Fig. 1.

State of the clothing industry. (A) The dynamics of textiles waste management in the USA from 1960 to 2018. In 2018, approximately 2.5 million tons of textiles were recycled, 3.2 million tons combusted and 11.3 million tons ended up in landfills. (Source: American Apparel and Footwear Association, International Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel, and the Council for Textile Recycling). Image reproduced from Reference (EPA 2021). (B) Global fiber production with synthetic fibers taking up at most 75% of which close to 55% is polyester in 2020 (Source: OrbiChem). Image reproduced with permission. (C) Major activities in the fashion and clothing industry responsible for most emissions. From fiber production, clothing production through to use, and after use high amounts of pollutants are released to the environment