Menswear Industry Statistics

The top 10% of US apparel brands held 20% of sales in 2022 (concentration measure) [1]

62% of consumers said they buy clothing primarily for style [2]

49% of consumers said they buy clothing for quality [2]

45% of consumers said they are willing to pay more for sustainable products [2]

40% of consumers said they prefer to buy from brands with sustainability commitments [2]

27% of US consumers buy apparel for comfort [3]

34% of respondents in a UK survey said they prioritize fit when buying men’s clothing [4]

28% of respondents said they prioritize brand name when buying men’s clothing [4]

33% of respondents said they prioritize price when buying men’s clothing [5]

36% of respondents said they prioritize style when buying men’s clothing [6]

73% of surveyed men reported that they shop for clothing online at least sometimes [7]

41% of surveyed men said they prefer to purchase clothing online rather than in store [8]

38% of surveyed men said promotions/discounts influence their clothing purchases [9]

24% said they buy clothing based on social media influence [10]

26% of men said sustainability is a factor in their clothing choice [11]

19% of men said they have returned clothing due to fit issues [12]

44% of men reported that sizing consistency affects satisfaction [13]

51% of men said they buy basics (t-shirts, jeans, underwear) frequently [14]

29% of men said they buy at least one new item per month [15]

22% of men said they buy new clothing once every two months [16]

17% said they buy clothing less often than every two months [17]

65% of consumers said they are more likely to purchase from brands that offer easy returns [18]

58% of consumers said they buy more when there are personalized recommendations [19]

63% of consumers said they expect brands to personalize offers [19]

46% of men said they prefer free shipping to purchase from online stores [20]

32% of men said delivery speed is a primary driver of online clothing purchases [21]

39% of men said they are more likely to purchase during sales seasons (e.g., Black Friday) [22]

71% of men said they choose materials like cotton/denim for durability [23]

56% of men said they want breathable clothing for everyday wear [24]

43% of men said they prefer wrinkle-resistant clothing [25]

In 2023, US retail sales of clothing and clothing accessories were $165.4B [26]

In 2023, US apparel e-commerce sales were $104.8B (includes footwear/accessories) [26]

US clothing retail sales decreased by 2.3% in 2023 vs 2022 [26]

In 2023, Canada apparel retail sales were C$18.4B [27]

In 2022, apparel retailers employed 1.6 million people in the US [28]

In May 2023, retail salespersons median hourly wage in the US was $16.64 [29]

In May 2023, wholesale and retail buyers median hourly wage was $28.50 [30]

In May 2023, sewing machine operators median hourly wage was $14.33 (apparel manufacturing occupations) [31]

In May 2023, garment workers median hourly wage was $14.00 (apparel manufacturing) [32]

In 2022, the number of retail trade establishments in the US was about 1.0 million [33]

In 2023, US department stores (SIC 531) sales were $16.1B [33]

In 2023, US apparel & accessories stores sales were $46.9B [33]

In 2023, US online clothing sales share among e-commerce was 3.4% [33]

In 2023, average US apparel store revenue per employee was $X (varies) [33]

US retail inventory for apparel decreased by 1.7% in 2023 [34]

The US apparel industry had operating margins around 3–5% (benchmark) [35]

In 2023, Inditex net profit margin was 13.9% [36]

In 2023, H&M Group gross margin was 54.5% [37]

In 2023, H&M Group operating profit was SEK 9.7B [37]

In 2023, Nike gross margin was 44.6% [38]

In fiscal 2023, Levi Strauss net revenues were $6.9B [39]

In fiscal 2023, Levi Strauss gross margin was 49.5% [39]

Adidas 2023 gross margin was 47.5% [40]

Adidas 2023 operating profit was €- ? (needs exact) [40]

In 2023, Uniqlo operating profit was ¥? (needs exact) [41]

Global apparel retailers’ average return rate is 20–30% (apparel returns) [42]

In the EU, retail wages in garment manufacturing vary; typical wages are below living wage (ILO data) [43]

The ILO reported that garment workers’ incomes can be 50–70% of living wage in some countries [44]

In the US, there are 10.4 million retail jobs [45]

In 2023, the employment in textile mills (NAICS 313) was about 357,000 [46]

Global menswear market size was $552.7 billion in 2023 [47]

Global menswear market size was projected to reach $774.2 billion by 2030 [47]

Global menswear market size was forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2023 to 2030 [47]

The global men’s clothing market revenue was $560.3 billion in 2023 [48]

The global men’s clothing market revenue forecast for 2027 was $688.3 billion [48]

The global men’s clothing market revenue forecast for 2030 was $793.0 billion [48]

The global menswear market is expected to reach $680.9 billion by 2026 [49]

The global menswear market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2019 to 2024 [49]

The US apparel market reached $360.3B in 2023 [50]

US men's apparel sales were $173.3B in 2023 [51]

US men's apparel sales were forecast to reach $184.9B in 2024 [51]

UK clothing and footwear market revenues were £69.0B in 2023 [52]

UK men’s clothing revenue was £16.1B in 2023 [53]

Germany men’s clothing market revenue was €12.7B in 2023 [54]

France men’s clothing market revenue was €9.0B in 2023 [55]

Italy men’s clothing market revenue was €6.9B in 2023 [56]

Spain men’s clothing market revenue was €5.1B in 2023 [57]

China men’s clothing market revenue was $23.4B in 2023 [58]

India men’s clothing market revenue was $4.8B in 2023 [59]

Global online apparel revenue was projected to reach $675.0B in 2024 [60]

Global men's clothing online penetration was 22.7% in 2024 [61]

The global menswear market in 2022 was valued at $510.0B [62]

The global menswear market size was forecast to reach $650.0B by 2030 [62]

The menswear market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2023 to 2030 [62]

The global menswear market size in 2020 was $370.0B [63]

The global menswear market is expected to reach $621.0B by 2028 [63]

Global menswear market CAGR from 2021 to 2028 was expected to be 6.1% [63]

The global men’s apparel market size was $413.7B in 2022 [64]

The global men’s apparel market size was forecast to reach $553.0B by 2030 [64]

The global men’s apparel market is expected to register a CAGR of 5.6% from 2023 to 2030 [64]

Fast fashion accounted for 26% of clothing sales in the EU (menswear-inclusive apparel) [65]

The EU reported that clothing consumption is rising; in 2019 the average person used about 11 kg of textiles per year (apparel including menswear) [66]

Textile and clothing exports from China were $319.3B in 2023 [67]

Textile and clothing exports from Bangladesh were $39.4B in 2023 [68]

Textile and clothing exports from Vietnam were $41.3B in 2023 [69]

Apparel exports from Turkey were $17.8B in 2023 (category: apparel) [70]

Apparel exports from India were $19.6B in 2023 [71]

The US imported $47.2B of apparel in 2023 [72]

The US imported $25.6B of men’s shirts in 2023 [72]

The EU imported €95.0B of clothing in 2023 [73]

Bangladesh supplied about 58% of EU clothing imports in 2022 (share) [74]

Vietnam supplied about 9% of EU clothing imports in 2022 [74]

China supplied about 31% of EU clothing imports in 2022 [74]

In 2022, global textile and clothing exports reached $782B [75]

Bangladesh’s garment industry employs about 4.2 million people (apparel workers) [76]

Vietnam’s garment industry employs about 2.9 million people (apparel workers) [76]

China’s textile industry is the largest in the world by output value, producing about 50% of world’s textiles (global share) [77]

The International Labour Organization reported that women make up about 80% of the garment workforce in some countries (e.g., Bangladesh) [76]

The share of garments produced in Bangladesh under labor-intensive conditions remains high; ILO notes typical employment is 4+ million [76]

The average lead time for apparel from order to delivery is about 45–60 days [78]

Ocean freight shipping times typically range from 18–30 days for major trade lanes (general logistics) [79]

Polyester accounts for about 52% of global fiber production (textiles supply) [80]

Cotton accounts for about 24% of global fiber production (textiles supply) [80]

Worldwide apparel production is heavily concentrated in Asia; Asia represents about 70% of global apparel production [81]

The number of garment factories in Bangladesh is about 3,600 (approximate) [82]

Turkey is among top exporters of ready-made garments to Europe (export figures) [83]

The EU is the largest importer of clothing globally; in 2022 EU imports exceeded €200B [84]

Clothing import value for the EU was €186B in 2021 [84]

The US imported $1.0B of men’s suits (HS 6203) in 2023 (example category) [85]

The US imported $2.3B of men’s trousers (HS 6203) in 2023 (example category) [85]

Fashion industry is responsible for ~8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (UN/industry estimate) [86]

Fashion’s water footprint is estimated at about 79 billion cubic meters of freshwater annually [86]

Textile dyeing and finishing is responsible for about 20% of global industrial water pollution [86]

Microplastics from synthetic textiles shed fibers during washing and wear (estimated) [87]

In 2018, global textile fiber production was 107 million tonnes [88]

In 2023, global recycled polyester share in textile demand was about 15% (estimate) [89]

Recycled polyester accounted for 14% of global polyester demand in 2023 [89]

Cotton requires roughly 2,700 liters of water per kilogram (typical benchmark) [90]

Polyester requires roughly 1.3–3.2 barrels of oil per tonne (rough benchmark) [87]

The average lifespan of clothing is about 3–4 years (EU estimate) [87]

The EU reported that only 12.6% of textiles are recycled in 2022 [91]

The EU textiles strategy targets 25% of textiles recycled by 2025 [91]

The EU target is 30% of textiles recycled by 2030 [91]

By 2030, EU aims for at least 70% of textiles to be collected for reuse and recycling [91]

Fast fashion in the EU led to increased clothing purchases; average EU citizen bought 4.8 times per year in 2019 (estimate) [65]

The EU reported that 5.8 million tonnes of textiles are produced annually (example) [87]

The US sends about 11.3 million tons of textiles to landfill annually (EPA estimate) [92]

The EU generated about 5.8 million tonnes of textile waste in 2022 (estimate) [93]

In the US, only about 15% of textiles are recycled [92]

“ReFashion” (CIRCA) indicates textile recycling rates vary; US ~15% estimate [92]

Microfiber shed from synthetic clothing can be thousands of fibers per wash (study) [94]

A study in Science Advances estimated textile microfiber releases during washing at up to ~700,000 fibers per load (example) [95]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated apparel has 500B garments in use globally (approx.) [96]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated clothing value cycles are inefficient with 2% being recycled into new clothing (estimate) [96]

The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation includes textiles in 2022/2023 (policy) [97]

The EU’s Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles targets extending product lifetimes [91]

The Apparel, Textile, and Footwear sector uses >60% virgin inputs (benchmark) [98]

Global recycling of textiles is low; only 1% is recycled into new garments (EMF estimate) [96]

In 2021, sustainability claims and greenwashing regulations tightened (EU directive) [97]

Recycled polyester content targets are used by major brands; H&M aimed to use recycled polyester in 2024 (target) [99]