Fashion Waste Crisis: Causes and Practical Solutions for Brands

Each year, the fashion industry generates an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste, most of it ending up in landfill sites or being incinerated. This staggering figure makes the apparel industry one of the largest waste-generating sectors on the planet. The problem goes far beyond excess clothing, it involves textile production, supply chains, and unsustainable business models.

This article explains the main types of clothing waste, their social and environmental impact, and practical ideas for brands to reduce waste in the fashion industry, adopt a life-cycle approach, and move toward a circular economy.

>> You may consider: Top 5 Biggest Fashion Industry Problems and Their Solutions

3 Types of Waste in the Fashion Industry

Pre-Consumer Waste

• Offcuts and fabric scraps from garment production.

• Overstock and unsold inventory caused by poor forecasting.

• Defective items discarded before reaching stores, often trashed instead of reused.

Pre-consumer waste exposes inefficiencies in production volumes and demand planning.

Post-Consumer Waste

• Discarded clothes and accessories thrown into the waste stream after only a small number of times worn.

• Returns that cannot be resold because reprocessing is too costly.

• Secondhand items that end up in landfills due to poor recycling infrastructure.

Post-consumer waste shows how consumer behaviour and fast-changing trends fuel fast fashion waste.

Supply Chain Waste

• Packaging materials (plastic, cardboard, tags) pile up across global shipments.

• Wastewater, dyes, and water pollution from finishing processes.

• Energy consumption (high levels of fuel and electricity ) across manufacturing and logistics, leading to more CO2 emissions and a rising carbon footprint.

This type of waste is often hidden but drives the textile industry’s overall damage to air quality, land use, and natural resources.

3 Types of Waste in the Fashion Industry

Textile Waste Facts

• The fashion industry produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually.

• Around 73 percent of used clothing is landfilled or incinerated, while less than 1 percent goes into true textile recycling.

• Textile production consumes 93 billion cubic meters of water yearly, enough for five million people.

• Fast fashion produces nearly 10 percent of global carbon emissions, and the average garment is worn fewer than 10 times.

• The United States leads in per-capita textile waste, while the European Union enforces stricter waste management infrastructure rules to limit exports to the Global North and beyond.

Case Studies: Visible Examples of Fashion Waste

• Atacama Desert, Chile: Atacama Desert (Chile): Thousands of tons of unsold clothing are dumped annually, visible from space. Most of these clothes are made from synthetic fibers that take centuries to decompose, releasing microplastics into the soil and air, creating plastic pollution. The Atacama has become a stark symbol of fast fashion’s global waste problem.

• Kantamanto Market, Ghana: One of the world’s largest secondhand clothing hubs, flooded with poor-quality fast fashion castoffs. Local sellers struggle to resell items, and nearly 40% end up as waste, clogging drainage systems or being burned in open air.

• Europe: Investigations have revealed major fashion brands destroying or landfilling new, unsold stock to preserve brand value and avoid discounting, despite Circular Economy Action Plan goals from the European Commission.

Causes of Waste in the Fashion Industry

• Fast fashion business models: Rapid trend cycles encourage overproduction and short garment lifespans.

• Clothes overproduction: Inefficient demand forecasting leads to surplus stock.

• Unsustainable materials: Synthetic fabrics shed microplastics and resist recycling, worsening plastic waste.

• Low recycling rates: Lack of infrastructure and economic incentives.

• Consumer behavior: Disposable consumer demand, influenced by social media and low prices. and limited reuse or repair culture.

Causes of Waste in the Fashion Industry

Negative Impacts of Waste in the Fashion Industry

• Environmental impact: Overflowing landfills, air pollution, toxic dyes in rivers, and rising climate change risks.

• Social: Exploitative labor tied to overproduction, plus dumping in developing nations.

• Financial: Billions lost annually from unsold stock and disposal costs.

• Public Health: Communities near factories face unsafe water, poor air quality, high risks of health problems.

How to Reduce Waste in the Fashion Industry?

Embrace Circular Economy Principles

Brands can embrace circularity by designing products for durability, repairability, and recyclability. Initiatives include take-back programs and creating garments from recycled or biodegradable materials.

Invest in Recycling Technologies

Developing textile recycling solutions makes it possible to recover fibers and reuse textile material, cutting reliance on virgin resources and helping close the loop in fashion production.

Adopt AI-Powered Demand Forecasting

Use AI to predict demand accurately, companies can better predict consumer demand to minimize overproduction and unsold inventory.

>> Explore: 7 Best AI-Powered Demand Forecasting Tools for Fashion

Switch to Sustainable Materials

Innovations like bio-based fabrics, lab-grown materials, and engineered fibers can replace synthetic fabrics, eliminate microplastics, and reduce long-term waste and pollution.

Implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

Government regulations requiring brands to manage the entire lifecycle of their products, including recycling or safely disposing of post-consumer waste.

On-Demand Production

Some brands are shifting towards producing garments only after they are ordered, which significantly reduces surplus stock. This model drastically reduces excess inventory and keeps resource use more efficient, supporting climate action goals.

Digital Clothing

Virtual garments for social media or gaming platforms allow consumers to experiment with style without producing physical items. While still niche, digital fashion reduces production volumes, lowers CO2 emissions, and offers a creative way for brands to connect with younger audiences.

Optimize Supply Chains with Blockchain

Using blockchain can give brands and consumers full visibility into where materials come from and how products move across the supply chain. This transparency helps track waste, improve resource efficiency, and build trust by committing to sustainable fashion.

Consumer Education

Campaigns, product labeling, and digital tools like QR codes can guide shoppers toward more mindful choices. From care instructions to recycling options, educating consumers empowers them to extend the life of their clothes and reduce overall clothing waste.

Second-Hand Platforms

Supporting resale apps, rental services, and initiatives from organizations like the Salvation Army keeps garments in circulation longer. These platforms lower demand for new production, ease the burden on waste management infrastructure, and encourage a culture of reuse over disposal.

Future Outlook

• A shift toward slow fashion is gaining momentum, emphasizing quality and durability over quantity.

• Governments are introducing stricter waste reduction and recycling regulations, especially in the EU.

• Technology trends — from AI to blockchain — will be central to enabling waste reduction at scale.

The fashion waste crisis is one of the industry’s most urgent challenges — but it’s also solvable. With coordinated action from brands, policymakers, and consumers, the sector can transition from a linear “take-make-waste” model to a circular, regenerative fashion system.

Reducing fashion waste isn’t just an environmental necessity — it’s an opportunity to build a more resilient, ethical, and profitable industry.