The dirty clothes industry
- In the top three consumers of water and land use
- In the top five consumers of raw materials
- One of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide
European consumption of textiles has one of the highest impacts in the form of carbon emissions, after food, housing and mobility. LINK Between 2000 and 2015 textile production around the world has doubled! And it is estimated to more than double again by 2030. One of the reasons behind this dramatic rise is fast fashion – a term used to describe the mass production of clothing replicating recent high-fashion trends. It is a highly profitable business model that can quickly turn the latest high-fashion designs into low-cost styles for consumers.
These garments are not designed for reuse and longevity, so fast fashion encourages unnecessary over-consumption. This again leads to excessive waste – much of which cannot be recycled. The result is a massive impact on our environment. The effects are very real and this excessive use of resources is fuelling climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution.
Fast fashion - the constant provision of new styles at very low prices - has led to a big increase in the quantity of clothes produced but also thrown away since they are also “fast” to go out of fashion.
To tackle the impact on the environment, the EU wants to speed up the move towards a circular economy with a new set of rules that will be implemented in the near future. We will go into this in detail below.
Textile production uses a lot of water
It requires a lot of water to produce textile, plus land to grow cotton and other fibres used in the production. It is estimated that the global textile and clothing industry used 79 billion cubic metres of water in 2015 (LINK), in comparison the water consumption of the EU's whole economy amounted to 266 billion cubic metres in 2017. LINK
To make a single cotton t-shirt, 2,700 litres of fresh water are required according to estimates, enough to cover one person’s drinking needs for 2.5 years. LINK
To make matters worse these amounts are usually extracted from places where water is not an abundant resource.
It is estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. LINK According to the European Environment Agency, textiles purchased in the EU in 2017 generated about 654 kg of CO2 emissions per person. LINK
But the main problem is that most of the clothes that we buy here in Europe are made in poor countries outside the EU. So how does the EU make sure that they can affect real changes if they can’t target the textile production itself with new legislation initiatives?
To make a single cotton t-shirt, 2,700 litres of fresh water are required according to estimates, enough to cover one person’s drinking needs for 2.5 years. LINK
To make matters worse these amounts are usually extracted from places where water is not an abundant resource.
It is estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. LINK According to the European Environment Agency, textiles purchased in the EU in 2017 generated about 654 kg of CO2 emissions per person. LINK
Clothes as waste
| Instead of repairing used clothes, handing them down to younger children or donating them, lots of clothes are simply being thrown away when people don’t find any use for them anymore. Since 1996, the amount of clothes bought in the EU per person has increased by 40% following a sharp fall in prices, which has reduced the life span of clothing. Europeans use nearly 26 kilos of textiles and discard about 11 kilos of them every year. Used clothes can be exported outside the EU, but are mostly (87%) incinerated or landfilled. Globally less than 1% of clothes are recycled as clothing, partly due to inadequate technology. |
 |
The textile industry's impact in numbers
The way people get rid of unwanted clothes has also changed, with items being thrown away rather than donated.
Since 1996, the amount of clothes bought in the EU per person has increased by 40% following a sharp fall in prices, which has reduced the life span of clothing. Europeans buy nearly 26 kilos of textiles and discard about 11 kilos of them every year. Used clothes can be exported outside the EU, but are mostly (87%) incinerated or landfilled. LINK
Because clothes are becoming cheaper and more readily accessible through online shopping, the way people get rid of unwanted clothes has also changed. Globally less than 1% of clothes are recycled as clothing, partly due to inadequate technology.
Since 1996, the amount of clothes bought in the EU per person has increased by 40% following a sharp fall in prices, which has reduced the life span of clothing. Europeans buy nearly 26 kilos of textiles and discard about 11 kilos of them every year. Used clothes can be exported outside the EU, but are mostly (87%) incinerated or landfilled. LINK
Because clothes are becoming cheaper and more readily accessible through online shopping, the way people get rid of unwanted clothes has also changed. Globally less than 1% of clothes are recycled as clothing, partly due to inadequate technology.
