Nearly half (44%) of every T-shirt goes to waste before you even buy it

Researchers at NTNU and SINTEF found that 44% of textile fibers used to make garments are lost during production before clothes even reach consumers, highlighting that textile waste is a significant problem that begins in manufacturing rather than just at end-of-life disposal. The study examined the lifecycle of cotton T-shirts produced in Bangladesh and used in Norway, revealing that while post-consumer textile waste receives considerable attention, the substantial material losses in the production phase are often overlooked. The fashion industry's environmental impact is enormous, accounting for approximately 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with billions of unworn garments ending up in landfills annually.