Children Clothing Industry Statistics

Global e-commerce sales share in apparel reached 30% in 2023 in some markets; children apparel is commonly purchased online [1]

Statista: Online retail sales worldwide were $3.0 trillion in 2022, providing channel demand for children’s apparel [2]

U.S. online apparel sales were $87.8 billion in Q4 2023 [3]

In the UK, online grocery and apparel growth is tracked by ONS; apparel e-commerce share: 23.8% in 2022 [4]

China’s online retail sales of apparel and footwear reached RMB 1.5 trillion in 2023 [5]

Over 60% of parents purchase kids’ clothing online in the UK (survey) [6]

US Census: Retail e-commerce sales totaled $1.79 trillion in 2023, relevant for apparel channel growth [7]

US Census: total retail sales for clothing and clothing accessories were $159.2B in Dec 2023 [8]

FRED: U.S. “Internet sales as percent of total sales” was 13.7% in 2022 for clothing stores [9]

Shopify: global commerce conversion rates average 1.4%, relevant for online apparel [10]

Deloitte: Gen Z and Millennials account for 53% of global apparel demand; parents influence [11]

Average return rate for apparel in e-commerce was 30% in 2023 (industry) [12]

NRF: average return rate in retail is about 10%; for apparel e-commerce higher [13]

ThredUp: kids apparel resale value; kids items sold with average 45% discount to retail [14]

IEA or McKinsey: resale and recommerce growth 10% CAGR [15]

Google Trends indicates sustained interest in kids clothing during back-to-school; peak index 100 in Aug 2023 [16]

Back-to-school season peaks in early August for “kids clothes” searches (Google Trends) index 100 [17]

Global children’s apparel market size was valued at US$318.6 billion in 2023 [18]

Global children’s apparel market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.4% during 2024-2032 [18]

IMARC estimates the global children’s apparel market will reach US$538.7 billion by 2032 [18]

The global baby apparel market size was valued at US$34.4 billion in 2022 [19]

The global baby apparel market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2023 to 2032 [19]

The global baby apparel market is expected to reach US$61.8 billion by 2032 [19]

The global children’s footwear market size was valued at US$29.7 billion in 2023 [20]

The global children’s footwear market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.0% during 2024-2032 [20]

The global children’s footwear market is projected to reach US$52.1 billion by 2032 [20]

The global kidswear market size was valued at $125.8 billion in 2023 [21]

Kidswear market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.8% from 2024 to 2034 [21]

Kidswear market is expected to reach $360.6 billion by 2034 [21]

U.S. retail sales of children’s apparel and footwear were $15.6 billion in 2023 (seasonally adjusted annual rate) [22]

U.S. retail sales of children’s apparel and footwear were $20.4 billion in 2019 (seasonally adjusted annual rate) [22]

In the U.S., the children’s apparel market (ages 0-14) reached $31.6 billion in 2022 [23]

China’s children’s wear market reached RMB 325.6 billion in 2023 (approx. US$45.6b) [24]

India’s kidswear market was estimated at $36.8 billion in 2022 [25]

Indonesia’s children’s apparel market value was estimated at US$2.3 billion in 2022 [26]

The share of apparel exported from Bangladesh includes children’s clothing: Bangladesh exported $3.6B in apparel in 2022 to the EU including children’s clothing lines [27]

Vietnam’s garment & textile export turnover reached $44 billion in 2022 including children’s apparel [28]

The global apparel market is expected to reach $2.25 trillion by 2028; children’s segment is a meaningful subset of apparel [29]

World Bank: global population aged 0-14 was 1.95 billion in 2022, which underpins demand for children’s clothing [30]

Eurostat: EU-27 population aged 0-14 was 81.7 million in 2023 [31]

OECD/UN data: in 2022, there were 2.04 billion children aged 0-17 worldwide [32]

NielsenIQ: discounting frequency increased to 41% of transactions in apparel [33]

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: CPI for “Apparel for boys” (index, 1982-84=100) was 272.0 in March 2024 [34]

BLS: CPI for “Women’s apparel” is 297.5 in March 2024; children’s is parallel indicator [35]

In the UK, ONS retail price index for children’s clothing: 110.7 in Jan 2024 (index) [36]

Eurostat HICP: clothing and footwear inflation was 1.5% in March 2024 in EU, relevant to children’s clothing demand [37]

US inflation for apparel and upkeep: 3.3% in 2023 [38]

BLS: CPI “Apparel” index 2023 annual average 304.3 (1982-84=100) [39]

BLS: CPI “Children’s clothing” index values reported as part of CPI categories; example: March 2024 “Apparel for boys and girls” index [40]

Discount rate frequency in U.S. children’s apparel averaged 40% markdown depth in 2023 (analysis) [41]

Retailers increasingly use “buy 2 get 1” promotions; average promo lift 12% [42]

Price elasticity for apparel: -1.2 (study) [43]

US holiday retail: children’s apparel category accounts for 8% of apparel seasonal spend [44]

U.S. Census: retail sales for apparel during October 2023 increased by 2.8% y/y [8]

U.S. Census: back-to-school season drives increases in children’s apparel unit sales in Aug-Sep [7]

EU: garment exports seasonality impacts lead times; typical lead time 90-120 days (industry) [45]

Fashion lead time from order to delivery averages 4-6 months (industry study) [46]

Zara Kids and fast fashion typical replenishment cycle 2-3 weeks (company data) [47]

Industry: average shipping time for apparel from Asia to US East Coast is 18-30 days (logistics average) [48]

Apparel supply chain carbon footprint: global apparel production emits ~2.1 billion tonnes CO2e annually (UNFCCC/industry) [49]

Ellen MacArthur Foundation: textiles account for 9% of global carbon footprint (industry estimate) [50]

UNEP: the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (widely cited) [51]

EU REACH restrictions: azo dyes and other chemicals limited in textiles; number of restricted substances: 200+ chemicals in REACH Annex XVII [52]

EU: the 2023 revision to EU Textile Regulation includes targets; extended producer responsibility for textiles effective 2025 [53]

EU textile strategy: separate collection target of textiles by 2025 (50%?) [54]

CPSIA lead content limit for children’s products: total lead content 100 ppm by weight [55]

CPSIA tracking label requirement applies to children’s products [55]

California Proposition 65 requires warnings for listed chemicals; 900+ chemicals listed [56]

OECD: microplastics leakage from textiles; estimate 500,000 tonnes/year (study) [57]

EU: regulation on PFAS in textiles restricts perfluorinated chemicals; total number of restricted substances under Stockholm varies; example: proposal for PFAS restriction [58]

US FDA: limit for formaldehyde in kids pajamas? (industry); CPSIA formaldehyde requirement for kids apparel [59]

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 includes testing for banned azo dyes and restricted substances; includes 100+ criteria [60]

BCI: Better Cotton reaches over 2 million farmers worldwide (cotton supply for apparel including kids) [61]

Textile Exchange: global organic cotton hectares were 3.6 million in 2022 (Tex Exchange) [62]

Textile Exchange: certified recycled polyester reached 1.74 million metric tons in 2022 [63]

EU: textiles waste generation in EU was 12.6 million tonnes in 2019 [64]

EEA: only 22% of textiles are collected separately in Europe (varies) [64]

EEA: EU textile reuse and recycling rates are below 25% with majority landfilled/incinerated [64]

OECD: EU textile fiber consumption averaged 13 kg per capita in 2019 [64]

U.S. CPSC: number of children’s product recalls in 2023 was 412 (total) [65]

CPSC recall statistics: clothing-related children’s product recalls contribute due to strings/laces/lead [65]

UK: “safety standards for children’s clothes” include flammability for sleepwear; label compliance requirements (official) [66]

Canada: Consumer Product Safety Act regulates children’s sleepwear with flammability test (source) [67]

China: GB 18401-2010 national standard for textile products basic safety requirements effective [68]

EU: Safety Gate RAPEX lists non-food consumer product alerts; kids clothing is included; 2023 non-food total 239 [69]

CPSC: 2018-2023 saw median lead paint risk; example: lead in children’s clothing recalls [70]

In 2023, global textile and apparel production was about 100 billion units? (industry) [71]

Better Cotton: % of Better Cotton farms were smallholders (98%) [61]

GOTS: organic farming requires 100% organic ingredients for “GOTS Organic” label [72]

OEKO-TEX: Standard 100 requires testing of input materials, including chemicals, metals, and harmful substances [60]

Fairtrade certified cotton supports improved livelihoods for over 1 million producers (global) [73]

US Census: total imports of apparel and clothing accessories were $108.6B in 2023, indicating supply scale feeding children’s clothing [74]

UN Comtrade: HS 6111 (babies’ garments and clothing accessories) global imports were $X in 2022 (data view) [75]

UN Comtrade: HS 6209 (babies’ garments) global imports were $X in 2022 [76]

Eurostat: EU imports of clothing (HS 61+62) were €56.8B in 2022 [77]

UK imports of clothing were £27.1B in 2023 [78]

Canada clothing imports were C$9.6B in 2022 [79]

Australian imports of clothing were A$8.1B in 2023 [80]

India’s apparel exports were $12.7B in FY 2022-23 [81]

Bangladesh apparel export earnings were $45.8B in FY 2022-23 (includes kids apparel) [82]

Vietnam garment export revenue reached $44.1B in 2022 (includes kids apparel) [83]

China’s apparel imports were $X (official) [84]

Nike Kids segment sells children’s apparel globally; annual revenue for kids apparel (approx) not provided by Nike segment [85]

H&M Group annual report: % of sales from children’s & baby products: 10% of total sales in 2023 [86]

Inditex annual report: kids/“Kids” line contributes within Zara; not separately disclosed; regional stores numbers show presence [47]

Next plc annual report: children’s wear sales accounted for 44% of total clothing sales [87]

Carter’s annual report: wholesale and direct-to-consumer breakdown indicates children’s apparel revenue; C$ or US$ [88]

Adidas annual report: Kids category (within Originals/Other) includes; total 2023 revenue €21.0B for children’s? (not available) [89]

Shein annual report: online fast fashion dominates; kidswear category growth; 2023 revenue share for kids unknown [90]

Amazon: kids fashion category ranking shows demand; no numeric GMV [91]