Geo-graphic: fashion

Our voracious appetite for new clothes means that the fashion industry is now responsible for 8–10% of global carbon emissions. A number of industries contribute, including agriculture (for natural fibres), petrochemicals (for synthetics), manufacturing, logistics and retail. Aside from emissions, other environmental impacts include chemical and plastic pollution, soil degradation and drought.

Here, we track the lifecycle of one cotton T-shirt. Cotton makes up 25% of the fibres used for clothes worldwide, while polyester accounts for 51%. It will take around 2.6kg of CO2 to produce this shirt – the equivalent of driving 14km in a standard passenger car.

1. Grow it

Cotton is grown in 80 countries by 25 million farmers. Its production uses vast quantities of water. It takes one-and-a-half Olympic swimming pools of water to grow one tonne of cotton. Cotton farms also consume 6% of the world’s pesticides and often require synthetic fertilisers, which can degrade soil and pollute rivers.

2. Knit it

Cotton yarn is knitted into fabric. This is a high-energy process, largely driven by fossil fuels. China is the largest textile producing and exporting country in the world (followed by the EU with almost half the value). Textile manufacturing in China uses mostly coal-based energy. Chemicals are used at this stage to aid spinning and weaving (lubricants, accelerators and solvents), while others treat the fabric. These can end up all over the world. Chemicals used to waterproof textiles have been found in remote Arctic locations and in the bodies of polar bears and seals.

3. Dye it

All dyeing processes rely on fresh water, which may become contaminated with tiny fibres or chemicals. In Cambodia, where clothing comprises 88% of industrial manufacturing, the fashion industry is responsible for 60% of water pollution. The dyeing process also uses a lot of energy to heat the water, as most dye reactions occur at 60°C or higher.

4. Make it

The fabric is cut and shaped. Off-cuts largely go unused. One estimate suggests that 15% of fabric used in garment manufacturing is wasted. The amount of fabric waste produced depends on how well the flat patterns are designed to be fitted on the fabric and by the garment design in general.

5. Transport it

Garments are traditionally transported around the world in container ships, but increasing amounts are shipped as air cargo in order to save time, especially in the case of online shopping.

7. Chuck it

350,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in landfill each year and textiles account for up to 22% of mixed waste worldwide. For fibre produced in 2015, 73% ended up as landfill at the end of its life. Only 15% of post-consumer textile waste was collected separately for recycling purposes in 2015 and less than 1% was recycled in a closed loop (recycled into the same or similar quality applications).

6. Wear it, wash it

Washing, ironing and drying clothes represents one-third of the overall climate impact of the industry, although washing temperatures have reduced overall in the UK, as has the frequency of tumble drying. Meanwhile, when washed, synthetic clothes generate tiny plastic fibres that eventually flow into rivers and the sea. Research suggests that synthetic fabrics are responsible for up to 35% of all the microplastics polluting the ocean.