The clothing industry and the rules it now works under.
Cotton, polyester, viscose and their alternatives — the fibre numbers, the water figures, and the audits behind the certifications.
Textile Exchange put global fibre production at about 116 million tonnes for 2022.
Photo: Lana Kravchenko / PexelsTextile Exchange's Materials Market Report 2023 put global fibre production at approximately 116 million tonnes for 2022, with polyester accounting for 54 per cent of that total. This piece sets that figure in context: why polyester's share has grown, what microfibre shedding research says about its end-of-life behaviour, and what recycled-polyester certification currently covers.
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Better Cotton is the largest cotton certification scheme by volume, covering roughly a quarter of global production, but its chain-of-custody model does not trace certified cotton to a specific garment.
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Canopy's Hot Button Ranking scores viscose and lyocell producers on their sourcing from ancient and endangered forests.
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Products described as mushroom leather, apple leather, cactus leather or grape leather are composite materials whose substrate is typically polyurethane; the bio-derived component varies in proportion from under 10 per cent to over 50 per cent depending on the product and the study.
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Multiple peer-reviewed studies have quantified synthetic microfibre shedding from laundering, but the figures vary by two orders of magnitude depending on fabric type, wash conditions and measurement method.
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The original Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, signed after Rana Plaza in 2013, was succeeded by the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry in 2021, extended through 2025 and now operational in Pakistan as well.
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