The global textile industry is at a crossroads, facing an urgent need for change. Despite its vast scale and economic importance, it operates in a highly unsustainable way, with less than 0.3% of its materials being reused or recycled. This shocking statistic, revealed in the Circularity Gap Report 2024, highlights just how far the industry has to go to embrace a circular economy. From mountains of waste to massive environmental footprints, the challenges are immense—but so are the opportunities. With bold strategies and collective action, the industry has a chance to triple its circularity by 2032, cutting waste, reducing emissions, and creating a fairer system for workers worldwide.
The Linear Economy: A System in Crisis
The global textile industry operates on a linear “take-make-waste” model, consuming vast amounts of virgin resources and generating significant waste. In 2021, the industry consumed 3.25 billion tonnes of materials, a staggering 99.7% of which came from virgin sources like fossil fuels and natural fibers. Synthetic materials, particularly polyester, account for 70% of raw inputs, underscoring the industry’s heavy dependence on oil-based resources.
Despite growing awareness, the Circularity Metric for textiles—a measure of the share of materials from recycled sources—remains at 0.3%, significantly lower than the global economy’s already dismal average of 7.2%. Annually, only 9.6 million tonnes of secondary materials re-enter the textile supply chain, primarily from recycled PET bottles rather than textile waste, signaling an underdeveloped recycling infrastructure.
This linear model drives overproduction and waste, with 30% of garments produced going unsold annually. At the same time, mass-market brands release up to 24 collections per year, contributing to a cycle of overconsumption and resource depletion.
Environmental Impacts: Beyond Carbon Emissions
The textile industry is a major contributor to global environmental degradation, intersecting with critical planetary boundaries. It significantly impacts climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and more:
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
- The industry accounts for 3.5% of global GHG emissions, equivalent to 2.1 billion tonnes of CO₂ annually.
- Material production, especially energy-intensive processes like wet processing, is responsible for 55% of these emissions.
- Water Scarcity:
- Textile production consumes 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, about 4% of global water scarcity impacts.
- Cotton cultivation alone requires 20,000 liters of water per kilogram, contributing to acute water shortages in regions like South Asia.
- Marine and Freshwater Eutrophication:
- The sector contributes 5% of marine eutrophication and 4% of freshwater eutrophication, primarily due to fertilizer runoff from cotton farming and chemical discharge during dyeing.
- Waste and Recycling:
- Of the textiles discarded, 61.4% are incinerated or landfilled, with only 0.3% undergoing closed-loop recycling.
- Textile waste in landfills often releases methane, exacerbating climate change.
- Biodiversity Loss:
- Intensive agriculture for natural fibers and synthetic fiber production drives habitat destruction, contributing to over 3% of global biodiversity loss.
Social Impacts: Precarity in the Workforce
The industry employs approximately 140 million people globally, but the social cost of fast fashion and linear production is steep:
- Informal Employment:
- Over 61 million textile workers operate in informal sectors, primarily in countries like Bangladesh and India, where 90%+ of workers lack formal protections.
- Informal workers, often women, face hazardous conditions, low wages, and limited access to social services.
- Gender Inequity:
- Women dominate the textile workforce but earn significantly less than men. In Africa, textile workers earn 44% less than average wages in other industries, with similar disparities across Asia and Latin America.
- Excessive Working Hours:
- Workers in developing regions often exceed 70-hour workweeks, driven by tight deadlines and low wages.
Regional Dynamics: The United States and China
The report highlights the disproportionate environmental and social impacts of the two largest players in the textile industry:
- China:
- As the world’s largest producer, China accounts for 40% of global material demand for textile production.
- Its energy-intensive manufacturing processes lead to GHG emissions and air pollution.
- United States:
- The US is the largest consumer of textiles, with per capita impacts on water scarcity and GHG emissions 5–8 times higher than the global average.
Circular Strategies: Pathways to Transformation
The Circularity Gap Report 2024 proposes six key strategies to triple the Circularity Metric to 0.9% and reduce environmental impacts by up to 50%:
- Shift to Sustainable Fibers:
- Transition from oil-based synthetics to natural, local, and recycled fibers. For example, using recycled cotton can reduce water usage by 85% compared to virgin cotton.
- Enhance Durability:
- Design garments to last longer through durable materials and modular designs. Extending the life of a garment by 9 months reduces its environmental footprint by 20–30%.
- Adopt Circular Manufacturing:
- Improve recycling infrastructure to enable fiber-to-fiber recycling, which constitutes only 0.27% of secondary materials.
- Reduce Overproduction:
- Encourage brands to release fewer collections and adopt circular business models like rentals and repair services. Reducing production volumes by 50% could halve resource use.
- Regenerate Ecosystems:
- Invest in regenerative agriculture and reduce chemical usage in cotton farming, benefiting biodiversity and reducing eutrophication.
- Promote Inclusive Transitions:
- Improve labor conditions, ensure fair wages, and provide reskilling opportunities, especially for women and informal workers.
Scenario Analysis: Ambition for a Sustainable Future
The report models three scenarios to evaluate the impact of circular strategies:
- Moderate Scenario:
- Achieves a 20% reduction in environmental impacts by focusing on basic recycling and efficiency improvements.
- Optimistic Scenario:
- Reduces impacts by 35%, emphasizing garment durability, slow fashion, and advanced recycling.
- Ambitious Scenario:
- Demonstrates potential reductions of 50% in key environmental impacts, combining all strategies with aggressive policy measures to minimize virgin material use.
Call to Action: Collective Responsibility
Achieving a circular textile industry requires coordinated global action:
- Policy Frameworks:
- Implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to enforce recycling, incentivize sustainable practices, and fund circular infrastructure.
- Establish international standards for sustainability across supply chains.
- Investment in Innovation:
- Develop technologies for chemical recycling and regenerative agriculture.
- Expand access to advanced sorting and reprocessing facilities.
- Consumer Engagement:
- Encourage consumers to embrace slow fashion, prioritize quality over quantity, and participate in recycling programs.
- Collaboration Across Sectors:
- Governments, businesses, and NGOs must work together to integrate circular principles into every stage of the value chain.
Conclusion: A Circular Future for Textiles
The Circularity Gap Report 2024 paints a sobering picture of the textile industry’s current trajectory but also offers a clear blueprint for change. Transitioning to a circular economy can mitigate environmental harm, improve social equity, and ensure a resilient future for textiles. By adopting systemic solutions, the industry can decouple growth from resource consumption and align with planetary boundaries. The time for action is now, as the stakes for our planet and its people grow ever higher.
