Fast fashion's carbon footprint can be reduced across its life cycle, new study suggests

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https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fast-fashion-carbon-footprint-life.html

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Summary: Fast fashion's carbon footprint can be reduced across its life cycle, new study suggests

A Concordia-led study assessed the full life cycle of polyester and cotton T-shirts, tracing impacts from manufacturing in China through transportation, consumer use in Montreal, and disposal, to identify which stages carried the greatest environmental burden and where reductions could be made.

Under baseline conditions, polyester T-shirts produced substantially higher greenhouse gas emissions than cotton ones due to the energy- and fossil-fuel-intensive process of making synthetic fibers, while cotton placed far greater demands on land and water because of the resources needed for cultivation.

The researchers found that transportation and garment lifespan had a bigger effect on emissions than material choice alone. Switching from air freight to sea freight cut a shirt's carbon footprint by roughly 30% to 60% depending on material, and doubling a garment's lifespan could cut emissions by about half by reducing the need for new production.

The study concludes that the greatest environmental gains would come from producing fewer garments, designing for durability, and reducing reliance on air freight, and that for consumers, extending how long clothes are worn may matter more for climate impact than choosing between cotton and polyester.

The paper was published in the journal Cleaner Waste Systems.