Extraction Fashion - the real cost of our clothes
Groundbreaking new data reveals fashion's footprint for the first time - what is being used up in terms of stolen Land, water, fossil fuels and human time
What does it truly take to make fashion? Peeling back the facade of corporate designers and shiny billboards, how much Land, water, fossil fuels, biomass, metals and minerals does it take to produce the billions of bits of clothing that appear in shops every year? How many human hours go into stitching and sewing, growing and transporting all of these clothes?
For the first time we have answers to these questions. I have collaborated with War on Want and Research & Degrowth International on a new report that defines and reveals fashion’s global footprint.
To give a sense of just how staggering fashion’s footprint really is, in a single year the fashion industry used Land equivalent to:
- the entire island of Britain, just to make fashion for the European Union.
- a country the size of Belgium, just to make fashion for Britain
The data in the Extraction Fashion report is shocking and I hope you will share it and use it to create change.
Here are three YouTube shorts that show the true cost of what we uncovered. Thank you to War on Want and Research & Degrowth for the opportunity to be part of this project.
Please watch, like, share and comment!
How much Land is used for fashion? (the earth-shaking scale of fashion)
The Human Time Cost Of Fashion (this is the data that most breaks my heart)
How much Water & Fossil Fuels does fashion use? (the existential threat posed by fashion)
You can also find the videos posted on Instagram.
While the lived experiences of people on the sharp end of capitalism are the most important corroboration of fashion's impact, data that prompts collective, intersectional action is useful. We have a right to know to size of fashion's boot-print - what is taken from us in terms of Land, water, fossil fuels and human time.
Thank you so much for reading this newsletter throughout 2025
This is my favourite thing to write and I'm so happy it is still growing and proving useful. I have good plans for 2026 - amidst the chaos of the world, my new book is set to launch in the Autumn!
A huge thank you also, to everyone who so generously chipped in to the Labour Behind the Label fundraiser in December - you are absolute stars.
And a third thank you to everyone who attended the launch of the Extraction Fashion report. It is always really great to see friendly faces. The report can be found here.
I'd love to have some more ethics + fashion related problems to mull over for the New Year - if something is bothering you, send me a letter for the Patched advice column to DearPatched@proton.me You can be anonymous.
Thank you for reading and being awesome. Wishing you peace, joy, great books and grounded action.
In solidarity, Tansy.
p.s. In 2025 a friend set up Gaza Verified, a database of Palestinian families who need our help. All of these people are real and verified. Please read their stories and make a solidarity donation where you can. You could choose one family, stick with them and share their story. Or you could make smaller donations to as many as you can.
p.p.s. In December 2023 I sent a newsletter with my top three union movies - highlighting it again if you need some wonderful films to watch over the holidays.
Tansy Hoskins