According to the United Nations Environment Programme, fashion accounts for up to 10% of global dioxide output which is more than airline travel and shipping combined, and a fifth of the 300 million tons of plastic produced every year globally. Consulting firm McKinsey and the World Economic Forum estimate that the number of garments produced each year has at least doubled since 2000. And 87% of total fiber input used for clothing is incinerated or sent to a landfill. Options to reducing clothing waste like recycling and donating have their own issues and drawbacks. Recycling clothing is difficult because of what today's clothes are made from – complex combinations of fibers, fixtures and accessories. This makes them hard to separate so they can be effectively recycled. Sorting textiles into different fibers and material types by hand is labor intensive and slow. Mechanical methods are hindered by modern fabric blends in clothing that make it difficult for the machines to separate the different materials. Donating clothes doesn't have the positive impact most people think it will. There just isn't enough of a need for all of the unwanted clothes in people’s closets, and much of what’s donated isn’t desirable. Your trash isn't necessarily someone else’s treasure. If stains and rips/tears are found, it likely won't be donated and will end up in the trash. Clothing sent out of our country is also difficult to trash and it's believed most is disposed.