Statistics

Fashion waste statistics

How often clothes are worn, where they end up and what the industry costs the climate. Every figure links to its source.

Figures checked against each source on November 12, 2026.

• 36%fall in how many times a garment is worn before it stops being used, over 15 years.Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017
• 44%lower greenhouse gas emissions from clothing if each piece were worn twice as many times.Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017
• 11.3 million tonsof textiles went to US landfills in 2018, the latest EPA count.US EPA, 2018
• 16 kgof textiles thrown away per person each year in the EU.European Environment Agency, 2022
• 2% to 8%The fashion sector is linked to between 2% and 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.UN Environment Programme, 2023
• 4xJewellery is forecast to be fashion's fastest growing category by unit sales, at over 4 times the rate of clothing.Business of Fashion and McKinsey, 2026

Around the world, a garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned about every 1 seconds. Estimate of one truckload a second (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017).