Reference guide
Fashion resale and textile waste statistics
Current, citable figures on secondhand apparel, online retail, clothing waste, and textile recycling. Updated August 18, 2026.
For writers, students, retailers, and anyone looking for a clear view of where fashion is moving.
View sources ↓At a glance
The numbers behind a more circular wardrobe.
Secondhand apparel is becoming a more visible part of the fashion economy, while the scale of clothing and textile waste remains substantial. This page brings together the most useful public figures from government agencies and primary industry research in one place.
Every number below is linked to its original source and dated to the reporting period used by that source. Market projections are labeled as projections. Waste data is labeled with the latest reporting year available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
$393B
Projected global secondhand apparel market by 2030
ThredUp projects the global secondhand apparel market will reach $393 billion by 2030 and grow twice as fast as the overall apparel market.
Source: ThredUp, 2026 Resale Market and Consumer Trend Report, 2026
2025
Year secondhand apparel entered the Consumer Price Index
The Bureau of Labor Statistics began incorporating secondhand apparel into the Consumer Price Index in early 2025, reflecting its growing place in consumer spending.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Turning Thrifty, May 2026
20%+
Of Gen Z and millennials buying secondhand clothing monthly in 2024
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that more than one in five consumers in each generation bought secondhand clothing every month in 2024.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Turning Thrifty, May 2026
17M
Tons of textiles generated in U.S. municipal waste in 2018
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates textiles made up 5.8% of all municipal solid waste generated that year.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data, 2018 data, current EPA page
14.7%
Textile recycling rate in the United States in 2018
About 2.5 million tons of textiles were recycled, while the estimate does not include garments that entered reuse before becoming waste.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data, 2018 data, current EPA page
11.3M
Tons of textiles sent to U.S. landfills in 2018
The EPA estimates that landfills received 11.3 million tons of textiles, equal to 7.7% of all municipal solid waste landfilled that year.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data, 2018 data, current EPA page
13M
Tons of clothing and footwear generated as U.S. waste in 2018
Of that total, 1.7 million tons were recycled, a 13.0% recycling rate for clothing and footwear.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clothing and Footwear Data, 2018 data, current EPA page
What to take from this
Resale is growing, but reuse still matters.
Market growth points to a broader appetite for giving clothing a longer life, whether that happens through resale, consignment, swapping, or a more considered wardrobe. The EPA figures make an important distinction: items that are reused before becoming waste are not included in its municipal-waste totals.
That means the clearest way to read these numbers is not as a reason to make a single perfect choice. They are a reminder that the pieces people keep wearing, rewearing, sharing, and passing along stay out of the waste stream longer.
Explore the Flowerchildpeople collection →Methodology and sources
How this page is built
This is a curated reference page, not original research. It uses public government data and the named primary industry report linked below. Figures are presented as reported, without converting units or combining incompatible datasets.
- ThredUp, 2026 Resale Market and Consumer Trend Report, 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, May 18, 2026
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data, 2018 data, current EPA page
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clothing and Footwear Data, 2018 data, current EPA page
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Turning Thrifty, May 2026
Cite this page
Flowerchildpeople Clothing Co. (2026, August 18). Fashion Resale & Textile Waste Statistics. Retrieved from https://flowerchildpeople.com/fashion-resale-statistics