As new clothing comes into our lives, we also discard it at a shocking pace. The average American now generates
82 pounds
of textile waste each year. That adds up to more than 11 million tons of textile waste from the U.S. alone.
How much textile waste is produced each year globally?
Globally we produce
13 million tons
of textile waste each year 95% of which could be reused or recycled. In addition to all this, the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world.
How much textile waste is produced every year?
As new clothing comes into our lives, we also discard it at a shocking pace. The average American now generates
82 pounds
of textile waste each year. That adds up to more than 11 million tons of textile waste from the U.S. alone.
What percentage of waste is textile waste?
The U.S. EPA estimates that textile waste occupies nearly
5% of all landfill space
. While the EPA estimates that the textile recycling industry recycles approximately 3.8 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste (PCTW) each year, this only accounts for approximately 15% of all PCTW, leaving 85% in our landfills.
How much waste does the textile industry create?
The US produces
over 17 million tons of textile
waste every year. According to textile waste facts, over 17 million tons of used textile waste are generated annually in the United States. This amount has doubled over the last 20 years.
Where does textile waste go?
Moreover, many people may be shocked to learn that 84 percent of clothing ends up in
landfills or incinerators
. In New York City alone, more than 400 million pounds of clothes are wasted each year!
Why is textile waste a problem?
Why Does This Matter? Textile waste diversion is an
important issue because it is growing into a major component of our landfills
. … The textile industry also contributes to environmental degradation by using water, energy, and other resources to produce textiles.
What is textile waste?
This is
post-consumer textile waste
, which includes products such as clothing, footwear, fashion accessories, towels, bedding, and drapery that have already been purchased. 95% of all textiles have the potential to be reused or recycled, but currently they are recycled at a rate of only 15% .
How can textile waste be reduced?
Donate. If you don’t have access to a clothing swap (or if your circle just has a very different sense of style ), you can donate your clothes to local charities that hand them out to people in need. Another option is
donating your clothes to the thrift store
. Perhaps someone will give it a second life there.
What to do with old clothes that Cannot be donated?
- Drop them off at an animal rescue. …
- Compost Natural Fabrics. …
- Reusable Tote Bags. …
- Apparel Recycling Programmes.
- Art Refresh Old Clothes. …
- Kids Dress-Up Box. …
- Garage Sales. …
- Clothing Swap Party.
Which country produces the most textile waste?
The demand for textiles keeps rising worldwide, especially in
China
– the country which produces much of the material that ends up in landfills. According to Xue et al. (2014), around 3.5 to 4 per cent of the world’s waste materials are waste textiles in China’s cities.
How much textile is recycled?
The recycling rate for all textiles was
14.7 percent in 2018
, with 2.5 million tons recycled. Within this figure, EPA estimated that the recycling rate for textiles in clothing and footwear was 13 percent based on information from the American Textile Recycling Service.
How much textile waste goes to landfill?
The U.S. EPA estimates that textile waste occupies
nearly 5% of all landfill space
. While the EPA estimates that the textile recycling industry recycles approximately 3.8 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste (PCTW) each year, this only accounts for approximately 15% of all PCTW, leaving 85% in our landfills.
How many years can it take for clothes to decompose?
And when consumers throw away clothing in the garbage, not only does it waste money and resources, but it can take
200+ years
for the materials to decompose in a landfill.
Are donated clothes thrown away?
While you may donate your old clothing to charity, the truth is, even then, a whopping
84 percent of our clothing ends up in landfills and incinerators
, according to the EPA.
Is it bad to throw away clothes?
Never throw any clothing or fabric household items in the trash
. Donate unwanted clothing to friends, charities, or thrift stores. Never donate wet or moldy items to charities or thrift stores. They will not clean or dry them, and they’ll end up in a landfill.
