“The clothing industry contributes up to 10% of the pollution driving the climate crisis.”
The claim appeared in an Instagram post published by the clothing company Patagonia in late November 2020, and has received more than 502,000 views. Although the post does not indicate the source of the claim, scientific studies estimate that clothing contributes 3 to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change[1,2]. In addition, clothing production and use causes water pollution, pesticide pollution, and the release of microplastics into the ocean that can negatively impact human health and natural ecosystems[3-5]. [...] Overall the claim, "the clothing industry contributes up to 10% of the pollution driving the climate crisis" is accurate, as it falls within 1 to 10% range of estimates for GHG emissions in scientific studies and organization reports. In addition, clothing production and consumption can be an energy- and water-intensive process that causes water pollution, microplastic release, and human health impacts. [...] The claim [that the fashion contributes] up to 10% [of pollution driving the climate crisis] is not very far from the United Nations’ research estimate, which is 8%.