Fast fashion was first introduced by the New York Times to describe the business model of ZARA back in 1989.

Fast fashion is the fashion business strategy where the manufacturers try to come up with quick designs and mass produce the products at a low cost to meet the current trends and demands of the customers.

Fast fashion goes beyond just a marketing gimmick. It is currently the largest apparel and textile segment of the world. This strategy involves creating products, especially clothing items quickly.

The consumers are trendy in nature. This is why the market is changing rapidly. This is a curated list of useful fast fashion statistics.

We will deeply analyze the industry insights including the current and future market trends, market segments, environmental and economic impact of the industry through curated statistical numbers.

We will explore the statistics and analysis using secondary data from most recent datasets with authentic sources. So, let’s deep drive into it.

Key fast fashion statistics

Currently the market size of fast fashion is 136.19 billion dollars in 2024
Largest fast fashion company in the USA is Shein with 50% market share.
Fast fashion produces 80 billion clothes per year.
Globally fast fashion is responsible for 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse emission annually
China controls the production of fast fashion with 60% of the overall production.
80% of fast fashion consumers are women aged 18-24.

Global fast fashion market statistics

Market size of fast fashion is 136.19 billion dollars.

The current market size of fast fashion is 136.19 billion dollars in 2024 worldwide. We can see it has grown a significant number from the previous year.

Last year in 2023, the overall market value of fast fashion was 122.98 billion dollars worldwide.

That was a significant improvement from 106.42 billion dollars in 2022. That means the market is growing, and it’s growing super-fast.

The consumer is eager to buy fast fashion, and that trend is significantly impacting the overall market size of fast fashion.

It is expected that the market size will continue to grow in the foreseeable future.

This market size data of fast fashion is collected from Statista, and it reveals the future market growth rate if the current trend continues.

Year	Market Size in Billion USD
2021	91.23
2022	106.42
2023	122.98
2024	136.19
2025*	150.82
2026*	167.02
2027*	184.96

Largest company in fast fashion shein has 50% Market share.

The largest company in the fast fashion industry is currently Shein. It is operating in the U.S. market with a market share of 50%.

It is known for its cheap and variety of product options. It is one of the fastest growing online retailers of fast fashion.

Other significant players in the industry are Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, Primark, Mango, forever 21, Fashion Nova and Temu.

In that case, Zara has 16 percent of the market share in the USA. On the other hand, H&M has 13 percent of the market share.

Fashion Nova is another big name in that regard, and they have 11% market share.

Significant leader in the market, forever 21 Also has 6% market share. Here is a list of the market shares of the fast fashion companies in the USA.

Shein	50%
Zara	16%
H&M	13%
Fashion Nova	11%
Forever 21	6%

Fast fashion creates more than 80 Billion clothes per year.

Fast fashion creates more than 80 billion clothing items for the consumers. According to a report documented by the true cost in 2015.

That means it is one of the largest manufacturing industries in the world. It is contributing to the world economy significantly.

Some of the countries’ total economy is dependent on fast fashion, such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, etc.

Only China produces 60% of fast fashion products.

Only China is responsible for 60% of the world’s overall fast fashion. China is known as the world’s factory and it is one of the major players in the garment industry.

It benefits from its low-cost labour and advanced technology mixed with production efficiency.

Currently China is dominating the fast fashion world. But there are some controversial claims that China is also exploiting its workers and contributing to human rights abusing issues. They regularly undermine environmental regulations.

Sources: Statista, Earth.Org, Zion Market Research,

Fast fashion environmental impact

Fast fashion industry is causing 2% to 8% of global greenhouse emissions.

The fast fashion industry is one of the key responsible producers of global greenhouse emissions. It is responsible for more than 2% to 8% of annual global greenhouse emissions according to the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion reports.

That means it is one of the key industries that contributes to climate change alone. The manufacturing process involves intense transportation, high energy.

It causes significant carbon dioxide emission because of multiple sources of manufacturing process, including dyeing and finishing its production cycle that amplifies the emissions.

Only 1% of the clothing materials are recycled to new garments.

Reports suggest concerns that about 1% of the clothing materials are recycled into new garments.

Mostly because it has one of the difficult recycling processes. The fast fashion industry is relying heavily on synthetic like polyester fiber.

This type of fiber is hard to recycle. These are majorly end in landfills. It requires years to decompose.

It also contributes to the greenhouse and releasing harmful chemicals to the world.

12% of the clothing materials are recycled overall.

Globally only 12% of the clothing materials are used for recycling.

This is a low rate because the majority of the textile used in fast fashion contributes to world pollution without recycling.

Manufacturers find it is cheaper, efficient and profitable for the company to produce new clothes instead of recycling.

13.6% of the clothes and shoes thrown away in the USA are recycled.

Fast fashion is responsible for 13.6% of overall discarded clothing materials and recycling them for further use in the USA.

The items include fast fashion and shoes. This is one of the lowest in the world.

This contributes to the waste of the environment and causes harm to the human livable environment.

Synthetic fiber is responsible for 1.35% of the global oil consumption.

Synthetic fiber is responsible for about 1.35% of global oil consumption. This is excluding the annual entire oil consumption of transportation.

This oil consumption is more than the oil consumption of Spain.

These fibers use petrochemicals which are driven from fossil fuels, and it contributes to a disruption of natural resources.

This is an extremely resource intensive process that causes environmental damage.

Clothing industry contributes 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gas annually.

The clothing industry alone is contributing to the total emission of greenhouse gasses globally by 1.2 billion tons.

These greenhouse gases are annually contributed from the burning of fossil fuels in various stages of the clothing industry.

One of the main reasons fast fashions is widely criticized is because fossil fuel is the key thing the clothing industry is using.

This means it is releasing greenhouse gases to the world.

80 billion cubic meters of water is annually used to produce textile items.

Fast fashion and clothing industry uses more than 80 billion cubic meters of water for production of textile items worldwide. It’s an industry that is consuming water and causing depletion of freshwater.

In future it will take 120 billion cubic meters of water by 2030

It is expected that it will require 120 billion cubic meters of water annually by 2030. Because of this gradual increase in consumers and the use of water in textile manufacturing processes. The market growth of fast fashion is directly impacting this number.

Fast fashion items use the equivalent to 32 million olympic swimming pools of water.

more than 32 million Olympic sized swimming pools. can be covered with the amount of water that is consumed to produce textiles.

Particularly farming cotton, the dying process uses this excessive water. These water waste can extend to the freshwater regions.

Cotton is manufactured and it is contributing to fish water supplies too.

If the fast fashion item is worn 5 times it produces 400% more carbon footprint than if it’s worn 50 times.

One report suggests that a fast fashion item worn 5 times can produce 400% more carbon footprint, if it’s worn 50 times instead.

That means the more you wear, the less carbon footprint we are putting on the atmosphere. the less you wear, the more carbon footprint you’re producing.

Fast fashion industry is responsible for 92 million tons of waste a year .

Fast fashion industry is responsible for 92 million tons of waste per year in the world. That means it is one of the single most environmentally hazardous industries that puts a serious implication on the environment.

Most fast fashion items end up in landfills, and they do not decompose easily due to their nature of using synthetic materials.

And these items put toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. This also contributes to air pollution and global warming as a whole.

The dying, yarn preparation and fiber production is the largest impacting segment of production.

The global impact study found that the industry is polluting the global atmosphere. where most of the pollution comes from dying and finishing processes.

Also, that contributes 36% of total pollution. On the other hand, yarn preparation pollutes 28% of the total pollution.

Fiber production is also responsible for 15% of total production pollution.

Sources: Unep, European Parliament, Earth.Org, Hot or Cool, GENeco, Goodwear USA, Quantis.

Social impact of fast fashion

80% of garment workers are women.

worldwide, more than 80% of the garment workers are women.

Because this industry is a labor-intensive industry. That requires long hours of work within a relatively unsafe and low pay working condition.

In that case, most of the companies do not offer enough job security and compensation benefits. Also, the work environment is horrible for human health.

Women are also accusing gender discrimination and harassment issues in these working conditions.

93 % of fast fashion brands are not paying a living wage to the workers.

more than 93% of the fast fashion brands do not pay the workers with the living wage.

That means they are under paying the workers and exploiting their basic payment. Most of the time, the workers cannot even get affordable housing.

Some cannot even afford the basic necessities in many cases.

It is seen that third world countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, India exploit garment workers with less $2 and $3 per day. That is below the minimum requirement.

Average use of clothing decreased by 40% in the last 20 years due to fast fashion.

The use of clothing has declined 40% in recent years. Because it has a direct impact from fast fashion culture.

The reason for the fast fashion practices is that fast fashion practice promotes buying inexpensive and trendy clothes frequently.

Consumers are increasingly buying these clothes, without thinking about the long-term investment in quality garments.

Offline segment of fast fashion holds the largest portion of 57.43%.

The market of fast fashion is also dominated by the offline segment because it is one of the largest markets that accounts for more than 57.43% of the total fast fashion industry.

Although it is seen that e-commerce and online retailers contribute to a significant rise of fast fashion.

But still consumers prefer physical stores rather than e-commerce stores.

That contributes to a big portion of offline segments.

1 rubbish truck of fast fashion goes to the landfills every second.

Fast fashion is contributing to the waste management systems in the USA.

A rubbish truck full of clothes ends up in the landfills every second.

That means it’s significantly impacting the environment with its highly energy intensive production that also uses chemicals.

It contributes to the pollution of the atmosphere.

80% of the garment workers are women aged 18-24.

80% of the apparel is made by young women between the ages 18 to 24. This demographic is particularly conditioned with employability and intense labor.

As a result, they are claimed to be exploited, and their labor rights are also ignored.

In most cases, the reason for this demography is the limited education and working conditions that combine with youth for becoming the available easy targets.

Estimated 2,150 pieces of textile waste end up in landfills every second.

More than 2,150 pieces of fast fashion clothes end up in the landfills per second in the USA alone.

It is one of the concerning facts that fast fashion is contributing to the wastage of materials and productions.

As a result, it is also encouraging the consumers with disposable culture.

This rubbish truck is not only a waste of the landfills, but it also leads to environmental pollution.

Much of the fast fashion projects use textile chemicals that are not biodegradable.

Sources:Care.Org, Fashion Checker, World Resources Institute, Ellen Mccarthy, Kings Research, US EPA

Fast fashion consumers

Consumers of fast fashion are mostly 18-24 years old.

Most consumers of fast fashion are 18 to 24 years old. This is the report by the fast fashion consumer perceptions and retailers.

Grin says that the consumers are mostly young adults who are earning a little.

As a result, cheap affordable fashion items are the most effective shopping items for them.

Average fast fashion consumer wears 7 times before discarding it.

The average person wears fast fashion clothing items for only 7 times before discarding it.

This shocking news came out from “the enterprise magazine”.

Because of this nature, fast fashion is encouraging the consumers to waste protection.

7 out of 10 fast fashion buyers are women.

According to the report its suggests that the direct buyers of fast fashion are 70% women.

While the consumer of fast fashion is predominantly women and that contribute to the fact that most items of fast fashion is labeled as women’s clothing.

Average fast fashion consumer buys 60% more clothing than 15 years ago.

The average consumer of fast fashion buys 60% more pieces of clothing than they were buying it 15 years ago.

That means the buying pattern has changed and increased positively.

That means the more people are buying more fashion items according to UN intelligence for sustainable fashion address.

Each fast fashion item is used 50% less times.

Each item of the fast fashion is used only 50% less than the time.

It is less than ever. Before the emergence of fast fashion, fashion items were long-lived, and the fashion items changed wardrobe quickly and frequently. Now its short-lived and trendy.

50% men and 70% women consider shopping as a form of entertainment

70% of women and 50% of men admitted that they consider shopping as a form of entertainment.

It is also a consumer behavior of fast fashion consumers who are more concerned about shopping as their favorite pastime.

They also go shopping as a way to meet other people and engage in social activities with other people.

And the majority of the fast fashion consumers are seeing shopping as their favourite pastime.

Most buyers of fast fashion are GEN Z

Most of the Gen Z consumers admit they are one of the main fast fashion consumers. They are concerned about quick change in trends.

They were born after 1996 and before 2010, that means they are the largest consumers of fast fashion as they are young adults, and they are regularly earning a small amount early in their career.

90% of GEN Z in the UK bought fast fashion clothing at least once.

University found that only 70% of Gen Z participants admit they go shopping to a fast fashion retailer.

70% shops at the fast fashion retailer each week. On the other hand, 62% of the shoppers go monthly and 11% go yearly.

Only 10% claim that they had never purchased from any fast fashion retailers. That indicates the reality of fast fashion, consumers behavior.

Sources: Grin, Anthropocene Magazine, UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion, The Atlantic, uli.org, Sustainability For Students, Sheffield Hallam University.

Fast Fashion Trends

Asia-pacific is the largest consumer of fast fashion market with 32.31 Billion in sells

32 billion dollars of Fast fashion items are sold in the Asia Pacific area. Asia pacific is the largest region of fast fashion end users. On the other hand, North American consumers are the second largest fast fashion users.

Cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of fast fashion is 14.56%

The fast fashion growth rate is 14.56%. that means it is cumulatively growing at a rate of 15% yearly. If this growth continues by 2030, the market size of overall fast fashion will be 184.96 billion dollars.

Average time from design to self is 1 weeks nowadays

The average time to shelf is less than one week from design to the final consumer. It is because of that rapid growth of production method, and transportation systems. The production time is also known as “lead time” that is reduced by one week. Even some of the companies use POD service to print on demand. that reduces the production time in less than one day.

Shein, the largest player added between 2000 to 10,000 items each day in 2021

Shein is one of the largest players in the market and it produces the highest number of styles per day. It is recorded that in 2021, from July to December each day the company added 2,000 to 10, 000 individual styles to the app store and that means their production capacity and aggressive marketing strategy results in rapid growth.

The largest clothing segment was adult’s clothing with a market share of 54.21%.

The adult wear segment of the fast fashion market dominated the industry. That means it is an account that results from your substantial market share of 51.21%. It is the largest market share of fast fashion.

Sources: Kings Research, World Bank Document, Rest of World.

Key Takeaways

These statistical data are sourced from verified external sources. These data suggest that Fast fashion is not only a marketing gimmick. Rather its a legit industry that contributes to the world economy. However fast fashion is significantly contributing to world pollution and ecological imbalance. It needs to be cared for properly.