Global Textile Industry Statistics

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

Only 0.3% of garments are recycled into new clothing (estimate) [2]

Polyester production requires fossil feedstock; average life-cycle GHG emissions per kg for synthetic fibres are higher than for organic cotton (comparative) [3]

The textile sector uses 1.4 trillion cubic meters of water per year (global estimate) [4]

Sorting and recycling textiles reduces landfill impact but remains limited by collection rates (estimate) [5]

Production of textiles and clothing is linked to about 2.1 billion tonnes of CO2e annually (estimate) [6]

Textile dyeing and treatment is responsible for 17–20% of global industrial water pollution [7]

Microfibers from textiles are estimated to account for 35% of ocean plastic pollution [8]

The Fast Fashion market drives higher demand for new clothing, with average use-life of garments reduced by 36% between 2000 and 2015 (estimate) [9]

Spinning and weaving are among major water-consuming stages in textile manufacturing (water use share: varies) [10]

The average customer buys 60% more items now than in 2000, and keeps them for half as long (estimate) [11]

Dyeing and finishing can consume 50–150 L of water per kg fabric (typical range) [12]

One washing cycle releases microfibers into water systems (estimate: 700,000 microfibers per load for synthetic textiles) [13]

Microfibers are smaller than 5 mm and are difficult to capture in wastewater treatment (general statistic) [14]

Textile washing contributes to microplastic pollution (estimate) [15]

Worldwide fashion industry is projected to contribute 2.7 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2050 (estimate) [16]

In 2021, the UK sent 390,000 tonnes of textile waste to landfill (estimate) [17]

In 2019, the UK recycled 284,000 tonnes of textiles (estimate) [18]

Polyester use is expected to increase from 55 million tonnes in 2010 to 97 million tonnes by 2050 (estimate) [19]

Landfilling textiles is costly and persists; EPA notes textiles in landfills were 8.6 million tons in 2018 [20]

EU Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles is proposed/implemented with targets for recyclability (policy) [21]

In 2020, the world produced about 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually (estimate) [22]

In 2017, global clothing consumption was about 100 billion items per year (estimate) [23]

The global secondhand clothing market is projected to reach USD 64 billion by 2030 (estimate) [24]

Share of global clothing sold as secondhand is estimated at about 13% by volume (estimate) [25]

In 2022, the global apparel e-commerce share was about 24% (estimate) [26]

In 2022, online apparel sales were about USD 245 billion (estimate) [27]

In 2023, global return rates for apparel in e-commerce were often around 20–30% (estimate) [28]

In the UK, only 18% of textiles are recycled or reused into new products (estimate) [29]

In Canada, consumers discarded about 6.3 million tonnes of textile and clothing waste in 2020 (estimate) [30]

In Japan, textile waste generation was about 2.6 million tonnes in 2019 (estimate) [31]

In 2021, South Korea textiles recycling rate was reported at about 30% (estimate) [32]

The textile and clothing sector is estimated to employ around 60 million people worldwide [33]

The garment industry uses 80% female workers in many producing countries (estimate) [34]

In India, the textiles and apparel sector employs about 45 million people (approx.) [35]

Approximately 11 million children are trapped in child labour in textile-apparel-related activities globally (estimate) [36]

ILO reported that 2.4 million people are in forced labour in the private economy (context) [37]

Bangladesh minimum wage for garment workers was set at BDT 12,500/month in 2023 [38]

Pakistan minimum wage increased to PKR 32,000/month in 2023 [39]

Ethiopia minimum wage for textile and garment workers is set at ETB 2,100/month (example) [40]

Cambodia’s minimum wage increased to KHR 1,912,000/month for garment and footwear workers (2023) [41]

In Turkey, minimum wage in 2024 was TRY 17,002.12 (monthly) [42]

In 2021, there were 44 garment-factory collapse/accident events with casualties in South Asia (example count) [43]

In 2013, the Rana Plaza collapse killed 1,134 people and injured 2,500 others [44]

The ILO estimated that supply-chain risks include unsafe workplaces for millions in global garment industry (risk estimate) [45]

Women in garment factories earn less than men, with a reported gender wage gap (estimate 10–20% range) [46]

The OECD reports that workers in developing countries in textile supply chains often work 60+ hours per week (estimate) [47]

Migrant workers represent a significant share of labour in textile manufacturing (estimate) [48]

The ILO estimates 25% of garment workers are in informal employment in some producing countries (estimate) [49]

In 2020, COVID-19 affected millions of garment workers with job and wage losses (estimate: 75% at risk) [50]

ILO estimates that garment workers are among the most at risk during economic shocks, with up to 50% wage reductions (estimate) [51]

ILO reported that 60% of workers in export garment industries are paid less than a living wage (estimate) [52]

Living wage gap in the garment industry was reported as 25–35% in Bangladesh (estimate) [53]

In Pakistan, ILO reported overtime is common with hours exceeding legal limits (estimate 12+ hours/week) [54]

In Cambodia, overtime is often paid at rates below legal requirements (reported compliance rate: below 50% in inspections) [55]

ILO reported 160 million child labourers globally in 2020 [56]

ILO estimated that 73 million people were in forced labour in 2017 [57]

In the textile and apparel sector, occupational injuries and illnesses are a persistent problem (reporting rate estimate) [58]

The Better Work program operates in 8 countries and covers 1,300+ factories (global) [59]

Better Work reports that 90%+ compliance actions are related to wages and working time (program metric) [60]

In 2017, the Bangladesh RMG wage protest movement led to wage increases ranging from 20–50% (estimate) [61]

Bangladesh RMG sector is the second-largest employer after agriculture (employment share estimate) [62]

In 2022, Bangladesh was the largest supplier to the EU for clothing among LDCs (report estimate) [63]

Global sourcing: top 10 apparel exporters accounted for about 60% of global exports (estimate) [64]

China’s textile and clothing export value was about USD 128 billion in 2022 [65]

Bangladesh exported garments to 146 countries in 2022 (reported) [66]

Vietnam’s textile and garment exports were about USD 39 billion in 2022 [67]

India’s textile and apparel exports account for about 10% of India’s total merchandise exports (estimate) [68]

Turkey’s textile and apparel exports were about USD 30.7 billion in 2023 (approx.) [69]

Pakistan’s textile exports were about USD 14.4 billion in FY 2021-22 (textiles only) [70]

Cambodia garment exports were about USD 8.4 billion in 2022 [71]

Ethiopia textile and garment exports reached about USD 15 million in 2021 (start-up scale) [72]

The US imported textiles and apparel worth about USD 108 billion in 2022 [73]

WTO reported world merchandise trade grew 4.7% in 2022 (context) [74]

In 2023, Bangladesh accounted for about 8% of US apparel imports (estimate) [75]

OECD estimates that around 60% of textile and apparel production occurs in Asia (estimate) [76]

Global spinning capacity is concentrated in Asia; China has the largest spinning mills capacity (estimate) [77]

Global circular knitting machine market was about USD 5.2 billion in 2023 (estimate) [78]

Vietnam’s textile and garment exports are among the top export sectors with ~15% export share (estimate) [79]

Global apparel market CAGR from 2023-2030 was 5.1% [80]

Global clothing production was 110.4 million tonnes in 2019 [81]

Global textile fibre production reached 117 million tonnes in 2022 [82]

The global textile recycling market is projected to reach USD 16.8 billion by 2032 [83]

Technical textiles market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2023 to 2028 [84]

Nonwoven fabric market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2023 to 2028 [85]

Global cotton imports were 20.3 million tonnes in 2021/22 [86]

Global polyester staple fibres production reached 52.2 million tonnes in 2022 [87]

World apparel sales were about USD 1.8 trillion in 2023 (market estimate) [88]

Global yarn production reached 150 million tonnes in 2022 [89]

Denim market forecast CAGR was 6.2% from 2023 to 2030 [90]

Recycled polyester market is expected to reach USD 8.5 billion by 2028 [91]

Global organic cotton market is projected to reach USD 5.2 billion by 2030 [92]

The global textiles and apparel market in the EU is projected to grow to €160 billion by 2027 (forecast estimate) [93]

In 2021, world textile trade was estimated at USD 744 billion [94]

Global fashion retail market size is projected to reach USD 2.7 trillion by 2030 [95]

The global textile chemicals market is projected to reach USD 14.6 billion by 2028 [96]

Global dye market is projected to reach USD 12.1 billion by 2030 [97]

Global fabric market is forecast to exceed USD 9.0 trillion by 2027 [98]

Global clothing market size was USD 1.9 trillion in 2023 [99]

1,000,000,000.0 tonnes of textile waste were generated globally in 2019 (metric: global textile waste generated, unit: tonnes, year: 2019) [100]