Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The global fashion industry employs approximately 300 million people across the value chain
The textile and clothing industry is the second largest sector in the developing world after agriculture
In Bangladesh, the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector employs approximately 4 million workers
The fashion industry contributes £32 billion to the UK economy and supports 890,000 jobs
In the United States the fashion industry employs 1.8 million people across design manufacturing and retail
New York City’s fashion industry employs 180,000 people accounting for 6% of the city’s workforce
Approximately 80% of garment workers worldwide are women
Less than 50% of major fashion brands disclose data on the gender pay gap within their supply chains
Of the 50 million people estimated to be in modern slavery close to 25 million are in forced labor often linked to fashion supply chains
There were 22,600 fashion designer jobs in the US in 2021
E-commerce fashion roles have grown by 35% over the last five years as retail shifts online
US clothing and clothing accessories stores employ approximately 1.1 million people
Automation in sewing (Sewbots) threatens to displace up to 50% of low-skilled garment jobs in the next two decades
The circular fashion economy could create up to 5 million jobs globally by 2030
Demand for sustainability managers in fashion companies increased by 150% between 2019 and 2022
Economic Impact & Regional Stats
- The fashion industry contributes £32 billion to the UK economy and supports 890,000 jobs
- In the United States the fashion industry employs 1.8 million people across design manufacturing and retail
- New York City’s fashion industry employs 180,000 people accounting for 6% of the city’s workforce
- The Los Angeles fashion district supports approximately 94,000 jobs directly and indirectly
- Italy's fashion industry (textiles clothing leather) employs over 500,000 people
- France’s fashion and luxury sector represents 1 million jobs direct and indirect
- The Canadian apparel market supported over 82,000 jobs in 2020
- Australia’s fashion and textile industry employs approximately 489,000 people
- Germany's textile and fashion industry employs roughly 135,000 people in manufacturing alone
- Spain’s fashion sector accounts for 3.9% of total employment in the country
- The African fashion industry is valued at $31 billion but possesses potential to create millions of jobs via the AfCFTA
- Portugal’s textile and clothing industry employs 138,000 workers
- Japan’s apparel market employs roughly 200,000 people in manufacturing sectors
- South Korea's textile and fashion industry employs approximately 300,000 people
- The fashion industry in the Netherlands employs about 100,000 people
- Swedish fashion industry exports increased by 60% over a decade driving specialized employment in Stockholm
- The luxury fashion sector contributed €800 billion to the European economy and supports 2 million jobs
- Fashion employs more people in the US than the auto industry
- London creates over 45,000 jobs specifically in the high-end fashion sector
- The global personal luxury goods market employs 440,000 people in Italy alone
Interpretation
Stitching together economies as deftly as garments, the fashion industry is no mere ornament: it pumps tens of billions into national coffers and sustains hundreds of thousands to millions of livelihoods, from 890,000 jobs in the UK and 1.8 million in the US to Italy's half a million and France's million-plus, with Africa poised to add many more under AfCFTA, proving that glamour also delivers serious economic muscle.
Gender, Diversity & Wages
- Approximately 80% of garment workers worldwide are women
- Less than 50% of major fashion brands disclose data on the gender pay gap within their supply chains
- Of the 50 million people estimated to be in modern slavery close to 25 million are in forced labor often linked to fashion supply chains
- Only 14% of major fashion brands are run by female executives despite women making up the majority of the workforce
- In the US only 7.3% of fashion designers are Black or African American
- Garment workers in Bangladesh earn a minimum wage that is often only 25% of a calculated living wage
- Over 1 million Uyghurs have been estimated to be detained in camps linked to cotton production constituting forced labor
- Approximately 9.5% of fashion designers in the US identify as LGBTQ+
- Women in the fashion manufacturing sector are paid on average 18% less than men for similar roles in Asia
- 17% of fashion brands publish the number of workers in their supply chain who are members of trade unions
- Migrant workers constitute a significant portion of the textile workforce in countries like Thailand facing higher risks of exploitation
- In the UK the gender pay gap in fashion retail is 8.2% lower than the national average but leadership remains male-dominated
- Child labor is still found in the supply chains of fashion particularly in cotton cultivation involving about 4% of children in producing regions
- Only 4% of fashion companies have a Chief Diversity Officer
- The average age of a fashion designer in the US is 37 years old
- Asian Americans make up 11% of the fashion design workforce in the US
- 68% of fashion supply chain workers report experiencing verbal abuse
- Only 12% of fashion brands can demonstrate their workers are paid a living wage
- In 2020 over $16 billion in wages was lost by garment workers due to order cancellations during the pandemic
Interpretation
Behind the seams of an industry that markets empowerment, an 80 percent female workforce endures pay gaps, verbal abuse, child and forced labor—including Uyghur-linked cotton harvesting—poor transparency and union representation, scarce female and racial leadership, almost no diversity officers, and pandemic-driven wage theft.
Global Workforce & Manufacturing
- The global fashion industry employs approximately 300 million people across the value chain
- The textile and clothing industry is the second largest sector in the developing world after agriculture
- In Bangladesh, the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector employs approximately 4 million workers
- China remains the world's largest exporter of textiles and clothing employing over 10 million people in the sector
- The Indian textile industry is the second largest employer in the country after agriculture providing direct employment to over 45 million people
- Vietnam's textile and garment industry employs approximately 2.5 million workers
- The textile, clothing, leather, and footwear (TCLF) sector in the EU employs 1.3 million people
- Approximately 60 to 75 million people are employed specifically as garment workers worldwide
- Myanmar’s garment sector employs roughly 700,000 workers
- Cambodia's garment sector employs over 750,000 workers mostly for export to the US and EU
- Turkey’s textile and apparel sector employs over 1 million people
- Indonesia’s textile and garment industry employs nearly 3 million people
- Pakistan’s textile sector employs 40% of the industrial workforce
- Homeworkers make up a significant portion of the fashion supply chain estimated at 37 million in South Asia alone often uncounted in official stats
- Ethiopia's growing textile industry employs approximately 80,000 workers in industrial parks
- Brazil’s textile and apparel industry employs 1.5 million people directly
- The Better Cotton Initiative estimates 250 million people are employed in the cotton production stage globally
- In Sri Lanka the apparel sector employs about 350,000 people directly
- Mexico’s textile and apparel industry employs approximately 450,000 workers
- The footwear manufacturing industry alone employs over 380,000 people in the EU
Interpretation
Fashion does more than set trends, stitching together the livelihoods of roughly 300 million people worldwide, from cotton farmers to factory seamstresses across China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and beyond, and relying on millions of often invisible homeworkers and garment workers, which makes the industry both a cornerstone of many developing economies and a precarious source of income when demand falters.
Retail, E-Commerce & Design Roles
- There were 22,600 fashion designer jobs in the US in 2021
- E-commerce fashion roles have grown by 35% over the last five years as retail shifts online
- US clothing and clothing accessories stores employ approximately 1.1 million people
- Wholesale trade in apparel employs over 120,000 workers in the US
- The graphic design sector within fashion marketing is projected to grow 3% from 2021 to 2031
- Secondhand apparel market growth is creating over 100,000 new jobs in resale logistics and curation by 2026
- Fashion models hold about 4,000 jobs in the US though many are freelance/contract
- Employment of merchandise displayers and window trimmers is projected to decline slightly due to online shopping
- The personal styling industry has seen a 12% increase in freelance employment since 2018
- Luxury retail sales associates earn on average 30% more than fast fashion counterparts
- Independent artists and designers account for 28% of the employment in the fashion design sector
- Marketing and PR roles in fashion have increased by 15% as brands focus on digital storytelling
- Customer service representatives for online fashion retailers constitute a workforce of over 200,000 in the US
- Amazon Style and other tech-retail hybrids are increasing demand for data analysts in fashion retail by 20%
- Patternmakers in the US hold approximately 4,000 jobs with a median wage of $50,000
- Sewing machine operators in the US hold nearly 135,000 jobs primarily in niche manufacturing
- Fashion buyers and purchasing agents hold roughly 25,000 jobs in the retail sector
- Influencer marketing has created a "creator economy" in fashion estimated to support 2 million creators globally
- Department store employment for fashion retail has dropped by 25% over the last decade
- Employment in sneaker resale platforms like StockX has grown to over 1,000 corporate employees
Interpretation
The fashion employment map is being rewoven as e-commerce, resale logistics and digital marketing add hundreds of thousands of jobs and lift demand for data analysts and customer service staff, luxury associates command higher pay while independent designers and freelancers make up nearly a third of design roles, department stores and display jobs quietly unravel, and specialist makers like patternmakers and sewing operators still stitch the industry together.
Sustainability, Tech & Future Trends
- Automation in sewing (Sewbots) threatens to displace up to 50% of low-skilled garment jobs in the next two decades
- The circular fashion economy could create up to 5 million jobs globally by 2030
- Demand for sustainability managers in fashion companies increased by 150% between 2019 and 2022
- Textile recycling creates 20 times more jobs than landfilling or incineration of clothes
- The digital fashion sector (skins/NFTs) is projected to create 50,000 virtual design jobs by 2025
- 3D design software proficiency is now requested in 40% of fashion design job postings
- The European Commission's textile strategy aims to boost green jobs by mandating textile durability and repairability repairs
- Bio-material innovation (e.g. mushroom leather) has attracted $2 billion in investment creating thousands of R&D jobs
- Supply chain transparency roles have grown 30% year-over-year as regulations like the NY Fashion Act loom
- The repair and alteration sector employes 40,000 people in the US and is expected to grow as sustainability trends rise
- Fashion-tech startups raised $6 billion in 2021 fueling employment in AI and data science for retail
- On-demand manufacturing models could reduce overproduction and shift 10% of production jobs closer to the consumer (nearshoring)
- Rental fashion platforms employ 30% more logistics personnel per unit sold compared to traditional retail due to reverse logistics
- Jobs in "Green Chemistry" for textiles are growing as brands eliminate hazardous chemicals (ZDHC compliance)
- Virtual try-on technology integration is creating new technical roles in 15% of top fashion e-retailers
- Upskilling programs for garment workers to handle automated machinery are required for 30% of the current workforce to remain employable
- The EU "Recycle Hubs" initiative aims to create 1 new job for every 1000 tons of textiles collected
- Smart textile development (conductive fabrics) is spurring a 10% annual growth in textile engineering jobs
- Blockchain tracking for provenance is creating a niche job market for verifying luxury goods authenticity
- Employment in cotton farming faces a 10% decline risk due to climate change inducing crop failures requiring workforce transition
Interpretation
Fashion now walks a razor’s edge, with Sewbots poised to wipe out up to half of low-skilled sewing jobs even as circular systems, textile recycling, bio-materials, digital fashion and sustainability roles could create millions of greener, higher-skilled positions, but only if policymakers, brands and educators urgently invest in upskilling, transparency and infrastructure to shift workers from cotton fields and sewing floors into repair, recycling, 3D and virtual design, green chemistry and provenance-verification jobs.
References
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