scorecard
  1. Home
  2. Science
  3. news
  4. The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Here are the biggest ways it impacts the planet.

The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Here are the biggest ways it impacts the planet.

Morgan McFall-Johnsen   

The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Here are the biggest ways it impacts the planet.
LifeScience1 min read

Customer shopping in Forever 21 - fast fashion, clothing, retail

Lily Bowers/Reuters

A customer shops during the grand opening of the Forever 21 flagship store in New York's Times Square, June 25, 2010.

Some parts of modern life are, at this point, widely known to cause environmental harm - flying overseas, using disposable plastic items, and even driving to and from work, for example. But when it comes to our clothes, the impacts are less obvious.

As consumers worldwide buy more clothes, the growing market for cheap items and new styles is taking a toll on the environment. On average, people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than they did in 2000. Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity's carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams.

What's more, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year. And washing some types of clothes sends thousands of bits of plastic into the ocean.

Here are the most significant impacts fast fashion has on the planet.

READ MORE ARTICLES ON


Advertisement

Advertisement