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Environmental Sustainability in the Fashion Industry

Last updated: 28 Nov 2024

Chemicals and Pollution | Climate | Green Economy | Human Rights and Environment | Plastics | Water

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Fast fashion comes at an astonishing environmental and social cost. While the impacts of the fashion industry in terms of pollution, water use, carbon emissions, human rights, and gender inequality are increasing, the need for a shift to sustainable fashion is evident. Organizations in Geneva and beyond are joining efforts to shift the fashion economy and foster international cooperation on the issue.

The Environmental Cost of Fashion

The clothing industry represents an important part of our economies, with a value of  USD 1.3 trillion and employing over 300 million people along the value chain (Ellen MacArthur Foundation). In the last 20 years, global fibre production has almost doubled from 58 million tonnes in 2000 to 116 million tonnes in 2022, and is expected to continue to grow to 147 million tonnes in 2030 if business as usual continues (Textile Exchange 2023). While people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000, they only kept the clothes for half as long (McKinsey & Company, 2016).

While the fashion sector is booming, increasing attention has been brought to the impressive range of negative environmental impacts that the industry is responsible for. The fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for 2-8 % of global carbon emissions.

What’s more, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year (UNECE, 2018), and washing some types of clothes sends significant amount of microplastics into the ocean.

The Environmental Footprint of Fast Fashion

  • The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)
  • Approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic (UNEP, 2019)
  • 500,000 tons of microfibers are released into the ocean each year from washing clothes — the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)
  • The fashion industry is responsible for 2-8 % of global carbon emissions. If the fashion sector continues on its current trajectory, that share of the carbon budget could jump to 26% by 2050 (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)
  • Each year, the textile value chain uses 215 trillion litres of water per year (the equivalent of 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools ) (Quantis, 2018)
  • Around 20% of industrial wastewater pollution worldwide originates from the fashion industry (Word Bank, 2020)
  • Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing, resulting in over $100 billion in material value loss (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). The Circularity Gap Report Textiles (2024) finds that  only 0.3% of 3.25 billion tonnes of resources each year to produce items from the global textile industry comes from recycled resources
  • An extra $20-30 billion annually is needed to make the textile value chain more sustainable, with 60% focused on energy, water, and waste issues alone (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)

More facts and sources on Business Insider

Fast fashion also has a human cost:  textile workers, primarly women in developing countries, are often paid derisory wages and forced to work long hours in appalling conditions (UNEP, 2018; WRI, 2019). In many places, these conditions create infringements on human rights (Human Rights Watch). Use of chemicals in clothes production also raise serious health concerns, both for the workers in the industry and consumers. Additional impacts on health also arise from the pollution described previously.

The environmental and social cost of the fashion industry forces us to rethink fast fashion, and stresses the need for more sustainable business models and practices. Resources hereunder provide additional information on the environmental impacts of fashion, and potential pathways for change.

Plastic in Textile

After the Second World War, the development of synthetic textiles, such as polyester and nylon, transformed the fashion industry.  From only a few thousand tonnes in 1940, global consumption of synthetic fibres rose to more than 60 million tonnes in 2018. Since the late 1990s, polyester is the most commonly used fibre in textiles. The production of chemical fibers surpassed cotton production in the mid-1990s and has more than doubled in the last 20 years. In 2020, synthetic fibers accounted for approximately 64 percent of global fiber production.Today, an estimated 60% of clothing and 70 % of household textiles are made of synthetic fibres.

These plastic-based textiles have a significant impact on the environment and climate throughout their life cycle due to emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants. The textile sector is a growing contributor to the climate crisis, with about 1% of crude oil production used to produce synthetic fibres (European Environment Agency).

The fashion sector is also an important source of plastic leakage into the environment. The textile value chain is responsible for 9% of annual microfibre pollution to oceans (UNEP, 2021).

Consideration of the textile sector will thus be important for tackling the ongoing plastic crisis. Plastic pollution is one of the major environmental crises of our times, and efforts from various actors are underway to address it. This includes negotiations towards an international legally-binding agreement on plastic pollution, initiated by the resolution adopted at the UN Environment Assembly in March 2022. Learn more about the plastic pollution crisis, governance processes to address it and the work of Geneva-based organizations on the matter in our Plastics and the Environment series.

More on plastic pollution, impacts and governance

International Cooperation on Sustainable Fashion

As fashion value chains are globalized and the industry has a significant impact on the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), international cooperation is important to foster sustainable fashion.

Impact of the fashion industry on the SDGs (UNECE, 2018)

Launched at the fourth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4), the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion is seeking to halt the environmentally and socially destructive practices of fashion. The Alliance is improving collaboration among UN agencies by analyzing their efforts in making fashion sustainable, identifying solutions and gaps in their actions, and presenting these findings to governments to trigger policy. Additionally, the Forests for Fashion Initiative, led by UNECE, FAO, and partners, supports innovative solutions in fashion through sustainable forests-based materials.  Several other international organizations are working on global efforts to foster more sustainable fashion. Additional information on these initiatives can be found in the links below.

The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action

Launched at COP24 in 2021, the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change serves as a roadmap to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 within the textile, clothing and fashion industries.

Signatories and Supporting Organizations under the Charter work within Working Groups aiming to identify and amplify best practices, strengthen existing efforts, identify and address gaps, facilitate and strengthen collaboration among relevant stakeholders join resources and share tools to enable the sector to achieve its climate targets. More resources on Charter and related activities can be found here.

World Cotton Day

Cotton is one of the most common fabrics used for clothes. Producing cotton sustains the livelihood of 28.67 million people and provides benefits to over 100 million families across the globe (WTO, 2020). Recognizing the critical role of cotton for economic development, international trade, and poverty alleviation, the UN General Assembly decided to proclaim World Cotton Day on 7 October (A/RES/75/318).

Cotton production can have consequent impacts on the planet due to the use of pesticides, high water consumption, and the conversion of habitat to agricultural use. Conventional production practices can result in soil erosion and degradation, water contamination, and other forms of pollution. Therefore, supporting sustainable models of cotton production is essential if we are to achieve the SDGs. Learn more about environmental sustainability in the cotton sector through the resources below.

2024 Celebration | Cotton for Good

On the fourth official UN World Cotton Day, under the theme “Cotton for Good”, the United Nations wants to raise visibility of the cotton sector and awareness of the critical role that it plays in economic development, international trade and poverty alleviation. The observance also aims to highlight the importance of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Many actors in Geneva are involved in promoting sustainable production and consumption patterns in the cotton industry (see section below for details). This year’s official celebration takes place on 7 October in Cotonou, Benin, with the participation of Geneva actors such as the World Trade Organization, International Trade Centre, UN Conference on Trade and Development. This marks the first time WCD will be celebrated on the African Continent.

World Cotton Day 2024

The Role in Geneva

By alphabetical order

Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world, aims to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future.

Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention (BRS)

Through a Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project, “Reducing uses and releases of chemicals of concern, including POPs, in the textiles sector” the Basel Convention is aiming to stir significant and documented reductions in use, releases, and exposure to chemicals of concern (CoCs) including POPs in the textiles sector in selected countries.

Impact Hub Geneva

As a start-up incubator, Impact Hub Geneva facilitates the connection in a creative space, supports entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs projects, advices and guides companies from various sectors, to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. As part of its work to raise awareness on the possibility of relying on more sustainable fashion and textiles and shopping resources, Impact Hub Geneva organized in November 2024 Circular Safaris on Fashion and Textile, guided tours across Geneva to rediscover sustainable solutions

International Labour Organization (ILO)

ILO promotes decent work in the textiles, clothing, leather and footwear sector through social dialogue, knowledge sharing, international labour standards, capacity building, partnerships and policy support.

ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative

EFI is a flagship programme of the International Trade Centre, which connects marginalized artisans from the developing world – the majority of them women – to international fashion houses for mutual benefit. EFI also hosts the Secretariat of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

UNECE’s work on trade in the textile and leather sector focuses on improving transparency and traceability in order to identify and address labor and human rights violations and environmental impacts while embracing more sustainable production and consumption patterns. UNECE also promotes sustainable innovation in the fashion sector through its work on sustainable forest products. As a global convening platform to support policy coherence and alignment across sectors, UNECE has a key role to play to support sustainability and traceability. Through consultation with hundreds of industry insiders and experts, UNECE has developed a UN-brokered toolbox to help garment and footwear makers to ensure the transparency and traceability of their value chain. The resulting initiative, called The Sustainability Pledge, encourages companies across the sector to announce their commitments to transparency and traceability.

UNECE also convenes the Forests4Fashion initiative, launched in 2014 to promote sustainable forest management beyond the forestry sector and encourage sustainable production and consumption in support of Sustainable Development Goal 12.

United Nations Trade and Development

UN Trade and Development engages with circular economy and sustainable trade in the textile industry through research work and support to developing countries.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The UN Environment Programme’s work on sustainable and circular textiles applies a value-chain approach, which leads to changes at each stage in the value chain while involving players of all sizes and from all market segments. In order to develop a roadmap,   UNEP conducted a Global Stocktaking. Updates on UNEP’s activities on this fastly-evolving topic are published and accessible on the One Planet Network platform.

World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

The WBCSD supports business initiatives for circular economy and sustainable consumption and production, including in the fashion industry. The CTI Fashion Initiative brings together industry players to establish harmonized standards, metrics and best practices for circularity. Working together, we seek to unlock new avenues for value creation and operationalize circularity throughout the fashion and textile value chain.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Indigenous Peoples have a wealth of traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) that can take different forms including, for example, traditional textiles, attire, ornaments, symbols, and designs. These TCEs are deeply connected to their history, beliefs, spirituality, cultural heritage, traditions, and importantly to their identity. TCEs held by Indigenous Peoples often inspire others, including fashion companies, who always seek creative input and fresh ideas. However, using elements of Indigenous Peoples’ TCEs without consent and in inappropriate ways, even unintentionally, can cause offense and harm to Indigenous Peoples.

WIPO aims to create opportunities for a dialogue between Indigenous Peoples and fashion companies to shape fair and equitable interaction between them.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

WTO conducted important work that changed the way in which textile and fashion is traded via the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), which ten-year transition period of implementation eliminated quotas on trade in textile and clothing products. Cotton is discussed at the WTO under two complementary tracks: 1) trade aspects, around the multilateral negotiations to address distorting subsidies and trade barriers for cotton; and 2) development assistance provided to cotton production and its value chain. These two tracks reflect the clear linkages and possible synergies between cotton trade and development assistance in a number of developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) Members, impacting millions of people worldwide.

UN system’s engagement is larger than the Geneva-based organizations presented here. Members of the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion also include UNDP, UNEP, UN Global Compact, UNFCCC and UNOPS.

What Can I Do?

While international organizations, governments and businesses work on solutions to shift the fashion industry toward a more sustainable pathway, consumers can also play a role with their daily actions. This section provides resources on the actions individuals can take to support sustainability in their apparel choices.

Links

Further resources and events to learn about environmental sustainability in the fashion industry are provided below. This page is regularly updated.

Resources by UNEP