FACTS
Why fashion needs to change
-
The Global Slavery Index estimates that 45.8 million people are living in modern slavery or forced labour today, many in the supply chains of clothing brands and retailers.
-
The fast fashion industry designs their pieces to be trend-based (and thus only relevant for a few weeks) and to be very poor quality so that customers have to back and buy more when their purchase either goes out of style or falls apart.
-
Greenpeace reports that the average person buys 60% more clothes and keeps them for half as long as they did 15 years ago.
-
Nearly 3/5 of all apparel ends up in landfills or incinerators within a year of being produced.
-
Washing clothes made of synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester releases half a million tonnes of plastic microfibres into the ocean every year.
-
Less than 1% of material ever used is recycled.
-
Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned.
-
The world consumes over 80 billion pieces of clothing per year, which is a 400% increase from 20 years ago.
-
Garment workers in developing nations like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand are forced to work anywhere from 10 to 16 hours a day without breaks and overtime pay.
-
10% of the world's total carbon footprint comes from the apparel industry, and apparel is the second largest polluter of fresh water globally.
-
The global apparel and textiles industry accounts for more CO2 emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined.
-
Fast fashion garments are likely contaminated with pesticides, insecticides, toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, flame retardants, lead, and other carcinogens.