When we think of waste most of us picture plastic wrappersfloating in the ocean or mountains of food rotting in landfills. But there’s amassive polluter hiding in plain sight, and it’s in our closets. The fashionindustry, one of the largest and fastest-growing industries in the world,generates an alarming amount of waste—yet unlike other sectors, its wasteproblem remains largely hidden from public view.
Unlike the well-publicized waste created bysingle-use plastics or food loss, fashion’s discarded mountain rarely makesheadlines. From fabric offcuts to unsold inventory and millions of garmentsthrown out by consumers, this waste is largely kept out of sight. But if weknew just how much clothing was being discarded, incinerated, and sent tolandfills every year, fashion’s shiny image might look a lot less appealing.It’s time for the industry and its many stakeholders (aka us) to confront thewaste it leaves behind.
The waste generated by the fashion industry can be divided into three categories whichmatch 3 stages of its lifecycle: production, retail and after-use.
In this figure you can see how much is wasted at each stage of the production process.
15% of all fabric used in clothing manufacturing is discarded
There ist he obvious farming waste from crops that are never picked up or not fit forthe intended purpose. But that is not all.
Before a single garment even hits store shelves, waste has been generated. About 15% ofall fabric used in clothing manufacturing is discarded – fabric that took energy,water, labour and other resources to be produced. Thiswaste depends on garment design, fabric type, and cutting methods. Fastfashion, in particular, favours styles that are cheaper and quicker to make, withoutthinking twice about the waste it might cause.
Between 15% and 30% of manufacturedclothing is never sold and destroyed.
Pre-consumer waste, though smaller in volume than our next, may be even more troubling. Thisincludes garments that are perfectly good but remain unsold—known as"deadstock." A high estimation evaluates that up to 30% ofmanufactured clothing is destroyed, often incinerated, to avoid devaluingbrand image or market flooding, other times donated. Although that does notmatter to brands that are build on this overproduction model. Waste is not aproblem as long as its profitable, right? Only what is the point of suchbusiness? Endless growth and consumption without looking at the harm it does beforeits too late? That is not our vision of a healthy economy…
Not only this clothes took many resources to be made for nothing but its disposal isadding to the issue, polluting the soil or the air when being destroyed orlandfilled. Synthetic fibres in these garments release microplastic andchemicals into the air when burned. Although European legislation may soon banthis destruction of unsold goods, the global impact remains severe, and there’sno accurate way to track the number of clothes destroyed worldwide.
You think this is bad? Wait to read about how bad it is when we (the consumers) areinvolved…
92 million tons of textile waste arediscarded globally each year.
Here’s where the numbers get trulyoverwhelming. Imagine a garbage truck of clothes being dumped every second, orenough clothing to match the height of Mount Everest every 7 minutes. That addsup to over 75,000 Mount Everests in just a year! Where are we fitting all ofthis? Well we’re either burning it or shipping it abroad.
Textiles now make up around 22% of theworld’s mixed waste. This final stage illustrates just how out of hand our"buy, wear, discard" culture has become, creating mountains of wastethat the planet simply cannot handle.
Ireland is no exception. Alone, we discard170,000 tonnes of textiles every year, which equates to about 35kg per capita.This makes us one of Europe’s top contributors. That’s why taking action at ourlevel can truly make a difference, especially when we’re faced with our ownexcesses.
Fashion: The masked Global plastic polluter
It’s not just fabric waste that makesfashion an environmental nightmare—plastic pollution plays a big part too.Roughly 70% of today’s clothing is made from synthetic fibres, like polyester,which are derived from fossil fuels. Every time we wash polyester garments,tiny microplastics shed and make their way into waterways and oceans, wherethey can persist for centuries. In fact, fashion contributes to up to 30% ofthe ocean’s plastic pollution through these microplastics. And becausesynthetic fibres don’t biodegrade, all the polyester ever made, since the 1930swhen it was invented, is still somewhere on the planet - unless it wasincinerated. Despite this staggering impact, fashion is rarely cited alongsideother plastic polluters.
Fashion waste has become inevitable in a system designed for profit over sustainability(or any sense if you ask us). Fast fashion epitomizes this issue, creating disposableclothing that is often only worn a handful of times (7 times on average). Syntheticfibres (aka plastic), make up 70% of today’s clothing—not only do they wearout quickly, but they’re also difficult or impossible to recycle.
The burden then falls on second-hand stores, charities, and recycling facilities, butthey’re overwhelmed. As Jennifer Payne from the Cycle’Up project says,"The quality of most of the donations we receive is too poor toupcycle."
Fast fashion directly undermines theprinciples of a circular economy, which aims to keep products in use for aslong as possible and reduce waste.It is inherently incompatible with a circulareconomy. In short, ourwasteful habits are too great, and the existing systems (or even emerging onesfor that matter) can't keep up.
The international waste hierarchy provides a helpful framework, offeringsteps to tackle waste across industries. In fashion, this hierarchy translatesinto practical strategies we can all support:
Preventing the creation of waste is the first and most impactful step. The industry must drastically reduceoverproduction and phase out of "fast" fashion. Overproduction is aharmful business model that needs government and consumer pressure to change.Additionally, brands should invest in efficient design practices that minimizefabric waste from the start. This is what we call circular design. Coupled witha drastic decrease in quantities and focus on quality over quantity, we get toprevent a lot of waste.
For garments already in circulation, reuse is the heart of the matter. By building acircular fashion economy—focused on durability (care), repair and reuse – we’llbe able to extend the lifespan of our clothes significantly and operate acultural shift from disposable and wasteful to caring and creative. Imagine afashion landscape where brands use sustainable materials, prioritize fit andfunction over fleeting trends, and enable customers to repair or upcycle theirclothes. Creating quality clothing that can withstand years of wear would alsosupport a healthier economy that values second-hand shops, repair cafés, andupcycling projects.
Recycling, while crucial, is not enough. Only 1% of all discarded textiles are currentlyrecycled into new clothing, while another 10% is downcycled into items likerags and insulation. To improve this, we need sustainable materials, simplerfabric blends, and investment in textile recycling technology. Reducingclothing production and standardizing sustainable materials would greatlyenhance recyclability.
If you’ve read to this point, you might now see where the problem currently lies. Mostpolicy and initiatives taken by the brands only focus on recycling and notpreventing and reducing. Of course, social enterprise and a few circularbusinesses are trying to do their part, but it just feels like we’re going thewrong way about it, starting from the end rather than the source.
The focuson recycling rather than reducing and preventing waste appears like a flawedapproach. Imagine the fashion industry was a factory dumping chemicals into ariver. It would be absurd to filter a few drops here and there and call it aday! We’d find the source and make that factory stop the use of pollutant of atthe very least filter the water before releasing it. Theways of improving a system is never a single answer, especially not one at theend of the chain, without questioning each step along the way For real progress, we need change at the top:brands must take responsibility for the waste they create, governments needstricter regulations, and consumers should demand higher standards.
The solution isn't simple, but it is possible. We need to move away from fastfashion's quick and cheap model and embrace a slower, more mindful approachthat values the resources, labor, and skills involved in clothing production.That shift requires systemic change, but it can begin with individual choices,community action, and policies that make overproduction and waste unsustainablefor businesses.
Fashion does not have to be disposable. It can be a reflection of our values—a choice tosupport a system that respects people and the planet. By supporting sustainablebrands, reusing what we own, and advocating for change, we can reshape theindustry into one that creates style without hidden costs and mountains.
