C'est quoi la fast fashion, exactement ?

Un modèle de production fondé sur le volume et la vitesse : beaucoup de vêtements, produits vite, vendus bon marché, remplacés souvent. Ce n'est pas une marque en particulier, c'est une façon de fabriquer et de vendre. Sa mesure la plus parlante n'est pas le prix mais la durée : le Programme des Nations Unies pour l'environnement estime que nous achetons environ 60 % de vêtements de plus qu'il y a une quinzaine d'années et que nous les gardons moitié moins longtemps.

Combien de fois porte-t-on un vêtement avant de s'en débarrasser ?

La Fondation Ellen MacArthur estime que certains vêtements sont jetés après seulement sept à dix portés. C'est le cœur du problème : ce n'est pas la fabrication d'un vêtement qui pose problème en soi, c'est le nombre de fois où il sert avant de disparaître.

Est-il vrai que des vêtements neufs sont détruits sans avoir été vendus ?

Oui, et c'est mesuré. Selon l'Agence européenne pour l'environnement, entre 4 et 9 % de tous les textiles mis sur le marché européen sont détruits avant d'avoir servi, soit entre 264 000 et 594 000 tonnes par an. Ce sont des vêtements neufs qui n'ont jamais rencontré personne.

Qu'est-ce qui a changé le 19 juillet 2026 ?

Depuis cette date, les grandes entreprises de l'Union européenne n'ont plus le droit de détruire leurs vêtements, accessoires vestimentaires et chaussures invendus. Elles doivent d'abord chercher à les garder en usage : les vendre, y compris au rabais ou sur d'autres marchés, les donner à des organismes de bienfaisance ou à des entreprises sociales, ou les préparer au réemploi. Les entreprises de taille moyenne seront soumises aux mêmes règles à partir de 2030 ; les petites et micro-entreprises en sont exemptées.

Est-ce que la mode représente 10 % des émissions mondiales ?

C'est le chiffre qu'on lit partout, et il est contesté dans la littérature scientifique, sa méthode et sa source d'origine sont difficiles à retracer. Nous ne le publions donc pas comme un fait établi. Ce qui est mieux documenté : la Fondation Ellen MacArthur estime que l'industrie textile repose principalement sur des ressources non renouvelables, à hauteur de 98 millions de tonnes par an, et qu'à ce rythme elle pourrait utiliser d'ici 2050 plus de 26 % du budget carbone compatible avec une limite de réchauffement de 2 °C.

Quel est le geste le plus efficace ?

Faire durer. Un vêtement porté deux fois plus longtemps divise par deux à peu près tout le reste, sa part de fabrication, de transport et de fin de vie. La Fondation Ellen MacArthur chiffre d'ailleurs à 460 milliards de dollars américains la valeur que les consommateurs perdent chaque année en jetant des vêtements qu'ils pourraient continuer de porter.

Fast fashion in 5 minutes

Fast fashion is not defined by a price, nor by a brand. It is defined by speed: making a lot, quickly, and replacing often.

So its most telling measure is not what a garment costs, but how many times it is used.

The key point

Some garments are thrown away after seven to ten wears. We buy about 60% more of them than fifteen years ago and keep them half as long. Between 4 and 9% of textiles placed on the European market are destroyed without ever being used. And since 19 July 2026, Europe bans large companies from destroying their unsold stock.

The mechanicsSpeed, not price

The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that we now buy about 60% more clothing than we did fifteen years ago, and that we keep it half as long.

These two movements multiply rather than cancel out. Twice as many purchases kept half as long is not a wash: it is a flow four times faster.

Seven to ten wears

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that some garments are discarded after just seven to ten wears.

That is the figure to remember, because it shifts the question. The problem is not that a garment gets made. It is that it serves so few times before disappearing, the whole of its manufacture is then written off against almost nothing.

The blind spotWaste before the sale even happens

We picture textile waste at the end of the chain: an overflowing wardrobe, a bag taken to the collection bin. Part of it happens long before, on garments nobody has ever worn.

According to the European Environment Agency, between 4 and 9% of all textiles placed on the European market are destroyed before use. By weight, that is between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes a year.

These are not offcuts or defective items. They are finished, brand-new garments that never met anyone.

At the other end, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation sums up the scale in one sentence: every second, one truckload of clothing is landfilled or burned.

HonestyThe figure we will not quote

You will read everywhere that fashion accounts for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It is probably the most repeated statistic on the subject.

We do not publish it as established fact. That figure is disputed in the scientific literature: its calculation method and its original source are hard to trace. A widely repeated number is not a verified number, sometimes it is only a very convenient one.

What is better documented, and says the same thing without borrowing from anyone: according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the textiles industry relies mostly on non-renewable resources, 98 million tonnes a year. And on the current trajectory it could use, by 2050, more than 26% of the carbon budget consistent with a 2 °C warming limit.

That takes longer to say than a round percentage. It is also checkable.

NewWhat changed on 19 July 2026

Unsold-stock waste became serious enough for Europe to ban it.

The ban is in force

Since 19 July 2026, large companies in the European Union are no longer allowed to destroy their unsold clothes, clothing accessories and footwear.

They must first seek to keep products in use: sell them, including at a discount or through alternative markets, donate them to charities or social enterprises, or prepare them for reuse.

Medium-sized companies will be subject to the same rules from 2030. Small and micro-businesses are exempt.

The measure sits within the European regulation on ecodesign for sustainable products. It applies only in Europe, but it reaches global brands, and it sets a precedent: destroying new goods is no longer an ordinary commercial trade-off.

Take actionWhat actually weighs

Double the lifespan, not the budget

A garment worn twice as long roughly halves everything else. It is the only lever that acts on manufacture, transport and end of life at the same time.

Count in wears, not in price

Before buying, one question is enough: how many times will I wear it? A $30 garment worn a hundred times costs less, and weighs less, than a $15 garment worn eight times.

Repair and extend before replacing

A seam, a zip, a button. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation puts at 460 billion US dollars the value lost every year by throwing away clothes that are still wearable.

Be wary of the words, not the brands

"Eco-friendly" or "conscious" on a label commits to nothing on its own. What commits is a certification whose scope you can read, or a figure with its reference attached.

To know what to ask when facing a label, we wrote a separate guide: how to spot a genuinely responsible product. It starts with what we cannot prove about our own products.

Frequently askedYour questions

What exactly is fast fashion?

A production model built on volume and speed: a lot of clothing, made fast, sold cheap, replaced often. It is not one particular brand, it is a way of making and selling. Its most telling measure is not price but duration: the United Nations Environment Programme estimates that we buy about 60% more clothing than fifteen years ago and keep it half as long.

How many times is a garment worn before it is thrown away?

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that some garments are discarded after just seven to ten wears. That is the heart of it: the problem is not making a garment as such, it is the number of times it serves before disappearing.

Is it true that brand-new clothes are destroyed without being sold?

Yes, and it is measured. According to the European Environment Agency, between 4 and 9% of all textiles placed on the European market are destroyed before use, that is between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes a year. These are brand-new garments that never met anyone.

What changed on 19 July 2026?

Since that date, large companies in the European Union are no longer allowed to destroy their unsold clothes, clothing accessories and footwear. They must first seek to keep them in use: sell them, including at a discount or through alternative markets, donate them to charities or social enterprises, or prepare them for reuse. Medium-sized companies will be subject to the same rules from 2030; small and micro-businesses are exempt.

Does fashion account for 10% of global emissions?

That is the figure everyone reads, and it is disputed in the scientific literature, its method and its original source are hard to trace. So we do not publish it as established fact. What is better documented: the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that the textiles industry relies mostly on non-renewable resources, to the tune of 98 million tonnes a year, and that on this trajectory it could use by 2050 more than 26% of the carbon budget consistent with a 2 °C warming limit.

What is the single most effective thing to do?

Make things last. A garment worn twice as long roughly halves everything else, its share of manufacture, transport and end of life. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation puts at 460 billion US dollars the value consumers lose every year by throwing away clothes they could go on wearing.