This story is a part of one5c’s guide to sustainable fashion. Read more about how to ditch fast fashion, the complexities of textile recycling, if (and how) clothing rentals help, and how to spot high-quality clothes.

The clothes we wear and wash have a lasting impact on the planet. The synthetic fibers threading together bargain OOTDs shed millions of tons of microfibers into waterways and the air,¹ and the fashion industry spews about the same volume of greenhouse gases as international air travel and maritime shipping combined.² These problems will only get worse as consumption rates skyrocket.

“The average person buys 52 new pieces of clothing a year,” says Susanne Brander, an ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University. People are not only buying more clothes—often made from cheap synthetics—but they’re also throwing away more duds than ever before. Here’s what you need to know about fast fashion’s impact on the planet:

Fashion’s greenhouse gas emissions

Fashion is a huge industrial contributor to climate change. One 2020 study in the Journal of Cleaner Production found that the fashion industry produces around 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year—equal to that of the entire European Union.³ Ultimately, the $1.3 trillion textiles and apparel industry is responsible for between 4% and 10% of total worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.⁴ By some estimates, the industry’s carbon dioxide emissions are likely to increase by about 60% by 2030 compared to 2015 levels.⁵

The use of synthetic fabrics like polyester is only exacerbating the problem.⁶ These materials are derived from fossil fuel sources instead of natural fibers like cotton and linen. A synthetic-based T-shirt, for example, is responsible for more than twice the CO2-equivalent emissions as a cotton counterpart.⁷ Manufacturing synthetic fibers for fashion alone guzzles down at least 70 million barrels of oil every year, according to the European Environment Agency.⁸ (That’s the equivalent of one business week’s worth of oil production in the U.S.) “It’s a big problem, and I think people still don’t connect it as much with the plastics problem,” says Brander. Those synthetic fibers also persist much longer in the environment than non-treated, natural alternatives like wool or cotton.

Water use in the fashion industry

Some of fashion’s biggest waste issues come down to water, regardless of the type of fabric a manufacturer is working with. Producing just one cotton T-shirt, by some low-end estimates, requires some 2,700 liters of fresh water.⁹ According to one 2024 estimate in the journal Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, the industry will be guzzling down about 118 billion cubic meters of water by 2030—enough to fill 47.2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.¹⁰ That same analysis found that textile production is also responsible for about 20% of global wastewater pollution. For every kilo of fabric produced, about 200 liters of water spit out into the world.¹¹  

That wastewater poses two issues. The first is that it’s nasty stuff. It often can contain carcinogenic, toxic, mutagenic, and difficult-to-degrade compounds, including the thousands of chemicals used to make garments colorful, stain-free, and wrinkle-free.¹² Secondly, wastewater from textiles production—and residential laundry—contributes to microplastic pollution. Microfiber particles from synthetic clothing (and other products like fishing gear and more generic textiles) can pass through treatment plants and ultimately end up in the world’s oceans where they’re mistaken as food or unknowingly ingested by wildlife.¹³

Fashion’s mounting waste 

Fast fashion has created a surge in clothing flooding into landfills, researchers say.¹⁴ Products like $5 fleece blankets from big box stories or $15 five-packs of tank tops that arrive wrapped in plastic are cheap because they’re made cheaply, sometimes so much so that they’re not able to survive wash cycles if they don’t end up straight in the trash in the first place. 

Textiles waste has been on a significant rise in the United States. It grew from 11 million tons in 2005 to 17 million tons in 2018.¹⁵ In 2018, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), textiles accounted for 5.8% of the 292.4 million tons of solid waste generated in America. Of that, 11.3 million tons went to landfills, while 2.5 million tons were reportedly recycled. The EPA does not specify in its waste management reports how those items were recycled, and a 2024 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended that Congress step in to help agencies like the EPA to coordinate and take action to reduce textile waste and advance textile recycling. 

Recycling alone, however, cannot solve the waste problem. By 2030, 148 million tons of textile waste will be dumped in landfills—a 60% increase from 2015. And all of those polyester pieces? Those could last in landfills upwards of 200 years.¹⁶ One study in the journal Nature Communications estimated that the global apparel industry leaked 8.3 million tons of plastic pollution into the environment in 2019, or around 14% of the estimated 60 million tons from all sectors. Some 89% of those castoffs stemmed from the limited life cycle of synthetic apparel.¹⁷ 

Microplastic pollution from the fashion industry 

The microfiber pollution emitted by clothing during wear and washing is another pervasive problem. Some 6.17 million tons of microfibers were spit out by washers and dryers around the world between 1950 and 2016.¹⁸

All of the clothes we wear—as well as other textiles like blankets, couch cushion covers, rugs, towels, shower curtains—are made up of many threads that can shed during normal wear and washing. Those fibers can end up in the air from wearing or drying, or else in our outgoing laundry water. Microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic that can include things like the synthetic fibers that shed from fleece blankets or coats, have now been found virtually in every corner of the planet, from Arctic sea ice to the air we breathe. At home, one load of laundry can emit hundreds of thousands—by some estimates even up to 10 million—teeny, tiny microfibers.¹⁹ One 2022 study estimates that about 2.2 million tons of microfibers reach the ocean every year.²⁰

Solutions to ease the impact

While there’s much to be done at the corporate and government levels when it comes to overproduction and pollution in the fashion industry, individual consumers can make a difference by arming themselves with information and shifting their purchasing choices in a more sustainable direction. 

Underconsumption is key

Scientists and advocates alike say that the fashion industry’s environmental problems cannot be curbed as long as production keeps ramping up.²¹

Shoppers, however, can be more choosy and deliberate with the things they decide to buy. It’s important, for example, to raise an eyebrow at wordy, unsubstantiated sustainability claims, because greenwashing is real in the world of fashion. One European study found that 42% of “green” claims weren’t all they promised to be.²² Go into every shopping trip armed with greenwash-catching tips and knowledge of what a high-quality, long-lasting piece looks like. 

Brander also suggests that when you must purchase a new item, prioritize options made from non-treated organic cotton or wool. Polyester duds some of the worst offenders when it comes to microplastic-related impacts.²³ “If you’re making a material/textiles out of more sustainable material, that’s great, but if you’re using the same chemicals used to make synthetic clothing now, that’s not really improving the situation,” she says. 

Clothing rentals

The concept of a “sharing economy” has begun to catch on in fashion. Reselling, renting, and swapping programs have begun to blossom in the online clothing world. The global rental fashion market was worth about $6.2 billion in 2023, more than double 2016’s total.²⁴

Like all things consumer-related, be wary of any empty-sounding promises. While clothing rentals are sustainable in that they can helps avoid purchases of items that likely will only be worn once, some studies have warned that rental options can come with unwanted tradeoffs, like increased emissions and impacts from transportation, delivery, and packaging.²⁵ Rentals are perfect for that themed wedding, skiing trip, or formal soiree, but for everyday, stick to your core closet. 

Recycling

Seeing through greenwashing in the fashion industry can be particularly challenging, Brander says. That particularly applies to hopeful-sounding solutions like recycling. Recycling polyester, for example, may sound like a good idea, but really it’s just another way to create a market for more polyester, she says—and oftentimes recycled products aren’t as useful or as sturdy as the original. Not to mention, only around 1% of used clothes are recycled into new clothing items.²⁶

Recycling, if done right, could be one key part of a “circular economy” in fashion. Doing so, however, would require a shift away from easily-falling-apart fast fashion trends to redesigned garments that are created with the intention to reduce waste from start to finish. Consumers have a role to play in this shift—by demanding products that can live many lives and refusing to buy cheap, disposable duds. 

1. Synthetic Microfiber Emissions to Land Rival Those to Waterbodies and Are Growing, PLOS ONE, Sep. 2020 ↩︎
2. (Un)Sustainable Transitions Towards Fast and Ultra-Fast Fashion, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, May 2023 ↩︎
3. The Circular Economy in the Textile and Apparel Industry: A Systematic Literature Review, Journal of Cleaner Production, Jun. 2020 ↩︎
4. Fast Fashion Consumption and Its Environmental Impact: A Literature Review, Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 2024 ↩︎
5. The Carbon Footprint of Fast Fashion Consumption and Mitigation Strategies-A Case Study of Jeans, Science of The Total Environment, May 2024 ↩︎
6. An Overview of the Contribution of the Textiles Sector to Climate Change, Frontiers in Environmental Science, Sep. 2022 ↩︎
7. Sustainable Apparel Materials, Materials Systems Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sep. 2015 ↩︎
8. Textiles in Europe’s Circular Economy, European Environment Agency, Nov. 2019 ↩︎
9. The Impact of Textile Production and Waste on the Environment (Infographics), European Parliament, Mar. 2024
   ↩︎
10. Fast Fashion Consumption and Its Environmental Impact: A Literature Review, Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 2024 ↩︎
11. A Critical Review on Textile Wastewater Treatments: Possible Approaches, Journal of Environmental Practices, Nov. 2016 ↩︎
12. Reviewing Textile Wastewater Produced by Industries: Characteristics, Environmental Impacts, and Treatment Strategies, Water Science & Technology, Mar. 2022 ↩︎
13. Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee Report on Microfiber Pollution, Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Nov. 2024 ↩︎
14. Fast Fashion Consumption and Its Environmental Impact: A Literature Review, Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 2024 ↩︎
15. Fast Fashion Consumption and Its Environmental Impact: A Literature Review, Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 2024 ↩︎
16. Death by Waste: Fashion and Textile Circular Economy Case, Science of the Total Environment, May 2020 ↩︎
17. The Global Apparel Industry Is a Significant Yet Overlooked Source of Plastic Leakage, Nature Communications, Jun. 2024 ↩︎
18. Synthetic Microfiber Emissions to Land Rival Those to Waterbodies and Are Growing, PLOS ONE, Sep. 2020 ↩︎
19. Characterization of Microfibers Emission From Textile Washing From a Domestic Environment, Science of the Total Environment, Dec. 2022 ↩︎
20. Marine Microfiber Pollution: A Review on Present Status and Future Challenges, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Mar. 2019 ↩︎
21. Slowing the Fast Fashion Industry: An All-Round Perspective, Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, Dec. 2022 ↩︎
22. Screening of Websites for ‘Greenwashing’: Half of Green Claims Lack Evidence, European Commission, Jan. 2021 ↩︎
23. Quantification of Different Microplastic Fibres Discharged from Textiles in Machine Wash and Tumble Drying, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Dec. 2020 ↩︎
24. Fashion Rental Market Makes A Comeback—As Gen Z And Millennials Revive Brands Like Nuuly, Rent The Runway, Forbes, May 2024 ↩︎
25. Innovative Recycling or Extended Use? Comparing the Global Warming Potential of Different Ownership and End-Of-Life Scenarios for Textiles, IOP Publishing, May 2021 ↩︎
26. Environmental Impact of Textile Reuse and Recycling – A Review, Journal of Cleaner Production, May 2018 ↩︎