The fashion industry, especially the making and use of clothing and shoes, causes a lot of environmental harm. This includes greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, high water use, and large amounts of textile waste. In the 19th century, industrialization led to the large-scale production of textiles, which worsened environmental damage. The fast fashion industry has grown quickly, resulting in about 100 billion clothing items being used each year. Around 85% of clothing used in the United States ends up in landfills. Recent studies show that even though animal-based fibers like wool and leather make up a small part of clothing production, they create a large share of the fashion industry’s methane emissions. One study estimates that wool and leather, which account for 3–5% of global fashion production, may be responsible for 70–80% of the industry’s methane emissions over 20 years.
Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothes. In the late 2010s, the fashion industry released 2% of the world’s total greenhouse gases. It harms the climate through energy-heavy production processes. The creation and delivery of crops, fibers, and clothing used in fashion contribute to different types of pollution, such as water, air, and soil damage. The textile industry is the second-largest polluter of local freshwater and causes about one-fifth of all industrial water pollution. Major causes of this pollution include making too many fashion items, using synthetic fibers, pollution from growing fashion crops, and microfibers spreading into water sources worldwide.
Some retailers and consumers have tried to support sustainable fashion practices, such as reducing waste, improving energy and water use, and using eco-friendly materials. In response to fast fashion, movements like slow fashion have also grown.
Fast fashion
Fast fashion is a method of designing, making, and selling clothing that focuses on quickly and cheaply providing new fashion trends to customers. Traditional fashion processes usually take about six months to complete, but fast fashion finishes these steps in just a few weeks. This allows stores to respond faster to changing customer preferences. Fast fashion has become possible because of global supply chains, low-cost manufacturing, and systems that let stores produce and send clothes quickly and in large amounts.
Since the 1960s, the number of new clothes bought by Americans has increased three times. Globalization has helped fast fashion grow rapidly. In 2019, worldwide sales of clothing reached 1.9 trillion U.S. dollars, a record high. This number is expected to reach 3 trillion U.S. dollars by 2030. People around the world use more than 80 billion clothing items each year, and this number continues to grow because fashion trends change quickly and people want affordable, stylish clothes.
Fast fashion is sometimes called "disposable fashion" because trends change so fast that many people wear clothes only once or twice before throwing them away. Many fast fashion items are made with weak materials because their low cost makes people less concerned about quality. This causes clothes to tear, rip, or wear out faster than clothes made with better materials.
As fast fashion became more popular, a faster version called "ultra-fast fashion" also appeared. Ultra-fast fashion works like regular fast fashion but moves even faster. The clothes are made with even lower quality than typical fast fashion items and are meant to be worn only a few times before being thrown away. Companies like Shein, Fashion Nova, and PrettyLittleThing, which have large social media followings, often promote ultra-fast fashion.
Materials and textiles
The majority of fashion's environmental impact comes from its raw materials.
Synthetic materials in clothing use about 342 million barrels of oil each year. Polyester was the most popular fiber in fashion in 2017, found in about 60% of clothing sold in stores and equaling about 21.3 million tons of polyester fiber. From 2000 to 2015, the use of polyester clothing increased by 157%. Washing polyester clothing causes tiny plastic particles, called microplastics, to enter water systems, including oceans. About 35% of all microplastics in the ocean come from washing synthetic clothing.
Cotton is the most common non-food crop grown worldwide. Cotton farming uses 2.5% of the world's farmland. Half of all textiles made are made from cotton. Cotton is a crop that needs a lot of water, requiring 3,644 cubic meters of water to grow one ton of cotton fiber, or 437 gallons of water for each pound of fiber. Growing cotton uses 25% of the insecticides and 10-16% of the pesticides used globally each year. In the United States, half of the top pesticides used for growing cotton are considered likely to cause cancer by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Cotton farming harms soil quality, leading to less productive fields. This causes farming to expand into new areas, which destroys local habitats and harms biodiversity through pollution.
Energy use is measured in units called megajoules needed to produce one kilogram of the given textile. Water use is measured in liters of water needed to produce one kilogram of the given textile.
Greenhouse gas emissions
In the late 2010s, the fashion industry produced 2–4% of the world’s total greenhouse gases. This happens because making clothes often uses a lot of energy. As of 2025, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe still had a 2018 press release on its website that stated the fashion industry contributed 2% to 8% of greenhouse gases. However, the BBC program "More or Less" criticized this claim in 2022 because it lacked sources. They noted that an older study suggested 8%, but newer research, like the 2021 WRI report, found the contribution was closer to 2%. When calculating the fashion industry’s impact, the use of textile fibers in other products, such as filters and seat belts, must be considered.
Polyester production releases the most greenhouse gases, followed by cotton, leather, wool, man-made cellulosic fibers, and nylon. Most polyester is made in China. In contrast, the European Union’s Emissions Trading System may help reduce emissions, but China’s national carbon trading scheme has much lower prices for emissions. Experts suggest that companies exporting to the EU should reduce their carbon emissions in case clothing is included in the EU’s future Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Possible strategies for manufacturers include using more textile-based materials for polyester production, capturing carbon dioxide from ethylene production, and creating a certification for low-carbon polyester. Reducing the use of coal-powered electricity and coal in heating processes in countries like China, India, and Pakistan, where many clothes are made, could also help lower emissions.
Water use and pollution
Improper disposal of clothing can harm the environment, especially through wastewater. Chemicals from decomposing clothing can enter the air and soil, affecting groundwater and surface water. Textiles also contribute to marine pollution, not just from plastic. Textile pollution harms marine life during its production, use, and disposal. Pollutants like pesticides and chemicals from clothing manufacturing attach to particles in water, which can then enter human food chains.
Plastic and synthetic textiles are both made from a chemical structure called a polymer. A polymer is a chemical compound made by repeating structural units. For plastic, common polymers include PET, polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP). For textiles, the most common polymer in waste is polyester and nylon.
Textiles release microfibers throughout their life cycle, including production, use, and disposal. These fibers end up in soil, air, lakes, and oceans. Microfiber pollution has existed since the textile industry began, but it has only recently been studied. A study by the Ocean Wise Conservation Association found that washing 1 kilogram of polyester textiles releases about 20 to 800 milligrams of microfiber waste. Washing 1 kilogram of nylon releases about 11 to 63 milligrams of microfiber waste. These fibers enter oceans mainly during laundry cycles, where they loosen during the washing process. One load of laundry can release up to 700,000 microfibers.
The same study found that U.S. and Canadian households produce about 135 grams of microfibers per year. This equals 22,000 metric tons of microfibers released into wastewater annually. Although wastewater treatment plants process much of this, about 878 tons remain untreated and are released into the ocean.
Textiles are the main source of microfibers in the environment. About 35% of microplastics found in marine ecosystems, such as shorelines, come from synthetic microfibers and nanofibers. Marine animals, like fish and shellfish, often consume these microfibers, which can harm them. These microfibers have been found in the digestive tracts of fish and shellfish that humans eat. When humans consume these fish, micro pollutants enter the human body through a process called biomagnification. Predators that eat affected marine species also absorb microfibers from their prey. Studies show that shellfish consume about 11,000 pieces of microplastics annually, and 83% of fish caught in one lake in Brazil had microfibers in their bodies. In another study, crabs that ate food with microplastics had lower food consumption rates, reducing their energy for growth.
One way to reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry is using a marine algal bioabsorbent. This method uses algae to remove dye from water through chemical reactions.
The fashion industry uses a large amount of water to produce fabrics and clothes. Globally, the fashion industry uses 93 billion cubic meters of water each year, or 20 trillion gallons. This is 4% of all freshwater used worldwide. This amount could double by 2030 if current trends continue. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater. Making one pair of Levi jeans uses about 3,781 liters of water on average. Producing 1 kilogram of textiles requires about 200 liters of water.
Production and disposal of waste
In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that 17 million tons of textile waste were created. Of this, 11.3 million tons were thrown into landfills, 3.2 million tons were burned to produce energy, and 2.5 million tons were recycled. When clothing is placed in landfills, chemicals like dye on the fabric can soak into the ground and harm the environment. Burning unsold clothing can also pollute the air. In 2019, France announced plans to stop companies from burning unused fashion items. Fashion is made quickly and in large amounts, so more than 40% of clothing is sold for less money.
Donating clothes is often seen as a way to reduce waste, but less than 20% of donated items reach thrift stores. Textiles that are not donated, recycled, or thrown away are often sent to developing countries in large groups. There, they create problems for local waste systems and pollute rivers, streams, and communities.
The packaging used for clothing also adds to the fashion industry’s waste. As online shopping has become common, the United States alone now produces about 75 million tons of packaging waste each year. Many of these materials cannot be recycled.
Sustainability efforts
The consumer use phase in the life cycle of clothing and other textiles is an important part of their impact, but it is often ignored. There is not much research about using energy-efficient washing machines and dryers to reduce this impact. However, wearing clothes for 9 months longer could reduce overall waste by 22% and water use by 33%. On the producer side, making clothes in popular colors and designs that people are more likely to buy is both a smart business choice and better for the environment. Creating clothing that is more likely to be purchased helps reduce waste during production. In 2018, the fashion company H&M had $4.3 billion worth of clothing that was not sold. Other companies, like Patagonia, have tried to make more sustainable clothing by using materials such as cotton grown without harmful chemicals and polyester made from recycled plastic bottles.
To help clothes last longer and reduce the speed of production and overbuying, some businesses have tested models like "clothing libraries." These businesses collect clothes from local stores and companies, and customers pay a monthly fee to borrow clothes for a set time. These ideas have been tested in the Netherlands and Sweden, but there are concerns that clothing libraries may not greatly reduce the problems caused by fast fashion.
Slow fashion is a movement that aims to fight fast fashion by focusing on making and selling clothing that is sustainable and made with eco-friendly materials. This movement encourages buying clothes from local makers instead of large brands because locally made clothing is often higher quality and lasts longer than factory-made clothing. It also helps reduce pollution from throwing away clothes. The slow fashion movement also addresses the unfair treatment of workers in fast fashion, such as paying them very low wages and making them work long hours, often in countries with low incomes.
Deforestation and land use
The fashion industry's need for materials like leather plays a big role in cutting down forests and changing how land is used, especially in tropical areas. Deforestation harms plant and animal life and worsens climate change, so reducing these risks in the fashion supply chain is important. Using better ways to manage resources, with a focus on being clear and honest, can help. This includes keeping track of where materials come from to ensure they are obtained responsibly, which may reduce the negative effects of leather production on people and the environment.
Leather, especially from cows, is connected to deforestation in places like Brazil, where land is cleared for large cattle farms. This is part of a larger problem called "deforestation risk," which happens when natural plants are removed to make space for production.