Global Textile Industry Statistics

In 2019, global textile waste generated in the EU was 5.8 million tonnes [1]

EU textile waste generation was 11 kg per person per year (2018 estimate) [1]

EU textile waste treated as recycling in 2018 was 1% (estimate) [1]

Share of clothing in EU municipal waste was about 5% in 2018 (estimate) [1]

In 2021, the UK sent 390,000 tonnes of textile waste to landfill (estimate) [2]

In the UK, 2.1 million tonnes of textiles were consumed in 2019 (estimate) [3]

In 2019, the UK collected 488,000 tonnes of textiles for reuse/recycling (estimate) [3]

In 2019, the UK reused 292,000 tonnes of textiles (estimate) [3]

In 2019, the UK recycled 284,000 tonnes of textiles (estimate) [3]

Globally, textile reuse rate is estimated at about 10% and recycling at 1% (estimate) [4]

In the Ellen MacArthur Foundation report, only 13% of used clothing is resold or donated (estimate) [4]

The global “take-make-waste” model leads to about 92 million tonnes of textile waste per year (estimate) [4]

By 2030, global textile waste could reach 134 million tonnes (estimate) [4]

By 2050, global textile waste could reach 176 million tonnes (estimate) [4]

Polyester use is expected to increase from 55 million tonnes in 2010 to 97 million tonnes by 2050 (estimate) [5]

The average European consumer buys around 26 kg of textiles per year (estimate) [1]

The average American consumer buys about 68 pounds (about 31 kg) of textiles per year (estimate) [6]

In the US, textiles and clothing sent to landfill were 8.6 million tons in 2018 (estimate) [6]

In the US, textile recovery rate in 2018 was 15.3% (estimate) [6]

In the US, textiles and clothing generated 17.3 million tons in 2018 (estimate) [6]

EU textile collection rates are around 25 kg per capita per year for separate collection (target/estimate) [7]

EU member states have separate collection targets for textiles: at least 4 kg per capita per year by 2030 (target) [7]

The EU’s revision targets: textile waste separate collection by 2025 (policy target) [7]

The EU “Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles” aims for textiles collected separately (policy) [7]

EU Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles is proposed/implemented with targets for recyclability (policy) [7]

In 2020, the world produced about 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually (estimate) [8]

The global “use-phase” share is often largest for clothing emissions (estimate) [9]

Fast fashion drives higher purchases and shorter wear time—average wear time of clothing reduced to about 2 years (estimate) [10]

In 2017, global clothing consumption was about 100 billion items per year (estimate) [11]

In 2018, the global secondhand clothing market was about USD 24 billion (estimate) [12]

The global secondhand clothing market is projected to reach USD 64 billion by 2030 (estimate) [12]

Share of global clothing sold as secondhand is estimated at about 13% by volume (estimate) [13]

In 2022, the global apparel e-commerce share was about 24% (estimate) [14]

In 2022, online apparel sales were about USD 245 billion (estimate) [15]

In 2023, global return rates for apparel in e-commerce were often around 20–30% (estimate) [16]

In 2022, garment returns generated additional waste streams including unsold returns (estimate) [6]

Landfilling textiles is costly and persists; EPA notes textiles in landfills were 8.6 million tons in 2018 [6]

Composting of textiles is minimal because most clothing is synthetic blends (estimate) [17]

Global recycling of textiles is about 13% of collected textiles (estimate) [17]

In the UK, only 18% of textiles are recycled or reused into new products (estimate) [18]

In Canada, consumers discarded about 6.3 million tonnes of textile and clothing waste in 2020 (estimate) [19]

In Japan, textile waste generation was about 2.6 million tonnes in 2019 (estimate) [20]

In 2021, South Korea textiles recycling rate was reported at about 30% (estimate) [21]

The textile and clothing sector is estimated to employ around 60 million people worldwide [22]

The ILO estimates the garment sector is the second largest employer of women after agriculture [23]

In Bangladesh, the garment sector employs about 4.2 million people (2019 estimate) [24]

In India, the textiles and apparel sector employs about 45 million people (approx.) [25]

In Vietnam, the garment and textile industry employs around 2.5 million workers (estimate) [23]

The garment industry uses 80% female workers in many producing countries (estimate) [23]

Child labor remains present in parts of the textile supply chain (global estimate) [26]

Approximately 11 million children are trapped in child labour in textile-apparel-related activities globally (estimate) [26]

In 2022, the ILO reported that 27.6 million people were in forced labour (relevance to supply chains) [27]

Bangladesh minimum wage for garment workers was set at BDT 12,500/month in 2023 [28]

Pakistan minimum wage increased to PKR 32,000/month in 2023 [29]

Ethiopia minimum wage for textile and garment workers is set at ETB 2,100/month (example) [30]

Cambodia’s minimum wage increased to KHR 1,912,000/month for garment and footwear workers (2023) [31]

In Turkey, minimum wage in 2024 was TRY 17,002.12 (monthly) [32]

In 2021, there were 44 garment-factory collapse/accident events with casualties in South Asia (example count) [33]

In 2013, the Rana Plaza collapse killed 1,134 people and injured 2,500 others [34]

The ILO estimated that supply-chain risks include unsafe workplaces for millions in global garment industry (risk estimate) [35]

Women in garment factories earn less than men, with a reported gender wage gap (estimate 10–20% range) [36]

The OECD reports that workers in developing countries in textile supply chains often work 60+ hours per week (estimate) [37]

Migrant workers represent a significant share of labour in textile manufacturing (estimate) [38]

The ILO estimates 25% of garment workers are in informal employment in some producing countries (estimate) [39]

In 2020, COVID-19 affected millions of garment workers with job and wage losses (estimate: 75% at risk) [40]

ILO estimates that garment workers are among the most at risk during economic shocks, with up to 50% wage reductions (estimate) [41]

ILO reported that 60% of workers in export garment industries are paid less than a living wage (estimate) [42]

Living wage gap in the garment industry was reported as 25–35% in Bangladesh (estimate) [43]

In Pakistan, ILO reported overtime is common with hours exceeding legal limits (estimate 12+ hours/week) [44]

In Cambodia, overtime is often paid at rates below legal requirements (reported compliance rate: below 50% in inspections) [45]

In 2019, ILO found that 18.4 million people were in forced labour due to private enterprises (context) [27]

ILO reported 160 million child labourers globally in 2020 [46]

ILO reported that 2.4 million people are in forced labour in the private economy (context) [27]

ILO estimated that 73 million people were in forced labour in 2017 [47]

In the textile and apparel sector, occupational injuries and illnesses are a persistent problem (reporting rate estimate) [48]

ILO’s Better Work program reached over 2 million workers in garment factories (2019 figure) [49]

The Better Work program operates in 8 countries and covers 1,300+ factories (global) [49]

Better Work reports that 90%+ compliance actions are related to wages and working time (program metric) [50]

In 2017, the Bangladesh RMG wage protest movement led to wage increases ranging from 20–50% (estimate) [51]

The textile industry accounts for about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [52]

Textile dyeing and treatment is responsible for 17–20% of global industrial water pollution [53]

Fashion industry uses about 79 billion cubic meters of water per year globally [52]

The textile sector contributes to 20% of wastewater worldwide [52]

Microfibers from textiles are estimated to account for 35% of ocean plastic pollution [54]

Textile production is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions (industry estimate) [4]

Producing one kilogram of textile can generate 23 kg of CO2e on average (life-cycle estimate) [4]

Globally, only 1% of textiles are recycled into new textiles [4]

Less than 10% of used textiles are collected for reuse or recycling (global estimate) [4]

Recycled textiles can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30% compared with virgin materials (estimate) [4]

The Fast Fashion market drives higher demand for new clothing, with average use-life of garments reduced by 36% between 2000 and 2015 (estimate) [55]

Over 80% of textiles used annually are not recycled and end up in landfills or incinerators (estimate) [4]

Spinning and weaving are among major water-consuming stages in textile manufacturing (water use share: varies) [56]

The average customer buys 60% more items now than in 2000, and keeps them for half as long (estimate) [57]

Textiles are responsible for 8–10% of global industrial water use (estimate) [17]

In 2015, the textile industry discharged about 1.2 billion tonnes of waste to environment (estimate) [52]

The textile sector uses 1.4 trillion cubic meters of water per year (global estimate) [10]

Production of textiles and clothing is linked to about 2.1 billion tonnes of CO2e annually (estimate) [52]

The EU textile waste generation was 5.8 million tonnes in 2018 (waste-related) [1]

In the EU, only 1% of textile waste is recycled into new textiles (estimate) [1]

EU textiles are 7% of total municipal waste (estimate) [1]

The average person in the EU purchases around 26 kg of textiles per year (estimate) [1]

In the EU, textile waste generation was around 11 kg per person per year (estimate) [1]

Dyeing and finishing can consume 50–150 L of water per kg fabric (typical range) [58]

One washing cycle releases microfibers into water systems (estimate: 700,000 microfibers per load for synthetic textiles) [59]

Microfibers are smaller than 5 mm and are difficult to capture in wastewater treatment (general statistic) [60]

Sorting and recycling textiles reduces landfill impact but remains limited by collection rates (estimate) [17]

Polyester production requires fossil feedstock; average life-cycle GHG emissions per kg for synthetic fibres are higher than for organic cotton (comparative) [9]

Textile washing contributes to microplastic pollution (estimate) [61]

Worldwide fashion industry is projected to contribute 2.7 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2050 (estimate) [62]

Without changes, global textile demand is expected to increase by 50% by 2030 and 3x by 2050 (estimates) [4]

Only 0.3% of garments are recycled into new clothing (estimate) [4]

Global apparel market size was valued at USD 1.8 trillion in 2023 [63]

Global apparel market size is projected to reach USD 2.6 trillion by 2030 [63]

Global clothing production was 110.4 million tonnes in 2019 [64]

Global textile fibre production reached 117 million tonnes in 2022 [65]

The global textile recycling market size was USD 5.6 billion in 2023 [66]

The global textile recycling market is projected to reach USD 16.8 billion by 2032 [66]

Global technical textile market size was USD 236.1 billion in 2023 [67]

Global technical textiles market is projected to reach USD 339.0 billion by 2028 [67]

Global nonwoven fabric market size was USD 45.9 billion in 2022 [68]

Global nonwoven fabric market is projected to reach USD 70.8 billion by 2028 [68]

Global cotton production in 2022/23 was 25.7 million tonnes (Cotton: world) [69]

World polyester filament production reached 56.2 million tonnes in 2022 [70]

World apparel sales were about USD 1.8 trillion in 2023 (market estimate) [71]

Global yarn production reached 150 million tonnes in 2022 [72]

Global denim market size was USD 64.8 billion in 2022 [73]

Global denim market is projected to reach USD 102.7 billion by 2030 [73]

Global recycled polyester market size was USD 3.3 billion in 2022 [74]

Recycled polyester market is expected to reach USD 8.5 billion by 2028 [74]

Global organic cotton market size was USD 2.5 billion in 2022 [75]

Global organic cotton market is projected to reach USD 5.2 billion by 2030 [75]

The global textiles and apparel market in the EU was €138.4 billion in 2022 [76]

The global textiles and apparel market in the EU is projected to grow to €160 billion by 2027 (forecast estimate) [77]

In 2021, world textile trade was estimated at USD 744 billion [78]

In 2022, global textile and clothing exports reached about USD 780 billion [79]

Global textile and clothing imports in 2022 were about USD 860 billion [79]

Global fashion retail market size was USD 1.7 trillion in 2022 [80]

Global fashion retail market size is projected to reach USD 2.7 trillion by 2030 [80]

The global textile chemicals market size was USD 10.0 billion in 2022 [81]

The global textile chemicals market is projected to reach USD 14.6 billion by 2028 [81]

Global dye market size was USD 7.6 billion in 2023 [82]

Global dye market is projected to reach USD 12.1 billion by 2030 [82]

Global fabric market size was USD 7.2 trillion in 2022 (industry estimate) [83]

Global fabric market is forecast to exceed USD 9.0 trillion by 2027 [83]

Global clothing market size was USD 1.9 trillion in 2023 [84]

Global apparel market CAGR from 2023-2030 was 5.1% [63]

Technical textiles market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2023 to 2028 [67]

Nonwoven fabric market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2023 to 2028 [68]

Denim market forecast CAGR was 6.2% from 2023 to 2030 [73]

Global cotton consumption in 2022/23 was 26.6 million tonnes (Cotton: world) [69]

Global man-made fibre production reached 92 million tonnes in 2022 [70]

Global polyester staple fibres production reached 52.2 million tonnes in 2022 [70]

Global cotton imports were 20.3 million tonnes in 2021/22 [69]

The global textile and clothing trade surplus/deficit is dominated by Asia; in 2022 China remained the largest exporter (export value) [85]

China’s textile and clothing export value was about USD 128 billion in 2022 [85]

Bangladesh garment exports were about USD 41.3 billion in fiscal year 2022-23 [86]

Vietnam’s textile and garment exports were about USD 39 billion in 2022 [87]

India’s textile and apparel exports were about USD 44.5 billion in 2021-22 [88]

Turkey’s textile and apparel exports were about USD 30.7 billion in 2023 (approx.) [89]

Pakistan’s textile exports were about USD 14.4 billion in FY 2021-22 (textiles only) [90]

Cambodia garment exports were about USD 8.4 billion in 2022 [91]

Ethiopia textile and garment exports reached about USD 15 million in 2021 (start-up scale) [92]

The EU imported textiles and clothing worth €132.2 billion in 2022 [76]

The US imported textiles and apparel worth about USD 108 billion in 2022 [93]

In 2022, global textile and clothing exports rose to 5.7% share of world merchandise trade (estimate) [79]

World trade in textiles and clothing exports reached USD 790 billion in 2022 [79]

WTO reported world merchandise trade grew 4.7% in 2022 (context) [94]

In 2023, global apparel market share in US imports: China about 23% (estimate by HS61/62) [95]

In 2023, Vietnam accounted for about 10% of US apparel imports (estimate) [95]

In 2023, Bangladesh accounted for about 8% of US apparel imports (estimate) [95]

The EU’s top textile and clothing supplier in 2022 was China (import value share: highest) [76]

In 2022, Bangladesh was the largest supplier to the EU for clothing among LDCs (report estimate) [76]

China’s share of global textile exports was about 30% (estimate) [79]

Asia accounts for more than 80% of global garment production (estimate) [24]

Bangladesh exported garments to 146 countries in 2022 (reported) [86]

In 2022, China exported about 35% of the world’s apparel (estimate) [79]

Global sourcing: top 10 apparel exporters accounted for about 60% of global exports (estimate) [79]

OECD estimates that around 60% of textile and apparel production occurs in Asia (estimate) [96]

Global spinning capacity is concentrated in Asia; China has the largest spinning mills capacity (estimate) [97]

Global textile machinery sales were about USD 34 billion in 2023 (estimate) [98]

Global weaving machinery market was valued at USD 8.5 billion in 2023 (estimate) [98]

Global circular knitting machine market was about USD 5.2 billion in 2023 (estimate) [98]

Bangladesh RMG sector is the second-largest employer after agriculture (employment share estimate) [24]

Vietnam’s textile and garment exports are among the top export sectors with ~15% export share (estimate) [99]

India’s textile and apparel exports account for about 10% of India’s total merchandise exports (estimate) [88]