Clothing Manufacturing Statistics

There were 5,148 U.S. employer firms in cut and sew apparel manufacturing in 2021 [1]

Apparel knitting mills in the United States had 172 establishments in 2023 [2]

Cut and sew apparel manufacturing in the United States had 4,367 establishments in 2023 [3]

Apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing in the United States had 1,744 establishments in 2023 [4]

36,579 cut-and-sew manufacturing establishments in the United States (2022) [5]

1,008 apparel knitting mills establishments in the United States (2022) [6]

1,545 accessories/other apparel manufacturing establishments in the United States (2022) [7]

9,592 cut-and-sew manufacturing establishments in the United States (2022) [8]

1,331 apparel knitting mills establishments in the United States (2022) [9]

2,214 accessories/other apparel manufacturing establishments in the United States (2022) [10]

2,900 garment workers died in the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 according to one reported figure cited in the literature review [11]

There were 86,600 sewing machine operator jobs in the United States in 2023 [12]

There were 137,500 textile, apparel, and furnishings worker jobs in the United States in 2023 [13]

Most garment workers are paid less than a living wage in all surveyed countries [14]

15% of major brands disclose a policy to phase out fossil fuel-based virgin polyester [15]

Recycled cotton represented 2% of the global cotton market in 2022 [16]

Raw material production contributes 23% of water scarcity impacts in the apparel and footwear industry [17]

Global clothing utilization fell by 36% compared with 15 years earlier [18]

Average revenue per person in the global apparel market was expected to be $228.20 in 2024 [19]

The average garment was kept for half as long in 2014 as in 2000 [20]

EU citizens bought 19 kilograms of clothing, footwear and household textiles per person in 2022 [21]

40% of consumers worldwide plan to increase spending on fashion in 2024 [22]

Pakistan’s share of world clothing exports was 1.2% in 2022 [23]

In 2023, Haiti supplied 2% of U.S. apparel imports by value [24]

47% of consumers said they are more likely to shop with a brand that offers trade-in credit for used apparel [25]

18% of global GHG emissions come from the fashion industry (2018–2022 estimate) — measured as share of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to fashion [26]

80% of garment workers worldwide are women — measured as share of garment workers who are women [27]

75 million people are employed in the global textile, clothing and footwear industry — measured as number of people employed [28]

15% of global GHG emissions come from the fashion industry — measured as share of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to fashion (range estimate) [29]