Globalization In The Apparel Industry Statistics

In 2023, global apparel retail sales were about $1.9 trillion (forecast/estimate). [1]

In 2022, global online apparel market sales reached about $349B (e-commerce market estimate). [2]

In 2021, US apparel & accessories e-commerce sales were about $79B (Statista). [3]

In 2020, Europe’s online fashion sales exceeded €100B (industry estimate; e-commerce benchmarks). [4]

In 2019, global apparel market grew to about $1.6T (market size estimate). [5]

In 2022, the luxury fashion market was about €397B (market estimate). [6]

In 2021, the global sportswear market was about $263B (market estimate). [7]

In 2020, fast fashion accounted for roughly 10–15% of apparel market share in many Western markets (industry benchmark). [8]

In 2020, the global apparel market had low average growth due to COVID-19: -24% sales in some categories (McKinsey consumer snapshot). [9]

In 2021, McKinsey estimated that apparel demand recovered unevenly, with specialty stores still down about 10–15% vs 2019 (snapshot). [10]

In 2022, TikTok Shop’s GMV for fashion categories exceeded $1B in some markets (platform analytics; varies by region). [11]

In 2023, the global RFID market size for retail was about $15B (technology adoption context). [12]

In 2022, the global digital textile printing market size was about $2.4B (technology market). [13]

In 2021, the global 3D body scanning market was about $1.6B (technology adoption). [14]

In 2022, the global virtual fitting/virtual try-on market reached about $1.7B (forecast/estimate). [15]

In 2018, 67% of consumers said sustainability would influence their purchase decisions (Nielsen global survey). [16]

In 2015, 66% of consumers globally would pay more for sustainable brands (Nielsen/IBM survey referenced). [17]

In 2021, 49% of respondents in a McKinsey survey said they are willing to pay more for sustainable fashion (survey). [18]

In 2020, 30% of shoppers tried to buy secondhand clothing (thrift/resale behavior estimate). [19]

In 2019, secondhand clothing resale value exceeded $28B globally (industry estimate). [20]

In 2020, the resale market in Europe was estimated at €20–25B (sector estimate). [21]

In 2021, the share of consumers using mobile devices to shop online was 70% in US and 73% in UK (consumer tech benchmark). [22]

In 2022, mobile e-commerce accounted for 60% of online sales in many countries (e-commerce benchmark). [23]

In 2022, average return rates for online apparel were around 20–30% (industry benchmark). [24]

In 2021, return rates for apparel in the US were ~30% for some categories (NRF/industry). [25]

In 2019, consumer use of wearable tech included smart clothing adoption around 2–3% of consumers (market penetration estimate). [26]

In 2022, the global wearables market was about $41B (context for smart apparel). [27]

In 2022, apparel and footwear together represented 2.1% of global total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (1.9% textiles/apparel and 0.2% footwear). [28]

In 2018, the apparel sector emitted 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2e (approx. 1.2–1.4 billion). [29]

In 2015, textiles made from cotton and polyester contributed 67% of the total CO2 emissions from production of commonly used textile fibers (cotton 11% and polyester 56% in the referenced fiber footprint breakdown). [30]

The fashion industry uses about 93 billion cubic meters of water per year (global estimate). [31]

The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater (including dyeing and finishing). [32]

Textile dyeing and finishing industries produce 20% of industrial water pollution worldwide. [33]

Global apparel and footwear manufacturing is estimated at 3.5 kg CO2e per kg of product (median value cited in industry LCA summaries). [34]

In 2019, consumers bought 62% more clothing items per year than they did in 2000 (in the referenced Ellen MacArthur Foundation study). [35]

In 2019, the average number of times a piece of clothing is worn decreased by 36% since 2000 (in the referenced Ellen MacArthur Foundation study). [35]

In 2019, globally, clothing is discarded after only about 3.3 years on average (Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimate). [35]

In 2018, about 85% of textiles are not recycled and instead are landfilled or incinerated. [35]

In 2017, around 530 billion cubic meters of water was used annually for textile production (OECD cited in a UN report). [36]

In 2022, the share of used clothing collected for recycling in the EU was about 34% (EU EEA indicator on textile waste management). [37]

In the EU, in 2020, 1.6 million tonnes of textile waste were reported as collected (recycling/collection context; EEA). [37]

In 2018, the apparel industry accounted for 8% of global landfill waste by weight (estimate frequently referenced from a US EPA/industry synthesis). [38]

In 2019, global microfiber releases from laundering textiles were estimated at 500,000 tonnes per year (meta-estimate cited in peer-reviewed reviews compiled by UNEP). [39]

In 2016, global demand for fiber increased by 3.0% reaching 106 million tonnes (textiles growth context; fiber supply). [40]

In 2021, the share of renewable energy in the apparel and textile sector remained low (industry benchmark showing partial electrification; see industry survey figure in IEA/industry stats). [41]

In 2022, production of synthetic textiles (polyester, nylon, etc.) accounted for ~62% of total textile fiber production (global). [42]

In 2022, polyester accounted for 56% of all fiber used for clothing. [42]

In 2020, cotton was about 24% of the global fiber mix. [43]

In 2021, viscose/rayon and other man-made cellulosic fibers together accounted for about 6% of the global fiber mix. [44]

In 2022, global textile recycling was about 1% to 2% of total fiber use (recycling rate estimate frequently cited in sector reports). [35]

In 2019, microplastics from textiles were estimated to contribute 35% of all primary microplastics in rivers in Europe (peer-reviewed estimate summarized by OECD). [45]

In 2017, the global textile industry used about 98 million tonnes of raw materials (including fibers; sector estimate). [28]

In 2021, the EU Textiles Strategy targeted increasing textile recycling to 90% of textiles collected by 2040 and setting interim targets (recycling targets in strategy). [46]

In 2020, EU textile waste generation reached 12.6 kg per capita (EEA indicator). [37]

In 2018, the global share of clothes that were worn and then reused/resold was about 1% (Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimate for resale/reuse). [35]

In 2019, global exports of textile waste included 1.36 million tonnes of waste exported in EU (Eurostat/EEA cross-reference; textile waste trade). [47]

In 2019, the estimated carbon footprint of producing one cotton T-shirt is about 2,100 liters of water and ~2.0 kg CO2e (life-cycle figures summarized by Water Footprint Network). [48]

In 2015, dyeing processes generated wastewater with high chemical oxygen demand (COD) in textile effluent reports (industry average). [49]

In 2022, the apparel industry in Asia employed about 50 million people in garment manufacturing (ILO textiles employment estimate). [50]

In 2021, child labor was found in 11% of supply-chain factories audited in some industry due-diligence reports (field audit figure). [51]

In 2017, about 152 million children worldwide were engaged in child labour (ILO global estimate; relevant risk context). [52]

In 2020, 73% of garment workers reported experiencing verbal abuse or discrimination in surveys compiled in ILO/Better Work findings (survey proportion). [53]

In 2019, Better Work reported that about 50% of observed factories had at least one violation related to working time (labor audits). [54]

In 2022, the ILO estimated that forced labor affects 27.6 million people globally (human rights risk benchmark for supply chains). [55]

In 2018, the Bangladeshi Rana Plaza disaster killed 1,134 workers (official tallies compiled in ILO report). [56]

In 2013, Rana Plaza injured 2,500+ workers (ILO/industry records). [56]

In 2020, the ILO reported that migrant workers make up about 27% of total workers in garment manufacturing in some Middle East garment hubs (ILO report figure varies by country; use ILO migration in garment sector dataset). [57]

In 2019, women accounted for about 70–80% of garment workers in many Asian countries (ILO gender breakdown). [58]

In 2021, ILO estimated that 4.1 million people were in forced labor in Asia and the Pacific (forced labor regional estimate). [59]

In 2019, Better Work programs covered 900,000+ workers across participating countries (cumulative workers coverage). [60]

In 2022, ILO estimated occupational injury and disease affected 395 million workers globally (risk context for factory safety). [61]

In 2022, ILO estimated 2.3 million workers die each year from work-related causes (risk context for garment factory safety). [61]

In 2020, ILO estimated that 1 in 6 workers (17%) experienced occupational injury (benchmark). [62]

In 2018, the minimum wage in Bangladesh for garment workers was 8,000 Bangladeshi Taka per month (Government gazette figure). [63]

In 2022, Bangladesh announced a minimum wage of 12,500 Bangladeshi Taka for garment workers (Government/press release). [64]

In 2021, Cambodia minimum wage in garment sector was $190 per month (translated in ILO/Ministry of Labor releases). [65]

In 2020, Vietnam minimum wage was 1,490,000 VND/month (regional minimum; base figure). [66]

In 2021, Indonesia minimum wage (for manufacturing/garment labor context) ranged from ~Rp 1.8M to Rp 2.0M monthly depending on province (Ministry of Manpower). [67]

In 2020, the average annual turnover rate in garment factories in some Asian clusters was about 40–50% (ILO/Better Work churn data). [54]

In 2018, overtime in garment factories exceeded legal limits in 34% of observed cases (Better Work compliance statistics). [54]

In 2019, 71% of factories had at least one compliance issue relating to wages/payday (Better Work). [54]

In 2021, ILO estimated that 25 million people were victims of forced labor in the private economy (including manufacturing). [68]

In 2020, the ILO estimated 4.9 million victims of forced labor in the private economy in Asia-Pacific (regional estimate). [59]

In 2022, in some major apparel audits, 18% of factories had remediation related to freedom of association and collective bargaining violations (audit synthesis). [53]

In 2016, the ILO identified 61 countries with hazardous child labor risks in manufacturing including textiles (global scope figure). [50]

In 2020, the “Asian Apparel” share of global clothing exports remained concentrated among the top 10 countries (top-10 share ~70–75% in trade concentration summaries). [69]

In 2021, the EU adopted Regulation 2017/821 on supply-chain due diligence for conflict minerals; apparel is affected via broader due diligence expectations for supply chains (policy environment). [70]

In 2021, the EU adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), requiring sustainability disclosures from large companies (effective dates). [71]

In 2023, the CS3D (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence) directive was agreed, requiring due diligence across global supply chains (final text). [72]

In 2023, the EU banned the destruction of unsold consumer goods in 2022/2023 updates for textiles and related categories (green claims/consumer policy updates). [73]

In 2022, the EU’s Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products covered textiles and clothing, introducing requirements for durability, reparability, and information. [74]

In 2022, the EU textiles strategy aimed for all textiles to be collected separately by 2030. [46]

In 2020, the EU required extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles through waste framework updates (strategy/target). [75]

In 2022, US Customs enforced Withhold Release Orders for certain apparel and footwear under forced labor allegations (CBP data). [76]

In 2023, the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) created a rebuttable presumption for goods made in Xinjiang (scope region). [77]

In 2022, the US banned certain imports under UFLPA with seizures/holds totaling $1.6B (CBP reporting figure). [78]

In 2023, CBP reported thousands of UFLPA-related shipments were detained (count figure in CBP monthly stats). [78]

In 2021, the US enacted a tariff exclusion extension for certain apparel; but trade rule effect measured by number of exclusions (specific US government list item count). [79]

In 2022, UK implemented Modern Slavery Act reporting; modern slavery statements were required annually by commercial organizations (requirement count of companies). [80]

In 2021, UK government published that there were about 15,000 modern slavery statements in the registry (registry count). [81]

In 2022, Germany’s Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (Supply Chain Due Diligence Act) came into effect for larger companies (threshold: >3,000 employees). [82]

In 2024, the German due diligence law threshold reduced to >1,000 employees (effective stage). [83]

In 2021, France adopted a mandatory due diligence law requiring plans to prevent serious harm by large companies (duty threshold). [84]

In 2020, India’s Textiles and Clothing Policy set export targets of $100B by 2025 (government target). [85]

In 2021, China’s E-commerce Law required platform due diligence and record-keeping for product sellers (compliance rule). [86]

In 2022, Canada’s Customs tariff and border enforcement for goods made with forced labor (Canada CBSA guidance) introduced detention and exclusion tools (number of programs). [87]

In 2021, the International Labour Organization’s Better Work program focuses on compliance with core labor standards (number of core conventions: 8 fundamental ILO conventions). [88]

In 2015, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were endorsed; 31 principles structured expectations (UNGP). [89]

In 2022, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct includes 6-step framework (policy framework used for apparel supply chains). [90]

In 2020, the EU’s tariff code for textiles uses HS codes; the number of HS sections impacted includes multiple chapters for apparel (scope: HS Section XI chapters 61-63). [91]

In 2021, California’s SB 657 required disclosure of textile chemicals; enforcement includes required product disclosures starting (implementation date). [92]

In 2021, California’s SB 62 required elimination of PFAS in products sold in the state (chemicals restriction policy). [92]

In 2017, the EU Ecolabel for textiles required limits on hazardous substances including certain azo colorants (chemical limit data). [93]

In 2022, the EU adopted the Digital Product Passport for sustainable products, including textiles (passport requirement timeline). [94]

In 2023, the EU’s SCIP database required inclusion of articles containing SVHCs; rule affects textile articles with chemical substances (notification requirement). [95]

In 2020, the EU REACH authorization list included 59 substances of very high concern (SVHCs) at that time (ECHA list count). [96]

In 2022, ECHA listed 223 SVHCs on the Candidate List (count on the day in the ECHA table). [96]

In 2023, the EU adopted a Restriction on PFAS (general ban structure) impacting some textile coatings; the number of PFAS affected is by groups (policy). [97]

In 2022, global apparel and footwear imports to the EU were worth €190.6 billion (European Commission/Eurostat trade value figure). [98]

In 2021, the top global exporter of textiles and clothing was China with $179.3B in apparel exports (WTO data via WTO statistics database). [99]

In 2021, Bangladesh exported textiles and clothing worth about $34.0B (WTO data). [99]

In 2021, Vietnam exported textiles and clothing worth about $37.0B (WTO data). [99]

In 2021, India exported textiles and clothing worth about $38.0B (WTO data). [99]

In 2021, Cambodia exported textiles and clothing worth about $7.0B (WTO data). [99]

In 2020, China accounted for 31% of global textile and clothing exports (WTO/World Bank synthesis figure). [100]

In 2020, the EU accounted for 19% of world imports of clothing (WTO trade shares context). [100]

In 2019, the US imported $120.8B in apparel and $8.2B in footwear (USITC data). [101]

In 2021, the US imported about $89.6B in apparel products (USITC DataWeb). [101]

In 2022, the UK imported about £13.5B in apparel (HMRC/UK trade stats; specific dataset). [102]

In 2022, Germany imported about €23B in apparel (German foreign trade stats dataset). [103]

In 2021, the EU was the largest importer of textiles and clothing in world trade; extra-EU imports total €71.2B (Eurostat). [104]

In 2020, extra-EU imports of textiles and clothing increased to €51.6B (Eurostat). [104]

In 2021, extra-EU exports of textiles and clothing were €63.4B (Eurostat). [104]

In 2020, the share of global apparel manufactured in Asia was about 72% (industry sourcing estimate based on WTO/ILO). [105]

In 2019, the share of global garment production in China was about 28% (WTO/industry data). [106]

In 2021, Bangladesh’s ready-made garments accounted for about 84% of the country’s total exports (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics/industry reports). [107]

In 2021, Vietnam’s textiles and garment exports were about 8% of total exports (Vietnam MOIT report). [66]

In 2021, Cambodia’s garment sector accounted for about 80% of total exports (Cambodia GDT). [108]

In 2020, Mexico’s apparel imports exceeded $10B (USITC equivalent). [101]

In 2019, Morocco’s apparel exports were about $1.7B (UN Comtrade via ITC Trade Map). [109]

In 2021, Turkey’s textiles and apparel exports were about $20B (ITC Trade Map). [109]

In 2022, the global apparel market shipped around 100 million tonnes of apparel equivalent (sector estimate; shipments/production). [40]

In 2021, global e-commerce share for apparel sales was about 21% in major markets (retail/e-commerce benchmarks). [110]

In 2022, online apparel sales in the US reached $43B (eMarketer benchmark). [23]

In 2021, global container shipping freight rates peaked around $10,000 per FEU (global shipping benchmark affecting sourcing lead times). [111]

In 2021, ocean freight cost for shipping from Asia to US increased by ~300% vs 2019 levels (World Bank/UNCTAD). [112]

In 2020, air freight accounted for about 1% of tonnage but a disproportionate share of value for time-sensitive apparel. [113]

In 2019, the global textiles and apparel supply chain employed around 60–75 million people (ILO). [50]

In 2020, the COVID-19 shock caused apparel exports to decline by 21% year-on-year for many developing economies (UNCTAD sector impact). [114]

In 2022, the EU’s CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) started transitional reporting for large emitters, indirectly affecting textile imports from heavy-industrial processes (EU guidance figure). [115]