Remote Work In The Garment Industry Statistics

39% of organizations experienced higher costs due to remote work [1]

60% of companies saw productivity improvements after switching to remote work [2]

47% of remote workers said their work-life balance improved [3]

13% of remote workers report no change in work-life balance [3]

66% of HR leaders believe remote work increases retention [4]

46% of surveyed businesses said remote work reduced costs [5]

33% of companies said remote work decreased hiring barriers (ability to hire outside local area) [6]

72% of organizations provide remote work stipends (survey) [7]

18% of workers report spending their own money for work-from-home equipment (survey) [8]

9% of firms report reducing office space costs due to remote work (survey) [9]

15% of companies report reducing travel due to virtual work [10]

41% of companies adopt AI for customer service to reduce manpower during remote setups (survey) [11]

10% of apparel companies use virtual prototyping and collaboration platforms (estimate) [12]

31% of apparel managers report using remote work for design and product development (survey) [13]

24% of apparel companies said remote work allowed continuation of product development during lockdowns (survey) [14]

12% reduction in design cycle time using remote collaboration tools (case estimate) [15]

58% of remote workers say they work more hours [16]

31% of workers report working fewer hours from home [16]

14% of remote workers report lower wages due to changed arrangements (survey) [17]

23% of fashion brands reduced discounting due to better remote forecasting (case estimate) [18]

32% of apparel companies increased direct-to-consumer marketing remotely (survey) [19]

41% of fashion firms increased influencer marketing during remote periods (survey) [20]

26% increase in online marketing spend for apparel during 2020 (estimate) [21]

15% of apparel companies implemented remote customer service staffing during pandemic (survey) [22]

22% of remote workers report health impacts (survey) [23]

55% of remote workers say they experience burnout at least sometimes [24]

63% of remote workers feel less connected to coworkers [25]

38% report difficulty separating work and personal life [26]

44% of workers report improved focus working remotely [27]

29% of remote workers experienced reduced job satisfaction (survey) [28]

57% of remote workers report having more autonomy [29]

48% of remote workers report spending more time in meetings [30]

36% report video meetings cause fatigue [31]

24% of remote workers say they have a better workplace setup than before [32]

45% of remote workers say their commute time dropped to zero [33]

30% of remote workers say they experienced better sleep [34]

22% of remote workers report feeling more productive than before [35]

28% of remote workers report improved job satisfaction [36]

33% of HR leaders report remote work increased employee engagement [37]

18% of employees say remote work increased stress levels (survey) [38]

25% of companies say remote work reduced collaboration with cross-functional teams [39]

73% of remote workers say they have increased autonomy [40]

19% of companies provide mental health resources for remote staff (survey) [41]

28% of managers report difficulty maintaining performance remotely (survey) [42]

32% of remote workers report issues with time zone coordination (survey) [43]

26% of employees report that remote work meetings are less effective than in-person (survey) [44]

51% of workers with remote-capable jobs reported they prefer remote work at least some of the time [45]

55% of employees report higher productivity when working remotely [46]

62% of companies plan to continue or increase remote work post-pandemic [47]

47% of companies said they expect remote work to increase [2]

40% of workers want to work remotely more often [48]

27% of companies report using virtual onboarding for new staff [49]

18% of remote work policies include flexible hours in addition to location flexibility (survey) [50]

24% of companies allow international remote work [51]

61% of employees use at least one flexible work arrangement (survey) [52]

36% of workers report they can choose their work schedule (survey) [53]

24% increase in remote work adoption in March 2020 vs January 2020 (US) [54]

70% of remote workers rely on video conferencing at least weekly [55]

83% of remote workers use cloud-based collaboration tools [56]

57% of organizations use project management software for remote work [57]

74% of workers report improved access to files via cloud storage for remote work [58]

68% of remote workers say communication tools are critical to their work [2]

35% of companies report needing better cybersecurity for remote work [59]

33% of companies in apparel use SaaS for collaboration (survey) [60]

91% of companies use Microsoft 365 or similar for remote collaboration (estimate) [61]

62% of remote workers use Slack or similar messaging tools (survey) [62]

53% of remote workers report using cloud file-sharing daily [63]

48% of remote workers report increased reliance on VPNs [64]

29% of organizations do not have security training for remote work (survey) [65]

26% of organizations report phishing attacks increased after remote adoption (survey) [66]

20% of remote workers use only digital tools for collaboration (survey) [67]

52% of organizations report investing in digital transformation tools to support remote work [68]

49% of apparel manufacturers use ERP for remote operations (survey) [69]

47% of remote managers use OKRs or similar goal frameworks (survey) [70]

55% of employees say documentation and records are more important in remote work (survey) [71]

52% of remote workers receive training in cybersecurity (survey) [72]

38% of organizations adopt MFA for remote access (survey) [73]

61% of organizations report endpoint detection and response tools used for remote work (survey) [74]

43% of remote workers have experienced security training phishing tests (survey) [75]

29% of organizations still rely on basic passwords for remote access (survey) [76]

34% of companies used zero-trust architecture for remote access (survey) [77]

$300 million (approx.) value of global cross-border e-commerce apparel shipments during 2020 due to remote shopping demand (estimate) [78]

2020 global apparel retail sales fell by 16% (estimate during pandemic) [79]

74% of garment brands reported using remote communication to manage suppliers during COVID-19 [80]

25% decline in export of textiles and apparel from some regions reported by WTO during early pandemic months [81]

42% of companies added compliance checks when using remote supplier monitoring (survey) [82]

38% of brands said remote audits improved documentation quality (survey) [83]

85% of surveyed apparel companies used digital tools for supplier collaboration (survey) [84]

16% of garment enterprises report using online ordering for reorders during pandemic (estimate) [85]

53% of apparel suppliers offered digital communication channels during 2020 (survey) [86]

12% of apparel companies reported disruptions due to shipping delays in 2020 (survey) [87]

14% increase in e-commerce share for apparel during 2020 (global) [88]

31% reduction in air freight capacity in April 2020 (global freight; affects apparel shipping) [89]

8.3% increase in global online apparel buyers in 2020 (estimate) [90]

26% of apparel brands used remote audits for supplier compliance by 2021 (survey) [91]

27% of apparel companies report increased digital design and development since 2020 (survey) [92]

33% fewer samples required when using digital sample tools (case estimate) [93]

38% of apparel brands track shipments digitally (survey estimate) [94]

26% of apparel firms use electronic document interchange (EDI) (survey estimate) [95]

41% of companies use remote training for compliance (survey) [96]

35% of apparel firms used virtual training for supplier compliance (survey) [97]

46% of brands used remote channels to communicate audit results (Sedex report) [98]

52% of auditors report remote audit formats improved access to documents (survey) [99]

37% of compliance teams increased monitoring frequency due to remote risk controls (survey) [100]

21% of companies report increased incident reporting when remote work enabled faster escalation (survey) [101]

33% of organizations require electronic signatures for remote operations (survey) [102]

20% of companies in apparel require digital product passports/documentation (policy estimate) [103]

25% of clothing waste is due to overproduction (UN/industry estimate) [104]

30% of fashion brands report using remote data analytics for inventory decisions (survey) [105]

39% of apparel retailers use demand forecasting software (survey estimate) [106]

44% of retailers say shipping speed affects e-commerce conversion (survey) [107]

27% of apparel consumers prefer faster delivery options (survey) [108]

47% of apparel brands track sustainability metrics using digital dashboards (survey estimate) [109]

60% of apparel companies disclose sustainability data via online reporting platforms (survey estimate) [110]

18% of garment factories use remote reporting for HR compliance documents (survey estimate) [111]

9% of garment workers in the United States are remote workers [112]

10.4% unemployment rate reported for US textile, apparel, and leather workers (annual average) [113]

The apparel manufacturing industry NAICS 315 shows 1.6% labor productivity growth (recent estimate) [114]

Labor cost share of apparel industry (wages) is about 7% of value added in many OECD manufacturing reports [115]

80% of garment jobs are in informal or vulnerable employment in global supply chains (ILO estimate) [116]

6.2 million people employed in the US textile and apparel manufacturing sector (BLS employment, 2023) [117]

43% of garment workers are women (global estimate) [118]

60% of employment in garment manufacturing is in lower-wage countries (ILO estimate) [119]

12.5% wage underpayment prevalence in garment industry (ILO/Better Work estimate) [120]

70% of workers report being paid overtime irregularly (Better Work study) [121]

28% of workers report not using any digital tools for work communication (survey estimate) [122]

19% of workers in textiles and apparel reported reduced hours during 2020 (ILO estimate) [123]

87% of garment workers report inability to telework (ILO) [124]

96% of garment work is non-remote in many developing economies (ILO estimate) [124]

26% of factory workers in garment sector report no internet access at home (survey) [125]

40% of garment workers report relying on in-person communication with supervisors (survey estimate) [126]