Textiles

What is the environmental impact of clothing?

The textile industry contributes around 10% of global greenhouse emissions and 20% of global waste water production. This is more than shipping and aviation combined. With proper collection and sortation, many items of clothing can be reused to give them a new lease of life.

The UK has the highest consumption of new clothing in Europe, with the average person buying 26.7kg of new clothes each year. The average lifetime for a piece of clothing is estimated to be 2.2 years leading to around 300,000 tonnes of used clothes either being burned or sent to landfills on an annual basis.