It takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt, enough to meet the average person’s drinking needs for two-and-a-half years.Ĭlothing production has helped spur growth in developing economies, but a closer look reveals a number of social challenges.Discarded clothing made of non-biodegradable fabrics can sit in landfills for up to 200 years.Making a pair of jeans produces as much greenhouse gases as driving a car more than 80 miles.The annual value of clothing discarded prematurely is more than $400 billion.Īpparel production is also resource- and emissions-intensive. One report found that addressing environmental and social problems created by the fashion industry would provide a $192 billion overall benefit to the global economy by 2030. This could be an opportunity to do better. An expected 400 percent increase in world GDP by 2050 will mean even greater demand for clothing.
Here’s a look at the economic, social and environmental implications: The EconomicsĪccording to the Ellen McArthur Foundation, clothing production has approximately doubled in the last 15 years, driven by a growing middle-class population across the globe and increased per capita sales in developed economies. This linear fashion model of buying, wearing and quickly discarding clothes negatively impacts people and the planet’s resources. Entire business models are built on the premise of “fast fashion,” providing clothes cheaply and quickly to consumers through shorter fashion cycles. In a world of accelerating demand for apparel, consumers want-and can increasingly afford-new clothing after wearing garments only a few times. Gone are the days when people would buy a shirt and wear it for years.
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