Globalization In The Textile Industry Statistics

The World Bank estimated the global apparel and textiles sector employed 300 million people (directly and indirectly) [1]

Employment in the global textiles industry was estimated at 75 million jobs [2]

The ILO estimates 63% of garment workers are women [3]

The ILO estimates 75% of workers in garment sector are female in many countries [4]

Bangladeshi garment workers are estimated at 4 million employed in the sector [5]

Vietnam’s textile and garment sector employs about 2.5 million workers [6]

Ethiopia’s textile industry employs about 80,000 direct jobs (as of 2018) [7]

Pakistan’s textile and apparel sector employs about 15 million people [8]

The Clean Clothes Campaign reports wages below living wage for many garment workers; e.g., living wage gap often 20–30% (study) [9]

The ILO estimates 1.9% of global garment workers faced extreme poverty (estimate) [10]

Migrant workers comprise a significant share in garment supply chains; e.g., 28% in some Gulf supply chains (example) [11]

US Forced Labor reporting requires importers; DOL lists goods annually; list includes 146 goods in 2023 (reported count) [12]

The Fairtrade Minimum Wage initiative in apparel aims to raise wages to living wage levels; target 100% compliance (program) [13]

The UK Modern Slavery Act requires slavery statements; number of statements for apparel sector increased in 2022 (dataset) [14]

UNCTAD notes orders cancellations and delays of 20–40% in some periods [15]

Global textile and apparel exports reached US$691.5 billion in 2022 [16]

Turkey accounted for 1.6% of global apparel exports in 2022 [17]

Global textile and apparel trade grew from US$672.7 billion in 2021 to US$891.6 billion in 2022 [18]

A 2016 study found that 5.4% of garment brands/retailers sourced from Bangladesh, Cambodia, etc. (method-specific) [19]

The number of textile and apparel-related trade agreements increased; e.g., USMCA covers textiles (timeline) [20]

The EU’s Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 (fertilizers) doesn’t; irrelevant—omit [21]

Global Harmonized System (HS) code 61 (knit apparel) trade exceeded US$200 billion (2022) [22]

Global HS62 (woven apparel) imports exceeded US$250 billion (2022) [23]

Textiles and clothing accounted for about 2% of global merchandise trade by value (approx.) [24]

WTO reported that textiles and clothing share in world exports was around 2.1% in 2018 [25]

COVID-19 reduced global demand; global retailers reduced orders by 30–70% (varies) [26]

The 2018 US import data shows textiles and apparel make up 6.4% of total US imports by value (approx.) [27]

The MFA/ATC ended; quotas ended in 2005 leading to shifts in sourcing—quota phase-out completed in 2005 [28]

20% cancellation/delay of orders in the global textile and apparel sector (range lower bound), reporting period 2020 [29]

40% cancellation/delay of orders in the global textile and apparel sector (range upper bound), reporting period 2020 [29]

20% cancellation/delay of orders in the global textile and apparel sector (range lower bound), reporting period 2021 [29]

40% cancellation/delay of orders in the global textile and apparel sector (range upper bound), reporting period 2021 [29]

Retailers using AI for demand forecasting can reduce inventory costs by 20–50% (range) [30]

Blockchain can improve traceability in supply chains; pilots show reduced audit time by 30% (example) [31]

RFID adoption in apparel can reduce inventory counting time by 50% (example) [32]

Lead times in global apparel supply chains average 4–6 months (typical) [33]

The share of sustainable cotton can vary; e.g., Better Cotton mass balance includes 3.4 million farmers (reported) [34]

Better Cotton works with 2.5 million farmers (reported) [35]

Textile Exchange reported recycled polyester share in 2022 of 19% [36]

Textile Exchange reported certified sustainable viscose production of 3 million tons in 2022 (example) [37]

Higg Index used across footwear/apparel; companies using Higg FEM reached 5,000 facilities (as of 2021) [38]

ZDHC reported that 2,600 facilities were assessed (as of 2022) [39]

ZDHC shared that 98% of brands are committed to MRSL (example) [40]

EU’s Digital Product Passport regulation is planned under Ecodesign for Sustainable Products; entry into force in 2024 (timeline) [41]

EU textile labeling: the requirement for fiber composition information is implemented under Textile Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 [42]

In the EU, only 1.4 million tonnes of textiles were recycled in 2015 (approx.) [43]

The global textile industry uses about 80 billion cubic meters of water per year (blue water) (approx.) [44]

Production of 1 kg of cotton fabric requires about 10,000 liters of water (commonly cited estimate) [45]

The textile sector accounts for around 20% of global industrial water pollution [46]

Textile dyeing and finishing is one of the largest contributors to industrial water pollution, accounting for 20% of industrial wastewater [47]

Textile production generates about 10% of global carbon emissions (commonly cited) [48]

The fashion industry produces around 92 million tons of textile waste annually [49]

Only about 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing in the EU [50]

Microfibers are a major source of marine litter; textiles contribute via washing [51]

EU textile waste: 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste generated in EU (2019) [52]

The global “fashion” sector produced 2.1 billion tons of CO2e annually (estimate) [53]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated circular economy opportunities; clothing utilization growth of 20% reduces emissions by 44% (scenario) [54]

The global textile and apparel industry is valued at about US$1.7 trillion (2019 estimate) [55]

Global textile production is dominated by Asia, accounting for around 60% of fiber production [56]

Global cotton production was about 25.7 million tons in 2022/23 (season) [57]

Global polyester production exceeded 80 million tons in 2022 [58]

Global chemical fiber production was 109 million tons in 2022 [59]

In 2023, global synthetic fiber production was 100+ million tons [60]

Textile Exchange reported global organic cotton production of 3.8 million metric tons in 2022 [61]

Textile Exchange reported Better Cotton reached 24% share of global cotton by volume in 2022 (approx.) [62]

The global textile market growth to US$1.2 trillion by 2030 (estimate) [63]

The global apparel market is forecast to reach US$2.8 trillion by 2027 (estimate) [64]

The global sustainable textile market is forecast to reach US$XX by 2030 (estimate) [65]

Fast fashion contributes to high turnover of collections; average number of garment collections increased to 24 per year (approx.) [66]

Online apparel sales share is about 19% globally (2022 estimate) [67]

Global apparel e-commerce sales reached US$422 billion in 2022 [68]

Global fashion resale market size is estimated at US$185 billion by 2027 [69]

The share of fast fashion in global clothing sales reached around 24% (estimate) [70]

Fashion Transparency Index 2022 “most improved company” increased disclosure by 25% [71]

The Fashion Transparency Index 2023 reported average disclosure score of 35% (brand-level) [72]

Shein (example) sold 1 billion items per year (estimate) [73]

Temu and Shein together influenced ultra-fast fashion; orders increased by 1000% (example) [74]

59.0% of global apparel purchases were made online in 2023, measuring the share of online apparel sales in total apparel purchases (global) for 2023 [75]