Overview

• About 80 percent of discarded garments are landfilled or incinerated, while only 12 percent are reused and one percent are recycled into new fibers
• Consumers wear items just seven to ten times on average before disposal, driven by fast-fashion business models
• Mixed-material textiles create technical barriers that contribute to an estimated $150 billion in annual material value losses
• Charity-run collectors and sorting firms face financial strain as export markets contract and EU rules fall short ahead of planned producer-responsibility schemes
• BCG calls for industry-wide circular measures—such as streamlined take-back systems, advanced sorting technologies and chemical recycling—to prevent waste from rising above 150 million tonnes by 2030