The fashion industry was seen as uniquely ready to spearhead such an initiative – a sector where companies could collaborate on shared interests, and where actions could have requisite scale and impact. Without a doubt, fashion is an industry with tremendous influence. Over recent decades, fashion has experienced significant growth, with worldwide clothing revenues doubling from 2001 to 2019. 1 Today, the industry employs over 75 million people globally, generating EUR 1.5 trillion a year in revenues. That growth is expected to continue at a 7% compound annual rate until 2024, even correcting for economic instability caused by the pandemic. 2 The fashion industry continues to have unsurpassed cultural influence, as well. 3 As a collective, it’s made up of brands that are part of the daily lives of billions of people. Over the last decade, sustainability has become a growing concern within the industry, driven by conscious consumers, the threat of supply chain disruption, and regulatory expectations. 4 As such, there already exist many innovative and effective sustainability initiatives within the industry. However, given the fragmented nature of the fashion value chain, it’s an incredibly complex issue for a single entity or individual fashion company to manage in full. Many brands and companies have taken meaningful steps: from defining customized sustainability targets, to increasing supply chain traceability for their products, to investing in transparency and consumer education. Concurrently, foundations, incubators, have helped develop and promote alternative manufacturing methods and new economic frameworks such as circularity.
We know that a substantially more sustainable fashion industry is possible – but we recognize that environmental and social issues cannot be solved by anyone brand alone. To reduce our environmental impact at the required magnitude, the collaboration will be critical. And collaboration must involve representatives from across the entire fashion ecosystem. We need brands, retailers, sources, suppliers, and manufacturers working in concert around clearly agreed-upon goals and targets. In a word, our sustainability efforts must be collective. The vision is: to drive massive investment in and adoption of low-carbon, biodiversity-friendly, and ocean-conscious ways of doing business across all of fashion.
What is the impact of the textile production and waste industry on the environment?
Fast fashion, which allows for constant availability of new styles at very low prices, has led to a sharp increase in the amount of clothing produced, used and then discarded.
To address the environmental impact of industries, the EU intends to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
In March 2020, the Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan, including an EU Textiles Strategy, with the aim of developing innovation and promoting reuse in the sector. In February 2021, the European Parliament voted for the new Circular Economy Action Plan, calling for additional measures to achieve a carbon-neutral, environmentally sustainable, toxic-free and fully circular economy by 2050. Also included are tougher recycling standards and binding 2030 targets on material use and carbon footprint.
The most important environmental impacts of the textile industry are described below:
Water consumption
Textile production needs to use a lot of water, not to mention the use of land used to grow cotton and other fibres. It is estimated that the textile and apparel industry used a total of 79 billion cubic meters of water in 2015, while the needs of the entire EU economy amounted to 266 billion cubic meters in 2017. Some estimates suggest that it takes 2,700 litres of freshwater to make a single cotton T-shirt, a volume equal to what a person would need to drink in 2.5 years.
Water Pollution
It is estimated that textile production is responsible for about 20% of global drinking water pollution due to the various processes the products undergo, such as dyeing and finishing, and that the washing of synthetic garments releases 0.5 million tons of microfibers into the sea each year.
Washing synthetic garments account for 35% of the release of primary microplastics into the environment. A single load of polyester clothing laundry can result in the release of 700,000 microplastic fibres that can end up in the food chain.
Greenhouse gas emissions
The fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, more than the total of all international flights and shipping combined.
According to the European Environment Agency, textile purchases in the EU in 2017 generated about 654 kg of CO2 emissions per person.
Textile waste in landfills
The way people dispose of clothing they no longer want to keep in their homes has also changed: many garments are thrown away rather than donated.
Since 1996, the amount of clothing purchased per person in the EU has increased by 40% due to a sudden drop in prices. This has led to a reduction in the life cycle of textile products: European citizens consume almost 26 kg of textiles each year and dispose of around 11 kg. Used clothing may be exported outside the EU, but most are incinerated or landfilled (87%).
Globally, less than 1% of garments are recycled as clothing, partly due to inadequate technology.
https://thefashionpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/038906e111abca13dce4c77d419e4f21.pdfhttps://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographic