Fast fashion pollution: an out-of-control textile industry
By 2025, over 100 billion garments are produced each year worldwide, twice as many as 15 years ago. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the textile industry is responsible for about 20% of global wastewater pollution and generates nearly 10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions – that’s more than all international flights and maritime transport combined. The manufacture of a simple cotton t-shirt consumes about 2,700 liters of water, equivalent to what a person drinks in two and a half years. In major textile areas of Asia, rivers are saturated with toxic dyes and microplastics, turning aquatic environments into chemical dumps. Meanwhile, millions of workers, mostly women, endure miserable wages and dangerous conditions to meet the frenzy of low-cost purchases.
Fast fashion operates on a linear model: resource extraction, massive production, overconsumption, and rapid disposal. Collections change every week, encouraging impulse buying. Yet, 60% of the clothes produced are thrown away within the year, and less than 1% are actually recycled into new textiles. The result: mountains of waste accumulate, often exported to Africa or Asia, where they pollute soil, rivers, and air. Synthetic fibers, derived from petroleum, release microplastics with each wash, contaminating oceans and the food chain.
Greenwashing, €5 t-shirts and the mirage of sustainable fashion
Faced with growing criticism of fast fashion pollution, major brands are stepping up greenwashing operations. So-called “eco-responsible” collections, recycling promises, communication on carbon footprint reduction: in reality, these initiatives often represent less than 2% of the total volume produced. The rest of the range is still based on conventional fibers and polluting processes. A t-shirt sold for €5 hides enormous human and environmental costs: cotton grown with pesticides, dyes discharged without treatment, underpaid workers, then waste exported to open-air dumps in Ghana or Kenya. Real transparency on the supply chain remains the exception, not the rule, as many NGOs denounce.
This greenwashing maintains the illusion of change without questioning the model based on overproduction and planned obsolescence. The result: the sector’s growth continues to outpace the meager efforts of “sustainable fashion”, and the planet pays a heavy price.
Decoding: why the transition remains marginal
The real obstacles to a sustainable transition are economic and systemic. The margins of brands rely on volume and rapid stock turnover. Switching to innovative, certified fibers, or to circular models implies heavy investments and a logistical overhaul that few players are willing to undertake without regulatory pressure or a massive change in demand.
Faced with fast fashion pollution: credible alternatives and limits
Fortunately, alternatives are emerging, even if they remain marginal compared to the fast fashion onslaught. Clothes rental appeals for special occasions and reduces the demand for new items. Upcycling, repair, and second-hand give new life to existing materials. Start-ups are developing innovative fibers based on hemp, algae, or mushrooms, limiting the use of fossil resources and the impact on water. The circular economy, which aims to close the loop through reuse and recycling, is proving its worth in a few pilot markets.
Ethical fashion entrepreneurs testify: consumer commitment is progressing, but the reality of price, habits, and the marketing of giants slows the shift. For a real transition, it will be necessary to combine strict regulation, textile innovation, education, and political will, without succumbing to the sirens of greenwashing.
Sources
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency/
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/sustainable-fashion
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency/
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/sustainable-fashion
