Global textile production rose to record levels last year, helping to drive up the fashion and footwear industries’ planet-warming emissions. This comes as plastic-based polyester continued to dominate the material mix, according to a report published Thursday by non-profit Textile Exchange. Total material production reached a record-breaking 132 million tonnes in 2024, up nearly 6 percent from a year earlier, the report found. Polyester alone accounts for 43 percent of emissions from fibre production, with a large chunk of global output used for apparel, according to Textile Exchange estimates. Fashion’s growing environmental footprint comes as scientists warn that time is running short to stave off catastrophic levels of climate change.