Nearly half (44%) of every T-shirt goes to waste before you even buy it
A significant amount of textile waste occurs before clothing reaches consumers, with nearly half of every T-shirt's material wasted in the production process. Research indicates that only a small percentage of used clothing is recycled, contributing to environmental issues. The fashion industry is responsible for a considerable portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, highlighting the need for better management of textile waste.
- ▪Nearly 44% of the material used to make T-shirts is wasted before they reach consumers.
- ▪Less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new textiles globally.
- ▪The fashion industry accounts for approximately 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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Billions of clothes end up in landfills every year. Many are completely unused. Photo: Shutterstock, NTB Toggle image description Nearly half of every T-shirt goes to waste before you even buy it The global consumption of clothing is enormous. However, a significant portion of the textile fibres is lost before the garments even reach the market. By Steinar Brandslet - Published 26.05.2026 Denne saken er også tilgjengelig på norsk “When we talk about textile waste, the debate often focuses on the clothes we throw away. But the problem starts much earlier,” explained former NTNU master’s student Rakib Ahmed, currently a researcher at SINTEF Industry. The EU has introduced several initiatives aimed at collecting used clothing and managing the waste, once the garments are no longer in use.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Norwegian SciTech News.
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