Fast Fashion Facts
FAST
FASHION
FACTS
The United States purchases the most fast-fashion products in the world, and are blind to the environmental and human-rights repercussions because manufacturing and sourcing are done in low-income countries — they don't want us to see the truth.
Many clothing manufacturers do not care about their workers — they are grossly underpaid, exposed to proven health-harming chemicals, microfibers, and have no support in basic human rights.
Often the water and natural environments of low-income countries are sacrificed, so we aren't experiencing the climb in pollution and natural destruction in our own cities.
FAST FASHION ACCOUNTS FOR ~10% OF GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS 🌎️
Textile production is a major contributor to climate change. It produces an estimated 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per year — more than international flights and maritime shipping combined (Source).
The average number of times a piece of clothing is worn decreased by 36% between 2000 and 2015, and during this time, clothing production doubled (Source).
Extending the life of clothing by an extra nine months could reduce carbon, waste and water footprints by around 20–30% each (Source).
IN 2017 ALONE...
10.2 MILLION TONS
of clothes ended up in a landfill
2.9 MILLION TONS
of clothes were incinerated
WHY IS FAST FASHION SUCH A LARGE CONTRIBUTOR TO POLLUTION? 🏭
It can be cheaper for brands to dump or burn returned goods, rather than finding them another home.
In some countries, 40% of clothes purchased are never used (Source).