Clothing reuse sits within a larger textile system that includes new production, resale, donation, separate collection, recycling, exports and disposal. The measures below identify the population, geography and period behind each figure.
Key Clothing Reuse Statistics
The most broadly useful clothing reuse statistics include:
- In 2022, 19 kg of clothing, footwear and household textiles per person were consumed across the EU-27.
- In 2022, clothing accounted for 8 kg per person of EU-27 apparent textile consumption.
- EU-27 apparent textile consumption increased from 17 kg per person in 2019 to 19 kg in 2022.
- EU Member States generated an estimated 6.94 million tonnes of textile waste in 2022.
- In 2022, EU textile waste generation was estimated at 16 kg per person.
- Separate collection captured just under 15% of EU textile waste in 2022.
- About 85% of EU household textile waste was not separately collected in 2022.
- In 2018, U.S. municipal solid waste contained an estimated 17.03 million tons of textiles.
- U.S. textile generation increased from 1.76 million tons in 1960 to 16.06 million tons in 2015.
- U.S. textile recycling reached 2.51 million tons, or 14.7%, in 2018.
- U.S. landfills received an estimated 11.3 million tons of municipal solid waste textiles in 2018.
- EU textile reuse totaled 451,268 tonnes in 2021 in the reporting coverage excluding Bulgaria and Cyprus and including Norway.
- EU textile reuse averaged 1.7 kg per person in 2021.
- Reported reused textiles represented approximately 10% of EU textile consumption in 2021 when compared with 15.9 kg per-person new-textile consumption.
- EU used-textile exports increased from a little over 550,000 tonnes in 2000 to 1.4 million tonnes in 2019.
- The UK consumed an estimated 1.42 million tonnes of new textile products in 2022.
- Around 276,000 tonnes of used textiles were sold to the UK public in 2022.
- Around 650,000 tonnes of UK used textiles were diverted to reuse and recycling in 2022.
- Reusing a medium- to high-value t-shirt saves more than 3 kg of CO2 in the cited European assessment.
- Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing was recycled back into clothing globally in the cited estimate.
Contents
- Clothing reuse and textile consumption scale
- U.S. clothing reuse and textile waste trends
- EU clothing reuse, collection and waste data
- UK clothing reuse, resale and collection flows
- Environmental outcomes and limits of clothing reuse
Clothing Reuse and Textile Consumption Scale
The EU-27 apparent-consumption series measures textiles entering the economy through production and trade rather than household purchases alone. It includes clothing, footwear and household textiles, while excluding industrial and technical textiles and carpets.
| EU-27 measure | Period | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing, footwear and household textiles consumed per person | 2022 | 19 kg |
| Clothing within that consumption | 2022 | 8 kg per person |
| Apparent textile consumption | 2019 | 17 kg per person |
| Apparent textile consumption | 2022 | 19 kg per person |
The European Environment Agency reports the rise from 17 kg per person in 2019 to 19 kg in 2022 as an apparent-consumption trend, not a direct survey of clothing purchases. European Environment Agency, “Circularity of the EU textiles value chain in numbers”
The same EEA assessment estimated that EU Member States generated about 6.94 million tonnes of textile waste in 2022, equivalent to about 16 kg per person. These totals cover textiles broadly rather than clothing alone, and the source notes data and coverage uncertainties.
| EU textile-waste indicator | Period | Estimate or observation |
|---|---|---|
| Textile waste generated | 2022 | 6.94 million tonnes |
| Textile waste generated per person | 2022 | 16 kg |
| Waste captured through separate collection | 2022 | Just under 15% |
| Household textile waste not separately collected | 2022 | About 85% |
Separate collection is a collection-system indicator, not a reuse rate. The 85% estimate refers to household textile waste and its route, not every textile product in the economy. European Environment Agency, “Circularity of the EU textiles value chain in numbers”
U.S. Clothing Reuse and Textile Waste Trends
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s municipal solid waste series covers clothing and other textile products. Its generation estimate excludes reused textiles until they later enter the waste stream, so it is not a complete measure of all clothing placed on the market.
| U.S. municipal solid waste textiles | Period | Estimated amount |
|---|---|---|
| Textile generation | 1960 | 1.76 million tons |
| Textile generation | 2000 | 9.48 million tons |
| Textile generation | 2015 | 16.06 million tons |
| Textile generation | 2018 | 17.03 million tons |
| Landfilled textiles | 2018 | 11.3 million tons |
EPA estimates show textile generation rising from 1.76 million tons in 1960 to 9.48 million tons in 2000, 16.06 million tons in 2015 and 17.03 million tons in 2018. These are historical estimates for U.S. municipal solid waste, not participation rates for resale, donation or garment reuse.
The recycling pathway also expanded, but recycling is different from direct reuse:
- U.S. textile recycling was estimated at 50 thousand tons in 1960.
- U.S. textile recycling reached 1.32 million tons in 2000.
- U.S. textile recycling reached 2.46 million tons in 2015.
- In 2018, U.S. textile recycling was estimated at 2.51 million tons, equal to a 14.7% all-textiles recycling rate.
- The 2018 clothing-and-footwear textile recycling rate was estimated at 13%.
The EPA reports that U.S. landfills received 11.3 million tons of municipal solid waste textiles in 2018. The landfill total includes products beyond clothing, and reused textiles are excluded from generation until they later enter the waste stream. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Textiles: Material-Specific Data”
EU Clothing Reuse, Collection and Waste Data
The EEA’s first quantitative reuse reporting cycle used 2021 as its reference year. It reported 451,268 tonnes of textile reuse in coverage excluding Bulgaria and Cyprus and including Norway, with an average of 1.7 kg per person in the EU-27 indicator coverage.
| EU reuse measure | Period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Textile reuse | 2021 | 451,268 tonnes |
| Textile reuse per person | 2021 | 1.7 kg |
| Reuse compared with 15.9 kg per-person new-textile consumption | 2021 | Approximately 10% |
The approximately 10% comparison is derived by the EEA from reported reuse and 15.9 kg per-person new-textile consumption. Country methods and data quality varied, so cross-country comparisons require caution. European Environment Agency, “Circularity of the EU textiles value chain in numbers”
Used-textile exports show the scale of cross-border movement, but an export is not verified reuse. EU used-textile exports were a little over 550,000 tonnes in 2000, reached 1.4 million tonnes in 2019 and remained about 1.4 million tonnes in 2023.
In 2000, Africa received 60% of EU used-textile exports and Asia received 28%. In 2023, Pakistan accounted for 13% of EU used-textile export destinations and the United Arab Emirates accounted for 12%.
The EEA cautions that exported textiles may be sorted, reused, recycled, landfilled, burned or dumped after arrival. Destination share therefore describes trade flows, not the final outcome of each garment. European Environment Agency, “Circularity of the EU textiles value chain in numbers”
UK Clothing Reuse, Resale and Collection Flows
WRAP’s 2024 market estimate places the UK’s 2022 new-textile consumption at 1.42 million tonnes and used-textile generation at about 1.45 million tonnes. The used-textile category is broader than clothing alone.
| UK textile-flow measure | Period | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| New textile products consumed | 2022 | 1.42 million tonnes |
| Used textiles generated | 2022 | About 1.45 million tonnes |
| Used textiles sold to the public | 2022 | Around 276,000 tonnes |
| Diverted to reuse and recycling | 2022 | Around 650,000 tonnes |
| Used textiles exported | 2022 | Around 421,600 tonnes |
Around 276,000 tonnes of used textiles were sold to the public in 2022. Around 650,000 tonnes were diverted from end-of-life disposal to reuse and recycling, a combined measure rather than reuse alone, while about 421,600 tonnes were exported.
The UK separately collects about 620,000 tonnes of used textiles for reuse and recycling each year, according to the cited government programme. About 60% of those separately collected used textiles are exported, and the export share does not establish the final reuse outcome. UK Government, “The waste prevention programme for England: Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste”
New-clothing market conditions also affect the context in which reuse competes. The average UK clothing price reached £16.70 per item in 2023, 2% below 2015; between 2013 and 2023, the price per tonne for textile-bank donations fell 57.5% and the price per tonne for charity-shop donations fell 41%, with both changes not inflation-adjusted.
These figures come from WRAP’s 2024 report summary and are estimates where identified; the report page was not directly fetched. The price statistic concerns new clothing, while donation-price changes concern collection markets. WRAP, “Textiles Market Situation Report 2024”
Environmental Outcomes and Limits of Clothing Reuse
Reuse can avoid some impacts associated with producing a replacement garment, but the result depends on the garment, its grade and what behavior the reuse displaces. A European life-cycle assessment found that producing a new higher-grade or B-grade t-shirt had approximately 70 times the environmental impact of a reused t-shirt in the specified comparison.
The same assessment estimated that reusing each medium- to high-value t-shirt saves more than 3 kg of CO2. The result applies to the specified shirt grades and assessment system, not every garment or impact category. UK Government, “The waste prevention programme for England: Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste”
Material circularity remains limited. Less than 1% of the material used to produce clothing is recycled back into clothing globally in the cited estimate, and the EU textile strategy gives a 1% estimate for material in clothing recycled into new clothing.
These are textile-to-textile recycling measures, not direct garment reuse, and their scopes may differ.
The wider EU textile system provides context for why reuse statistics are difficult to isolate:
- Synthetic fibres made up an estimated 60–70% of textiles sold worldwide in the EEA’s cited assessment.
- The EU imported 11 million tonnes of textile products in 2022, including clothing, household textiles, footwear and other textiles.
- Clothing made up 45% of EU textile imports by volume in 2022.
- EU finished-textile exports totaled 4.0 million tonnes in 2022.
- Online sales generated 11% of EU clothing and other textile turnover in 2022, up from 5% in 2009.
These figures describe fibre composition, trade and sales channels rather than reuse participation. European Environment Agency, “Circularity of the EU textiles value chain in numbers”
The sector is also economically substantial: the EU textile and clothing sector had about 1.3 million employees across 197,000 companies in 2023, with turnover of EUR 170 billion. That broad sector measure includes new production and should not be interpreted as second-hand-market employment or turnover. European Environment Agency, “Circularity of the EU textiles value chain in numbers”