White Paper Predicts Fashion Consumption to Soar by 63 Percent

Overproduction and overconsumption in fashion has become a major problem, with millions of tons of clothing waste filling landfills globally each year. Fueled by fast-fashion purveyors such as Shein, Fashion Nova and Temu, that overconsumption is poised to grow substantially, according to a new white paper from marketing firm Grounded.

The report, “Policy to Profit: How New Rules Create Commercial Wins for Fashion,” estimates that fashion consumption is expected to grow by 63 percent in the next five years to 102 million tons each year. Fast fashion certainly plays a major role in that growth. According to Yale Climate Connections, fast-fashion giant Shein adds up to 10,000 new items to its site each day, offering as many as 600,000 items for sale at any given time.

And many of those garments, which are inexpensive and cheaply made, end up in landfills. The Grounded report found that an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste ends up in landfills in the United States each year. That represents approximately 85 percent of all textiles and breaks down to around 81.5 pounds of textile waste per person annually.

The fashion industry also is a major contributor to water pollution through the use of dyeing and finishing products. According to the report, textile production is estimated to be responsible for about 20 percent of global clean water pollution. And that number doesn’t include the impact of microplastics shed from synthetic fabrics during production and washing, as well as PFAS, which are still used in some textiles.

Decarbonization also has been a big issue for the fashion and textile industry, with the report noting manufacturers often lack access to affordable decarbonization options, instead passing the burden down to suppliers, particularly in low-income countries. Reliance on fossil fuels in global textile supply chains contributes to fashion’s status as one of the world’s major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions—nearly 10 percent. Scope 3 supply chain emissions—generated from raw material extraction, product processing and assembly) make up 70-80 percent of the fashion industry’s carbon footprint.

And while the market for carbon credits is projected to grow 50-fold by 2030, the report found that issues such as fragmentation, transparency concerns and lack of credibility of carbon credits have resulted in greenwashing claims against companies perceived as buying their way out of net zero commitments.

”Instead of scaling up investments in sustainability practices, fashion industry leaders appear to be retreating, choosing short-term profits over longer-term, purpose-driven commercial innovation,” says Phil White, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Grounded.

But the report wasn’t all doom and gloom. Grounded outlined a number of regulations and other actions aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the fashion and textile industries. Led by the European Union and California, these policies are forcing larger multinational, shareholder-driven companies to adhere to consistent environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting frameworks and transparency requirements.

The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its accompanying European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) form a legal and reporting framework for Europe’s push for sustainability disclosure. And the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive aims to increase accountability for industry impacts on human rights and the environment through reporting and monitoring.

The report also pointed to the EU’s Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition and Proposed Green Claims Directive, as well as the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which aim to reduce greenwashing.

Grounded also cited California regulations such as the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, PFAS restrictions, as well as the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act as regulations that will potentially mitigate some of the environmental and social problems caused by the global fashion and textile industries.

White said the report should serve as a guide for fashion and textile companies who want to reduce their impact and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable future.

“A sustainable business recognizes opportunities to deliver products and services while protecting the interests of people, planet and profit,” he said.