The UK wastes 745.4 million kilograms of fabric per year – the same weight as 355 London Eye’s
Lucy & Yak has conducted research which reveals that the UK wastes 745.4 million kilograms of fabric per year, the equivalent weight of 355 London Eye’s.
Fabrics can take as long as 200 years to decompose and the effects of fabric waste heavily impacts water usage, increases microfibres and greenhouse gases, and affects deforestation around the globe[1].
To show the impact our actions are having on the environment, Lucy & Yak have compared Europe’s fashion waste (kg) to the weight of their famous local landmark (kg).
Country |
Fabric wasted per year (kg) |
Local Landmark |
Local landmark weight (kg) |
Number of landmarks reproduced from fabric waste per year |
United Kingdom |
745.4 million |
London Eye |
2.1 million |
355 |
France |
744.8 million |
Eiffel Tower |
10.1 million |
74 |
Italy |
652.3 million |
Leaning tower of Pisa
|
14.5 million
|
45 |
Germany |
913.7 million |
Fernsehturm Berlin |
30.8 million |
30 |
Portugal |
112.6 million |
Dom Luis Bridge |
3 million
|
37 |
Every day the UK wastes the same amount of fabric as the weight of one London Eye.
Other European countries wasting tonnes of fabrics include France, who send a total of 744.8 million kilograms of fabric to waste. This equates to the weighted equivalent of 74 Eiffel Towers every year.
Germany wastes a massive 913.7 million kilograms of fabric every year which will sit in landfills to decompose over the next two centuries. This amount of fabric is the weighted equivalent of 30 Fernsehturm’s every year.
This data, conducted by Lucy and Yak, reveals a stark and prevalent issue amongst the European fashion industry which is having a large detrimental effect on the environment.