How China clothed the world with a gigatonne of fabric in 2 generations

Researchers say study can help inform policy and identify opportunities to recycle as fashion industry faces environmental challenges

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Employees work at a clothing factory in Shandong province in eastern China on July 17. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:00pm, 15 Aug 2025

In just over four decades, China has produced more than a gigatonne of textile fibres – equivalent to 1 billion tonnes or roughly twice the total human mass on the planet, according to a first-of-its-kind study by Tsinghua University.

The research, published late last month in the peer-reviewed journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling, mapped textile fibre flows and stocks in China from 1978 to 2022 – a period of rapid economic and societal development in China.

The study traces how a nation transformed from a closed economy into the world’s garment maker, powering economic growth at home and supplying affordable garments to consumers across continents.

But the study also found that nearly 30 per cent of the textiles used in China had become waste, with only a small proportion recycled.

According to the research, the waste recovery rate in China is only 17 per cent, with most of this being downcycled – recycled into products of lower quality or value than the original material. The global waste recovery rate is around 12 per cent, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

Given the textile industry’s complexity and size, tracking its global flows and environmental footprint has been a challenge for both academics and policymakers, particularly in China – a key player accounting for more than half of global processing capacity.

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