioration of natural resources paired with the global slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is causing a shift in perspective and attitude amongst both suppliers and consumers.
The team at Boston Consulting Group (BSG) have been doing some excellent research into the fashion industry since the pandemic, which amongst many other interesting insights, suggests that sustainable practices will be a minimum requirement demanded by consumers and the industry as a whole.
“The behaviors, preferences, and shifts in mindset that people have adopted during the pandemic will lead to permanent changes, including bifurcated spending, accelerated adoption of e-commerce, and increased demand for purpose-driven brands and sustainable fashion. The sooner brands come to terms with this new reality, the sooner they can take the steps needed to rebound and succeed. It is time for a reset, not a restart.” BCG, Fashion’s Big Reset
In short, we have a great opportunity to drive real change in the years to come. If we each play our part, there is reason to believe that the statistics listed above will be met with equally compelling ones, only they will reflect a decrease in fashion consumption, and a positive, growing trend towards environmentally-friendly practices.
Author bio
Alex is a content writer and marketer. He has written for numerous tech blogs and is now working with Menddie — a clothing repair platform based in Finland that provides people with an easy, cost-effective way to repair loved garments and support handcraft professionals in the process. He also enjoys exploring the nature of consciousness which he writes about on his blog, confusedspecies.com. You can find him on LinkedIn.
