Fashion industry leaks millions of tonnes of plastic into the environment each year

The study found that global apparel consumption resulted in over 20 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2019. Around 40 per cent of that waste may have been improperly managed and become environmental pollution, a process known as ‘plastic leakage.’

The NC State researchers divided the textile waste between two sources: clothing made from synthetic materials like polyester, nylon and acrylic; and clothing made from cotton and other natural fibres.

They also looked at plastic waste generated across an apparel product’s ‘value chain,’ which refers to the entire lifecycle of a product – including, for example, not only the piece of apparel itself, but the plastics used to wrap it.

“We analysed data on imports, exports and apparel production in countries all over the world,” Richard Venditti, professor of paper science and engineering at NC State and co-author of the study, said in a statement. “Then we compared that to existing global information on different stages of the apparel value chain to estimate how much plastic leaks into the environment at each of those points.