Environmental impact of fashion

{{main|Fast fashion}}

Fast fashion is defined as "an approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers."{{Cite web |title=Definition of FAST FASHION |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fast%20fashion |access-date=2018-05-08 |website=merriam-webster.com |language=en}} While traditional fashion processes usually take about 6 months to design, manufacture, and market products, fast fashion completes these processes in several weeks, allowing the quickly changing demands of consumers to be met.{{cite journal |last1=Dhir |first1=Yamini Jhanji |date=2021 |title=Hazards of fashion and textile waste: Approaches for effective waste management |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128187586000028 |journal=Waste Management in the Fashion and Textile Industries |pages=31–58 |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-818758-6.00002-8 |isbn=978-0-12-818758-6 |access-date=22 October 2023}} This is enabled by global supply chains, [https://insights.tetakawi.com/low-cost-manufacturing-how-to-improve-your-trade-offs low cost manufacturing] and just in time inventory systems that enable retailers to produce and distribute clothing at a scale never before seen. Fast fashion has been enabled.{{Cite web |last=Maiti |first=Rashmila |date=2025-01-20 |title=Fast Fashion: Its Detrimental Effect on the Environment |url=https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=Earth.Org |language=en}}

The amount of new garments bought by Americans has tripled since the 1960s. Globalization has encouraged the rapid growth of the fast fashion industry. Global retail sales of apparel in 2019 reached 1.9 trillion U.S dollars, a new high – this number is expected to double to three trillion U.S. dollars by the year 2030. The world consumes more than 80 billion items of clothing annually,{{Cite news |last=Confino |first=Jo |date=2016-09-07 |title=We Buy A Staggering Amount Of Clothing, And Most Of It Ends Up In Landfills |language=en-US |work=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/transforming-the-fashion-industry_us_57ceee96e4b0a48094a58d39 |access-date=2018-05-08}} a figure that is still increasing owing to the acceleration of fashion cycles and consumer demand for inexpensive yet  fashionable garments.

Fast fashion is also referred to as “disposable fashion”, as trend cycles change so quickly that many consumers will only wear their items once or twice before disposing of them. Clothing is also often made with poor quality materials, dismissed by the inexpensive price point. This leads the clothing to tear, pop seams, or wear through faster than a sustainable fashion item.{{Cite web |title=Fast Fashion Explained and How It Impacts Retail Manufacturing |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fast-fashion.asp |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=Investopedia |language=en}}{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2025}}

As the popularity of fast fashion has increased, this has led to the rise of ultra-fast fashion.{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2022-06-15 |title=What is Social Media's Impact on Fast Fashion? An Investigation {{!}} Fashion Takes Action |url=https://fashiontakesaction.com/articles/what-is-social-medias-impact-on-fast-fashion-an-investigation/ |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=fashiontakesaction.com |language=en-US}} Ultra-fast fashion is similar to fast fashion, however the speed of production and trend cycles are sped up. The clothing is made of even worse quality than typical fast fashion items, and it is encouraged to be worn only a couple of times before disposing of it. Many of the companies with a high social media presence, such as Shein, Fashion Nova, and PrettyLittleThing, promote ultra-fast fashion.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-24 |title=What is Ultra Fast Fashion? Investigating Why It's Ultra Bad |url=https://goodonyou.eco/ultra-fast-fashion/ |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=Good On You |language=en}}

The majority of fashion's environmental impact comes from its raw materials.{{Cite news |date=2022-06-10 |title=Fast fashion: How clothes are linked to climate change |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60382624 |access-date=2024-04-05 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

Synthetic materials in clothing require an estimated 342 million barrels of oil per year. Polyester was one of the most popular fibers used in fashion in 2017, found in about 60% of garments in retail stores and equalling about 21.3 million tons of polyester fiber.{{Cite news |date=2017-07-10 |title=Preference for Polyester May Make Fast Fashion Brands Vulnerable - The Robin Report |language=en-US |work=The Robin Report |url=http://www.therobinreport.com/preference-for-polyester-may-make-fast-fashion-brands-vulnerable/ |access-date=2018-05-08}} There was a 157% increase of polyester clothing consumption from 2000 to 2015. Washing polyester clothing leads to shedding of microplastics which enter water systems, including oceans.{{Cite web |last=Paddison |first=Laura |date=2016-09-27 |title=Single clothes wash may release 700,000 microplastic fibres, study finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/27/washing-clothes-releases-water-polluting-fibres-study-finds |access-date=2018-05-08 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=De Falco |first=Francesca |date=29 April 2019 |title=The contribution of washing processes of synthetic clothes to microplastic pollution |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=6633 |bibcode=2019NatSR...9.6633D |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-43023-x |pmc=6488573 |pmid=31036862 |doi-access=free}} It is estimated that 35% of all microplastics in the ocean come from laundering synthetic textiles.{{Cite web |last=Maiti |first=Rashmila |date=2025-01-20 |title=Fast Fashion: Its Detrimental Effect on the Environment |url=https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Earth.Org |language=en}}

File:Cotton Compress, Austin, Tex Showing Part of 11,000 bales of Cotton on Platform. (29913650214).jpg.]]

Cotton is the most common crop in the world aside from food.{{Cite web |title=Cotton {{!}} Industries {{!}} WWF |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/cotton |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=World Wildlife Fund |language=en}} Cotton production uses 2.5% of the world's farmland. Half of all textiles produced are made of the fiber. Cotton is a water-intensive crop, requiring 3644 cubic meters of water to grow one ton of fiber, or 347 gallons per pound.{{cite journal| title=Environmental and Social Impact of Fashion: Towards an Eco-friendly, Ethical Fashion| last=Mukherjee |first=S.| url=http://www.ijims.com/uploads/b71b53a1a196ea5f111a155.pdf| journal=International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies| volume=2| issue=3| pages=22–35| date=January 2015| access-date=10 January 2024| s2cid=169479232}} Growing cotton requires 25% of insecticides and 10-16% of pesticides of what is used globally every year.{{Cite web |date=4 February 2014 |title=Chemical cotton {{!}} Rodale Institute |url=https://rodaleinstitute.org/chemical-cotton/ |access-date=2018-05-08 |website=rodaleinstitute.org |language=en}} Half of the top pesticides used in growing cotton in the US are deemed likely to be carcinogenic by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Cotton production degrades the quality of the soil, leading to exhausted fields and expansion into new areas. Expansion into new areas leads to the destruction of local habitats and the associated pollution affects biodiversity.

Energy use here is measured in megajoules needed to produce one kilogram of the given textile. Water use here is measured in liters of water needed to produce one kilogram of the given textile.

In the late 2010s fashion emitted 2–4% of world total greenhouse gases,{{Cite journal |last1=Peters |first1=Greg |last2=Li |first2=Mengyu |last3=Lenzen |first3=Manfred |date=2021-05-01 |title=The need to decelerate fast fashion in a hot climate - A global sustainability perspective on the garment industry |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |volume=295 |pages=126390 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126390 |issn=0959-6526 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021JCPro.29526390P }}{{Cite web |last=Glover |first=Simon |date=2020-08-27 |title=Fashion emissions to 'double Paris limit by 2030' |url=https://www.ecotextile.com/2020082726585/fashion-retail-news/fashion-emissions-to-double-paris-limit-by-2030.html |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=Ecotextile News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=ROADMAP TO NET ZERO: DELIVERING SCIENCE-BASED TARGETS IN THE APPAREL SECTOR |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2021-11/roadmap-net-zero-delivering-science-based-targets-apparel-sector.pdf}} and it contributes to climate change through energy-intensive production. As of 2025 the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe still has a 2018 press release on their website which says 2% to 8%,{{Cite web |title=UN Alliance aims to put fashion on path to sustainability {{!}} UNECE |url=https://unece.org/forestry/press/un-alliance-aims-put-fashion-path-sustainability |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=unece.org}} despite this being criticised by BBC “More or Less” for being unsourced (they say there was a study which said 8% but it is old). According to the BBC “More or less” investigation in 2022{{Cite web |title=More or Less - How bad is fashion for the environment? - BBC Sounds |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct3k55 |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |at=1:20 to 3:56 |language=en-GB}} the best study at that time was the 2021 WRI report which gave 2%.{{Cite web |date=November 2021 |title=ROADMAP TO NET ZERO: DELIVERING SCIENCE-BASED TARGETS IN THE APPAREL SECTOR |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2021-11/roadmap-net-zero-delivering-science-based-targets-apparel-sector.pdf}} The proportion of textile fibres used in clothing must be a factor in the calculation as some are used in other products, such as filters and seat belts.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-12 |title=An overview on global fiber and yarn market |url=https://www.textiletoday.com.bd/an-overview-on-global-fiber-and-yarn-market |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=Textile News, Apparel News, RMG News, Fashion Trends |language=en}}

Production of polyester emits significant amounts of greenhouse gas, followed by cotton, leather, wool, man-made cellulosic fibres and nylon.{{Cite web |title=The Future of Synthetics |url=https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2024/04/The-Future-of-Synthetics.pdf}}{{Rp|page=7}} Most polyester is made in China:{{Cite web |last=Husband |first=Laura |date=2024-09-18 |title=Explainer: Will polyester continue to outperform cotton? |url=https://www.just-style.com/features/explainer-will-polyester-continue-to-outperform-cotton/ |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=Just Style |language=en-US}} whereas the European Union Emissions Trading System may encourage reducing emissions{{Cite web |last=Slanger |first=Dan |date=2024-11-15 |title=How Fashion and Furniture Can Lead Toward a Market for Lower-Emissions Polyester |url=https://rmi.org/how-fashion-and-furniture-can-lead-toward-a-market-for-lower-emissions-polyester/ |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=RMI |language=en-US}} prices on the Chinese national carbon trading scheme are far lower. It has been suggested that exporters to the EU should decarbonize in case clothing is included in the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in future.{{Cite web |title=CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM AND TURKIYE |url=https://tyrkiet.um.dk/en/-/media/country-sites/tyrkiet-en/the-trade-council/eu-green-deal-teaser_turkey_2023.ashx |pages=10–11}} More use of textile based feedstock has been suggested for polyester production. Capturing of carbon dioxide from ethylene production has been suggested.{{Cite journal |last1=Zheng |first1=Cheng |last2=Wu |first2=Xiao |last3=Chen |first3=Xianhao |date=2023-08-10 |title=Low-carbon transformation of ethylene production system through deployment of carbon capture, utilization, storage and renewable energy technologies |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652623016335 |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |volume=413 |pages=137475 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137475 |bibcode=2023JCPro.41337475Z |issn=0959-6526}} A certificatation for low-carbon polyester has been suggested.

Reducing the share of electricity from coal-fired power stations and coal in process heating in clothes manufacturing countries such as China, India, and Pakistan would help.{{Cite journal |last1=Imran |first1=Shahid |last2=Mujtaba |first2=M. A. |last3=Zafar |first3=Muhammad Manan |last4=Hussain |first4=Amjad |last5=Mehmood |first5=Amjad |last6=Farwa |first6=Umm E. |last7=Korakianitis |first7=T. |last8=Kalam |first8=M. A. |last9=Fayaz |first9=H. |last10=Saleel |first10=C Ahamed |date=2023-11-01 |title=Assessing the potential of GHG emissions for the textile sector: A baseline study |journal=Heliyon |volume=9 |issue=11 |pages=e22404 |doi=10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22404 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023Heliy...922404I |issn=2405-8440|pmc=10700620 }}{{Cite web |title=Electrification of Heating in A Textile Plant in India-Case Study |url=https://www.globalefficiencyintel.com/electrification-of-heating-in-a-textile-plant-in-indiacase-study |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=Global Efficiency Intelligence |language=en-US}}

Improperly disposing of clothing can harm the environment, especially through wastewater. Chemicals from decomposing clothing can leach into the air and into the ground, affecting both groundwater and surface water. Aside from plastic pollution, textiles also contributes significantly to marine pollution. Unlike plastic, textile pollution's impact on marine life occurs in its various supply chain processes.{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Mike |title=Out Of Fashion - The Hidden Cost Of Clothing Is A Water Pollution Crisis |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikescott/2020/09/19/out-of-fashionthe-hidden-cost-of-clothing-is-a-water-pollution-crisis/ |access-date=2021-12-12 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Pollutants like pesticides and clothing manufacturing chemicals cling to particles that accumulate in the waters ecosystem and consequently enter into human food chains.{{Cite web |title=A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning fashion's future |url=https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=ellenmacarthurfoundation.org|date=28 November 2017 }}

Plastic and synthetic textile are both created from a chemical structure called polymer. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines polymer as “a chemical compound or mixture of compounds formed by polymerization and consisting essentially of repeating structural units.” For plastic, the common polymer found is PET, polyethylene (PE), or polypropylene (PP), whereas for textile, the polymer found the most abundant in the collection of waste is polyester and nylon textiles.{{Cite journal |last=Arduss |first=M. |date=April 1, 2021 |title=COVID-19 pandemic repercussions on plastic and antiviral polymeric textile causing pollution on beaches and coasts of South America. |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=763 (2021) |page=144365 |bibcode=2021ScTEn.76344365A |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144365 |pmc=7726578 |pmid=33360513}}

File:Plastic Waste Generation.svg

Textiles shed microfibers at every stage of their life cycle, from production, to use, to end of life disposal.{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Jianli |last2=Liang |first2=Jianyao |last3=Ding |first3=Jiannan |last4=Zhang |first4=Guangming |last5=Zeng |first5=Xianyi |last6=Yang |first6=Qingbo |last7=Zhu |first7=Bo |last8=Gao |first8=Weidong |date=August 2021 |title=Microfiber pollution: an ongoing major environmental issue related to the sustainable development of textile and clothing industry |journal=Environment, Development and Sustainability |volume=23 |issue=8 |pages=11240–11256 |doi=10.1007/s10668-020-01173-3 |bibcode=2021EDSus..2311240L |s2cid=230284901}} These fibers end up in the soil, air, lakes, and oceans. Microfiber pollution has existed as long as the textile industry has, but only recently has it come under public scrutiny. The Ocean Wise Conservation Association produced a study discussing the textile waste. For polyester, it stated that on average, humans shed around 20 to 800 mg micro polyester waste for every kg textile washed. A smaller amount for nylon is found; for every kg of fabrics washed, around 11 to 63 mg of nylon microfiber waste are shed into bodies of water.{{Cite journal |last=Vassilenko |first=Katerina |year=2019 |title=Me, my clothes and the ocean: The role of textiles in microfiber pollution |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/fsquhe7zbn68/4MQ9y89yx4KeyHv9Svynyq/8434de64585e9d2cfbcd3c46627c7a4a/Research_MicrofibersReport_191004-e.pdf |journal=Ocean Wise Conservation Association}} Washing synthetic textiles releases microplastics and microfibers into the oceans.{{cite journal |last1=Schöpel |first1=Bettina |last2=Stamminger |first2=Rainer |date=15 March 2019 |title=A Comprehensive Literature Study on Microfibres from Washing Machines |journal=Tenside Surfactants Detergents |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=94–104 |doi=10.3139/113.110610 |s2cid=108248146}} This type of waste is most commonly found from washing machine cycles, where fibers of clothes fall loose during the tumbling process. An individual domestic load of laundry can shed up to 700,000 microfibers.

The Association also released a study stating that on average, households in the United States and Canada produce around 135 grams of microfibers, which is equivalent to 22 kilotons of microfibers released to the wastewater annually. These wastewater will go through various waste water treatment plants, however, around 878 tons of those 22 kilotons were left untreated and hence, thrown into the ocean.{{Cite journal |last=Katerina |first=Vassilenko |year=2019 |title=Me, my clothes and the ocean: The role of textiles in microfiber pollution. |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/fsquhe7zbn68/4MQ9y89yx4KeyHv9Svynyq/8434de64585e9d2cfbcd3c46627c7a4a/Research_MicrofibersReport_191004-e.pdf |journal=Ocean Wise Conservation Association}}

Textiles are the main source of microfibers in the environment. Thirty five percent of the microplastics that are found in marine ecosystems, such as shorelines, are from synthetic microfibers and nanofibers. Such microfibers affect marine life in that fish or other species in the marine ecosystems consume them, which end up in the intestine and harm the animals.{{cite journal |last1=Mishra |first1=Sunanda |last2=Rath |first2=Chandi charan |last3=Das |first3=Alok Prasad |date=March 2019 |title=Marine microfiber pollution: A review on present status and future challenges |journal=Marine Pollution Bulletin |volume=140 |pages=188–197 |doi=10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.01.039 |pmid=30803634 |bibcode=2019MarPB.140..188M |s2cid=73491218}} Microfibers have been found in the digestive tracts of widely consumed fish and shellfish. These fish are then consumed by humans, which leads to the absorption of micro pollutants in the fish in a process called biomagnification.{{Cite news |date=2016-07-02 |title=Causes, Effects and Process of Biomagnification {{!}} Earth Eclipse |language=en-US |work=Earth Eclipse |url=https://www.eartheclipse.com/ecosystem/causes-effects-process-of-biomagnification.html |access-date=2018-05-08}} Predators of the affected marine species are also harmed, as they ingest the microfibers previously ingested by their prey. The yearly shellfish consumption of microplastics was found to be 11,000 pieces, and microfibers were found in eighty three percent of fish caught in one lake in Brazil. In one study, the food consumption rates decreased in crabs who were eating food with plastic microfibers, which further lead to the available energy for growth to also decrease.{{cite journal |last1=Watts |first1=Andrew J. R. |last2=Urbina |first2=Mauricio A. |last3=Corr |first3=Shauna |last4=Lewis |first4=Ceri |last5=Galloway |first5=Tamara S. |date=15 December 2015 |title=Ingestion of Plastic Microfibers by the Crab Carcinus maenas and Its Effect on Food Consumption and Energy Balance |journal=Environmental Science & Technology |volume=49 |issue=24 |pages=14597–14604 |bibcode=2015EnST...4914597W |doi=10.1021/acs.est.5b04026 |pmid=26529464}}{{cite journal |last1=Henry |first1=Beverley |last2=Laitala |first2=Kirsi |last3=Klepp |first3=Ingun Grimstad |date=February 2019 |title=Microfibres from apparel and home textiles: Prospects for including microplastics in environmental sustainability assessment |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=652 |pages=483–494 |bibcode=2019ScTEn.652..483H |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.166 |pmid=30368178 |s2cid=53114879 |doi-access=free|hdl=10642/6565 |hdl-access=free }}

Techniques to address the environmental impacts of the fashion industry include a marine algal bioabsorbent, which could be used for dye removal through rich algal surface chemistry through heteroatom containing functional groups.{{cite web| title=Ecological footprint and water analysis of cotton, hemp and polyester| author1=Cherrett, N.| author2=Barrett, J.| author3=Clemett, A.| author4=Chadwick, M.| author5=Chadwick, M. J.| url=https://mediamanager.sei.org/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-EcologicalFootprintAndWaterAnalysisOfCottonHempAndPolyester-2005.pdf| publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute| date=13 December 2005| access-date=10 January 2024}}

The fashion industry consumes a large amount of water to produce fabrics and manufacture garments every year. The global fashion industry uses 93 billion cubic meters of water per year, or 20 trillion gallons.{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Jianli |last2=Liang |first2=Jianyao |last3=Ding |first3=Jiannan |last4=Zhang |first4=Guangming |last5=Zeng |first5=Xianyi |last6=Yang |first6=Qingbo |last7=Zhu |first7=Bo |last8=Gao |first8=Weidong |date=August 2021 |title=Microfiber pollution: an ongoing major environmental issue related to the sustainable development of textile and clothing industry |journal=Environment, Development and Sustainability |volume=23 |issue=8 |pages=11240–11256 |doi=10.1007/s10668-020-01173-3 |bibcode=2021EDSus..2311240L |s2cid=230284901}}{{Cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=Kerrice |last2=Basu |first2=Aman |last3=Sharma |first3=Sapna |date=January 2022 |title=The Environmental Impacts of Fast Fashion on Water Quality: A Systematic Review |journal=Water |language=en |volume=14 |issue=7 |pages=1073 |doi=10.3390/w14071073 |issn=2073-4441 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2022Water..14.1073B }} This is four percent of all freshwater withdrawal globally.{{Cite web |title=A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning fashion's future |url=https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=ellenmacarthurfoundation.org|date=28 November 2017 }} This amount is set to double by 2030 if it follows the current trend.{{Cite web |title=Pulse of the Industry — GLOBAL FASHION AGENDA |url=https://www.globalfashionagenda.com/publications-and-policy/pulse-of-the-industry/ |access-date=2022-05-12 |language=en-US}} According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the fashion industry is responsible for 20 percent of global wastewater.{{Cite web |date=2019-03-13 |title=Fashion's tiny hidden secret |url=http://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/fashions-tiny-hidden-secret |access-date=2022-05-12 |website=UNEP |language=en}} Manufacturing a single pair of Levi jeans, will on average, consume about 3,781 liters of water.{{Cite web |author=Sustainable Brands|date=2015-03-16 |title=Levi's Has Saved 1B Liters of Water Through Its Water |url=https://sustainablebrands.com/read/product-service-design-innovation/levi-s-has-savedb-liters-of-water-through-its-water-less-process-now-it-s-asking-you-to-wash-less |access-date=2022-05-12 |website=Sustainable Brands |language=en}} On average, producing one kilogram of textiles requires 200 liters of water.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency,{{Cite web |title=US EPA |url=https://www.epa.gov/ |access-date=2018-05-08 |website=US EPA |language=en}} 17 million tons of textile waste were produced in 2018 alone.{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OLEM |date=2017-09-12 |title=Textiles: Material-Specific Data |url=https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}} Of those 17 million tons, 11.3 million tons of textile waste were discarded in landfills, 3.2 million tons were incinerated with energy recovery, and only 2.5 million tons were recycled. When textile clothing ends up in landfills, chemicals on the clothes such as the dye can leech into the ground and cause environmental damage. When unsold clothing is burned,{{cite web |author=Siegle, L. |date=29 September 2018 |title=Destroying Unsold Clothes Is Fashion's Dirty Secret. And We're Complicit |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/burberry-burn-clothes-fashion-industry-waste_n_5bad1ef2e4b09d41eb9f7bb0 |access-date=12 January 2024 |publisher=BuzzFeed}} it may pollute the air. In 2019, France announced that it was making an effort to prevent companies from this practice of burning unsold fashion items.{{Cite web |date=2019-05-17 |title=Macron hires Kering CEO to improve sustainability of luxury fashion |url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2019/05/17/macron-hires-kering-ceo-sustainability-luxury-fashion |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=euronews |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=France clamps down on fashion brands that destroy unsold goods so that they won't be found in discount bins |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/world/france-clamps-down-on-fashion-brands-that-destroy-unsold-goods-so-that-they-wont-be-found-in-discount-bins |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=nationalpost |language=en-CA}} Fashion is produced at such high and fast rates, that more than 40% of fashion goods are sold at a markdown. {{Cite news |last=Pucker |first=Kenneth P. |date=2022-01-13 |title=The Myth of Sustainable Fashion |url=https://hbr.org/2022/01/the-myth-of-sustainable-fashion |access-date=2023-09-14 |work=Harvard Business Review |issn=0017-8012}}

Donations are often seen as a way to eliminate textile waste, however less than 20% of donated clothes go to thrift stores. {{Cite book |last=Cline |first=Elizabeth L. |title=Overdressed: the shockingly high cost of cheap fashion |date=2013 |publisher=Portfolio/Penguin |isbn=978-1-59184-654-3 |edition=Paperback ed. with a new afterword |location=New York, NY |pages=128}} Textiles that do not go to charities, landfills, or are recycled, are sent to developing countries in large bundles. There, they overwhelm waste management infrastructure and end up polluting local rivers, streams, and communities.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-17 |title=Poisoned Gifts - From donations to the dumpsite: Textile waste disguised as second-hand clothes exported to East Africa |url=https://www.greenpeace.org/international/publication/53355/poisoned-gifts-report-fast-fashion-textile-waste-disguised-as-second-hand-clothes-exported-to-east-africa/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Greenpeace International |language=en}}

The packaging of clothing also contributes to the waste produced by the fashion industry. As online shopping, both for clothing and for other items, has become common, the amount of waste produced has totaled about 75 million tons in the United States alone. Many packaging materials are also non-recyclable.{{cite journal |last1=Bertram |first1=Rose Francoise |last2=Chi |first2=Ting |date=4 May 2018 |title=A study of companies' business responses to fashion e-commerce's environmental impact |journal=International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=254–264 |doi=10.1080/17543266.2017.1406541 |doi-access=free}}

{{See|Sustainable fashion}}

File:Old Rags Into New Cloth- Salvage in Britain, April 1942 D7435.jpg cutting salvaged clothes and rags for recycling.]]The consumer use phase in the life cycle of clothing and other textiles is a significant area of impact, yet is often overlooked.{{Cite journal |last1=Kozlowski |first1=Anika |last2=Bardecki |first2=Michal |last3=Searcy |first3=Cory |date=2012 |title=Environmental Impacts in the Fashion Industry: A Life-cycle and Stakeholder Framework |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/jcorpciti.45.17 |journal=The Journal of Corporate Citizenship |issue=45 |pages=17–36 |issn=1470-5001}} While there is minimal research into energy efficient washers and dryers as a method of reducing impact on the consumer side, wearing garments for 9 months longer could cut overall waste by 22% and water use by 33%.{{Cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=Kerrice |last2=Basu |first2=Aman |last3=Sharma |first3=Sapna |date=January 2022 |title=The Environmental Impacts of Fast Fashion on Water Quality: A Systematic Review |journal=Water |language=en |volume=14 |issue=7 |pages=1073 |doi=10.3390/w14071073 |issn=2073-4441 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2022Water..14.1073B }} On the producer side, choosing to make garments in popular colors and designs that consumers are more likely to buy is both a financially and environmentally responsible choice. Designing clothing that is more likely to be purchased can reduce waste on the production side. In 2018 the fashion retailer H&M ended up with $4.3 billion of unsold merchandise. Other retailers, such as Patagonia, have made efforts to create more sustainable clothing by using eco-friendly materials, such as organically-farmed cotton and polyester made from recycled plastic bottles.{{cite journal |last1=Caniato |first1=Federico |last2=Caridi |first2=Maria |last3=Crippa |first3=Luca |last4=Moretto |first4=Antonella |date=February 2012 |title=Environmental sustainability in fashion supply chains: An exploratory case based research |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925527311002659 |journal=International Journal of Production Economics |volume=135 |issue=2 |pages=659–670 |doi=10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.06.001 |access-date=22 October 2023}}{{cite web |date=12 November 2018 |title=Putting the brakes on fast fashion |url=https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion |access-date=22 October 2023 |website=UNEP |language=en}}

In order to extend the life cycle of garments and slow rates of production and overconsumption, business models such as 'clothing libraries' have been considered. These businesses collect pieces both from local shops and companies, and allow customers, who pay for a monthly subscription, to borrow clothes for a certain period of time. Business startups such as these have been tested in the Netherlands and Sweden, but there are concerns that clothing libraries will have little to no effect on reducing the effects of fast fashion.{{cite journal |last1=Zamani |first1=Bahareh |last2=Sandin |first2=Gustav |last3=Peters |first3=Greg M. |date=20 September 2017 |title=Life cycle assessment of clothing libraries: can collaborative consumption reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion? |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652617312982 |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |volume=162 |pages=1368–1375 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.128 |bibcode=2017JCPro.162.1368Z |access-date=17 October 2023|hdl=1959.4/unsworks_60169 |hdl-access=free }}

{{Main|Slow fashion}}

Slow fashion is a movement that seeks to oppose fast fashion, focusing on the production and sale of sustainable clothing created with eco-friendly materials. The movement encourages purchasing clothing from local sources as opposed to large brands, as these locally-made pieces are often of a higher quality and will last longer than factory-made clothing, and will reduce pollution caused by the disposal of clothes.{{cite journal |last1=Niinimäki |first1=Kirsi |last2=Peters |first2=Greg |last3=Dahlbo |first3=Helena |last4=Perry |first4=Patsy |last5=Rissanen |first5=Timo |last6=Gwilt |first6=Alison |date=7 April 2020 |title=The environmental price of fast fashion |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9 |journal=Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=189–200 |bibcode=2020NRvEE...1..189N |doi=10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9 |access-date=17 October 2023}} The slow fashion movement also challenges the ethical issues of fast fashion, such as the underpaying and overworking of factory workers, who often come from low-income countries.{{cite journal |last1=Bick |first1=Rachel |last2=Halsey |first2=Erika |last3=Ekenga |first3=Christine C. |date=December 2018 |title=The global environmental injustice of fast fashion |journal=Environmental Health |volume=17 |issue=1 |page=92 |bibcode=2018EnvHe..17...92B |doi=10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7 |pmc=6307129 |pmid=30591057 |doi-access=free}}

• Circular fashion
• Digital Product Passport
• Environmental sustainability of vintage fashion
• Greenhouse gas emissions by sector
• Textile recycling
• Trashion
• Zero-waste fashion

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite journal |doi = 10.1177/1528083715620398|title = A Review on Milkweed Fiber Properties as a High-Potential Raw Material in Textile Applications|year = 2017|last1 = Hassanzadeh|first1 = Sanaz|last2 = Hasani|first2 = Hossein|journal = Journal of Industrial Textiles|volume = 46|issue = 6|pages = 1412–1436|s2cid = 137942362}}
• {{Cite book |doi=10.1007/978-981-287-633-1_3|chapter=Great Potential of Stinging Nettle for Sustainable Textile and Fashion|title=Handbook of Sustainable Luxury Textiles and Fashion|series=Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes|year=2015|last1=Debnath|first1=Sanjoy|pages=43–57|isbn=978-981-287-632-4}}

{{Fashion}}

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