Sources — Textile Futures 2040

Sources for the statistics

1. McKinsey & Company (2016). The State of Fashion 2017.

2. UN Environment Programme and Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Estimates of the textile sector’s share of global carbon emissions are commonly cited in the range of 8 to 10 percent.

3. Common Objective (2018). “Faces and Figures: Who Makes Our Clothes?” Figure is a widely used estimate derived from ILO informed data on formal and informal employment across the value chain.

4. Textile Exchange (2025). Materials Benchmark Insights and Trends 2025. Share of reporting brands with formal climate targets, up from 85 percent in 2023.

5. Textile Exchange (2025). Materials Market Report 2025 and Climate+ Dashboard. Figure reflects the five years to 2024, against a 2019 baseline.

6. Textile Exchange (2025). Materials Market Report 2025. Figure is for polyester specifically; synthetic fibres as a whole account for 69 percent of global fibre output.