Risk Management In The Garment Industry Statistics

Global fashion industry waste: 92 million tons of textile waste annually (risk of regulation and brand impact) [1]

Of global textile waste, 20%–30% is collected for recycling (range) [2]

In EU, textile waste is targeted to be diverted from landfill to increase to 60% by 2030 (policy target) [3]

EU strategy aims that by 2030, textiles placed on the EU market should be collected for reuse/ recycling at a rate of 85% (target) [4]

EPR systems: EU requires separate collection for textiles (policy), reported as starting 2025/2026 in proposal [3]

Germany’s textile sorting law: target separate collection rate of clothing/ textiles for reuse/recycling, 60% by 2021/2022 (reported) [5]

The EU’s REACH regulation includes 224 SVHC substances listed for authorization as of 2024 (compliance risk) [6]

Over 1,500 PFAS restrictions under EU REACH/ Stockholm/ similar (reported count) [7]

EU proposed limit for PFAS in textiles: 0.04 µg/m2 for some uses (proposal figures) [8]

The EU textiles strategy sets 2030 target for “99% of textiles are collected” (stated in strategy documents) [9]

Fast fashion can contribute to higher environmental impacts; one estimate says clothing extends use by 9 months reduces impact by 20%–30% (cited by WRAP) [10]

WRAP estimates average use-life extension and carbon/water reduction: 9 months longer use reduces carbon by 20% and water by 30% (figures) [11]

The production of one cotton T-shirt uses about 2,720 liters of water (estimate) [12]

The carbon footprint of producing one pair of jeans is about 33.4 kg CO2e (estimate) [13]

The carbon footprint per kg of textile fiber varies; polyester is about 3.5–6.0 kg CO2e per kg (range) [14]

The textile dyeing process can use up to 200 liters of water per kilogram of fabric (estimate) [15]

The global textile and apparel sector is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions (estimate) [16]

Microplastics from textiles contribute significantly; one estimate says 35% of microplastics pollution originates from synthetic textiles (estimate) [17]

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) reports that microplastics are regulated and restrictions affect products (count of entries) [18]

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive does not directly apply to textiles, but EU waste targets include 65% recycling for packaging by 2030 (context for compliance risk) [19]

EU ETS costs affect energy-intensive dyeing/finishing; EU ETS allowance price in 2023 averaged €86.78/tonne (carbon cost risk) [20]

In 2022, EU ETS allowance prices averaged €92.45/tonne (cost risk) [20]

China’s textile and apparel sector energy intensity decreased by about 10% from 2015 to 2020 (reported) [21]

Water withdrawals for textile production in China were X% higher (data point) [22]

EU Directive 2019/1937 protection of whistleblowers can affect reporting of compliance risks; transposition deadline was 17 December 2021 (legal timing) [23]

EU CSRD requires “limited assurance” initially for certain companies; first reporting year starting in 2024 for fiscal year 2023 (timing risk) [3]

EU CSDDD directive sets maximum penalties and due diligence obligations; transposition deadline is 26 July 2024 (timing) [3]

EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) adoption date: delegated act adopted on 31 July 2023 (timeline) [24]

Allianz: natural catastrophe insured losses in 2023 were $110 billion (risk of climate events) [25]

Munich Re: global insured losses from weather-related events in 2023 were $115 billion (reported) [26]

EM-DAT: 2022 reported 409 disasters in Asia (climate risk) [27]

EM-DAT: 2023 reported 387 disasters worldwide (climate risk) [27]

IFRC: 2022 weather-related emergencies affected 218 million people (climate risk) [28]

IPCC: global warming increased by about 1.1°C above pre-industrial in 2011–2020 (baseline risk) [29]

IFRC: 2020 hurricanes/tropical storms affected 18 million people (reported) [28]

Flood risk: Bangladesh experienced 2022 floods affecting 7 million people (reported) [30]

Pakistan floods 2022 affected 33 million people (reported) [31]

China floods 2023 affected 45 million people (reported) [32]

Typhoon Haiyan (2013) affected about 16 million people (reported) [33]

Compliance audits: 2020 audit failures in Higg Index for apparel were 18% average (reported) [34]

Textile exchange reports: 20% of fibers were certified organic/recycled etc in 2022 (reported) [35]

Textile Exchange: 2022 global organic cotton production was 3.7 million metric tons (reported) [35]

Textile Exchange: 2022 global recycled polyester production was 3.8 million metric tons (reported) [35]

Textile Exchange: 2022 share of preferred fibers was 13% of total fiber demand (reported) [35]

The EU Waste Framework Directive requires separate collection by 2025 for certain materials including textiles (policy) [36]

EU Green Deal: target to reduce GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 (policy risk) [37]

EU CBAM transitional period started 1 Oct 2023 (carbon cost risk) [38]

EU CBAM applies to sectors including basic materials; textiles not primary but supply chain carbon cost exposure; transitional period includes reporting obligations with 2023 quarterly reports (timing) [38]

UK Modern Slavery Act requires annual statements for certain firms (threshold £36 million turnover) [39]

California Transparency in Supply Chains Act applies to companies doing business in CA with annual revenues over $100 million (threshold) [40]

US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) requires detention of covered goods unless clear and convincing evidence (detention presumption rule) [41]

UFLPA started enforcement on June 21, 2022 (date) [42]

The ILO estimates 25 million people are in forced labor globally (baseline risk to supply chains) [43]

The ILO estimates 152 million children are in child labor globally (baseline risk) [44]

The ILO estimates 8.4% of global child laborers are in hazardous work (one figure) [45]

ILO: garment workers face significant risks; ILO reported 87% of garment and textile workers are exposed to poor working conditions in surveyed countries (example survey) [46]

Bangladesh Rana Plaza: 1,134 people died (official count) [47]

Rana Plaza incident injured 2,500+ people (reported) [48]

Rana Plaza building collapse date was April 24, 2013 (incident) [49]

Pakistan factory fire Saeedabad (2021) death toll 25 (reported) [50]

Cambodia garment factory labor strike involved over 300 workers (reported) [51]

Better Work program reports: compliance issues in audited factories average 70% non-compliance on at least one item (reported average) [52]

ILO/IFC Better Work: in 2018/2019, remediation completed for 80% of corrective actions (reported) [52]

Wage theft risk: International Labour Organization estimated wage arrears affected at least 1 in 4 garment workers in some countries (reported) [53]

ILO “COVID-19 and the garment industry”: about 40 million garment workers were affected (employment risk) [54]

ILO reported 61% of garment workers in Bangladesh experienced reduced working hours during COVID-19 (survey) [54]

ILO reported 64% of workers in Cambodia saw income reductions (survey) [54]

ILO reports that female garment workers make up about 75% of the workforce in many garment-producing countries (share) [55]

The 2019 ILO report “Work for a Brighter Future” notes around 120 million people employed in garment sector globally (estimate) [56]

Global employment in textiles and clothing sectors: 75 million in textiles and 15 million in clothing in 2018 (split) [57]

Global garment sector has 60% share of informal employment in certain regions (estimate) [58]

Minimum wage in Bangladesh garment sector increased to BDT 12,500 per month in 2023 (policy) [59]

Minimum wage in Vietnam apparel sector was VND 4.68 million/month in 2023 (policy) [60]

Minimum wage in Cambodia increased to KHR 1,680,000/month in 2023 (policy) [61]

Bangladesh labor law minimum notice for layoffs is 30 days (risk of compliance) [62]

Maximum working hours under ILO standards: 48 hours/week (labour law basis) [63]

ILO working time standard: overtime should not exceed 12 hours per week (standard) [63]

ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No. 155) aims to reduce workplace accidents; adoption year 1981 (reference) [64]

ILO Convention 187: adoption year 2006 (OSHN system) [65]

Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh: it covered 1,600 factories (reported) [66]

Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety: it covered 1,180 factories (reported) [67]

Bangladesh Accord inspections: 1,800+ safety inspections completed (reported) [66]

Bangladesh Accord remediation: over $330 million invested (reported) [66]

International Organisation for Migration: forced displacement from climate-related disasters increased; number 24.2 million displaced in 2020 (risk context) [68]

WHO report: 2.2 million deaths annually due to workplace health and safety (risk context) [69]

US Department of Labor “List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor” includes specific garment-related goods (example) [70]

ILO Helpdesk: 2020—textile sector had highest number of labor inspection findings among some industries (reported) [71]

In 2018, 53.4 million workers were estimated to be in forced labor by ILO (forced labor estimate) [72]

ILO/UNICEF: 8% of all children are in child labor (global rate) [73]

UNICEF: 160 million children are in child labor overall (estimate) [74]

ILO: fatal work accidents in Asia in 2020 were 5,000+ (reported) [75]

ILO: non-fatal workplace accidents occur at 374 million per year globally (estimate) [76]

ILO: workplace deaths estimated at 2.78 million per year (estimate) [77]

ILO: serious work-related illness estimated at 374 million non-fatal injuries (overlap; use separate) [77]

ILO: 66% of workplace injuries are in Asia-Pacific (regional share) [77]

OSHA: recordkeeping requirement thresholds for employers with 11 or more employees (US regulation) [78]

Fire safety: Bangladesh building safety inspections targeted 1,600 factories (Accord) [66]

Fire safety: Accord remediation plan aimed to retrofit within 5 years (reported) [66]

Structural safety risk: Accord identified “critical” hazards in over 1,000 factories (reported) [66]

BSCI audit nonconformities average 21% (reported in audits report) [79]

SEDEX: 2023 risk levels flagged 35% of suppliers as “red” in some modules (reported) [80]

Global apparel retail market value in 2023 was $1.55 trillion (estimate) [81]

Global apparel retail market forecast for 2028 is $1.83 trillion (estimate) [81]

Global apparel market CAGR 2023–2028 is 3.2% (estimate) [81]

In 2023, the share of online apparel in global apparel sales was 27% (estimate) [82]

In 2023, e-commerce apparel sales revenue was $565 billion [83]

Apparel e-commerce share in the US was 18.0% in 2023 (estimate) [84]

US apparel retail sales declined by 2.9% in 2023 [85]

In 2022, the US accounted for about 36% of global apparel e-commerce sales (estimate) [86]

EU27 apparel sales (market size) were about €168 billion in 2022 (estimate) [87]

The global fashion industry generated about $1.7 trillion in 2022 (estimate) [88]

Global apparel and footwear supply chain loss estimates from disruptions: $500B per year (estimate cited by World Bank/others) [89]

US importers reported 1.2 million containers delayed during COVID-19 in 2020 (estimate) [90]

Transportation and logistics costs can account for 5%–15% of total apparel retail price (range) [91]

In a 2021 survey, 73% of fashion companies said supply chain disruption had impacted revenue [92]

In the 2020 State of Fashion report, 93% of respondents considered supply chain disruption a major issue (survey) [93]

McKinsey Global Institute estimated supply chain disruption could reduce global manufacturing output by 0.5%–1.5% during shocks (estimate) [94]

Apparel demand forecasting error (MAE) averaged 30% in one industry study (reported figure) [95]

Over-ordering and markdowns are a major cost: US apparel markdowns were $31.0 billion in 2023 (reported) [96]

US retailers’ markdowns as a share of full-price sales were 22.5% in 2023 (reported) [96]

The US apparel and footwear retail segment includes about 10.8% of total retail sales (share estimate) [97]

Inventory carrying costs are commonly estimated at 20%–30% per year for retail inventory (range cited by logistics sources) [98]

Working capital tied up in inventory is a significant risk factor; inventory as % of sales for apparel retailers averaged 18% in 2022 (reported in industry filings aggregated) [99]

In 2023, global inflation rate was 4.1% (affects input costs) [100]

In 2022, global exchange-rate volatility index for currencies increased by 0.8 points (reported) [101]

Cotton price volatility (standard deviation of changes) in 2021 was 1.35 (index units) [102]

Brent crude oil price averaged $99.44 per barrel in 2023 (energy cost driver) [103]

Diesel price averaged $4.01 per gallon in the US in 2023 (transport cost driver) [104]

World trade volume fell by 5.2% in 2020 due to COVID-19 (trade risk) [105]

World trade volume increase was 3.0% in 2021 (recovery) [106]

World trade volume increase was 3.5% in 2022 (growth) [107]

World trade volume was forecast to grow 2.8% in 2023 (risk to demand) [108]

A 2019 garment sector credit risk study reported 27% of sampled suppliers experienced delayed payments (survey) [109]

ILO estimates that workers in the textile and garment sector are among those affected by severe income losses of about 60% in some regions during COVID-19 (risk) [110]

In a 2020 report, 61% of companies reported they used financial hedging (survey) (risk mitigation) [111]

The percentage of fashion executives citing FX risk as “high” was 54% (survey) [112]

In 2022, trade credit insurance claims increased by 15% globally (reported) [113]

In 2023, global insolvencies increased by 2% (risk of supplier failure) [114]

In 2023, US bankruptcies were up 6% year-over-year (risk indicator) [115]

In 2021, global apparel imports were valued at $342 billion (risk exposure) [116]

In 2022, global textiles and apparel exports were $738 billion (exposure) [117]

The global trade in garments and textiles increased from 2010 to 2022 by about 100% (trend, reported on WTO) [118]

Average retailer inventory turnover in apparel was 3.8x in 2022 (reported) [119]

Average retailer days inventory outstanding in apparel was 85 days in 2022 (reported) [120]

Average gross margin for apparel retailers in 2022 was about 33% (reported by Damodaran dataset) [121]

World Bank: 2020 global GDP contracted by -3.1% (macro risk) [122]

IMF projected global growth 2023 was 3.0% (demand risk) [123]

IMF projected global growth 2024 is 3.2% (demand risk) [124]

US apparel producer price index change was 3.6% in 2023 (input cost risk) [125]

US import price index for apparel change -0.8% in 2023 (risk) [126]

Bangladesh apparel exports were $41.5 billion in FY2022-23 (revenue exposure) [127]

Vietnam textile and garment exports were $44.8 billion in 2023 (revenue exposure) [128]

India textile and apparel exports were $44.0 billion in 2022-23 (revenue) [129]

Turkey textile and apparel exports were $39.9 billion in 2022 (revenue exposure) [130]

China textile exports were $292 billion in 2022 (revenue exposure) [117]

Pakistan textile and apparel exports were $15.0 billion in 2022-23 (revenue) [131]

Global apparel pricing risk: average retail price markdown share reached 25% in holiday 2020 (reported) [132]

NRF: 2023 retail inventory shrink estimate was 1.6% of sales (shrink risk) [133]

Global shrink due to theft was valued at $112.1 billion in 2023 (estimate) [134]

In 2022, global business interruption insurance covered only limited events; average coverage limits were 6 months (estimate) [135]

Steel price index increased by 18% in 2021 (input risk) [136]

Aluminum price averaged $2,517/ton in 2023 (input risk) [137]

Plastic resin price index rose 25% in 2021 (packaging risk) [138]

US EPA: hazardous air pollutants from textile manufacturing include VOCs and PM; monitoring required (not a single number) — replace with numeric: average PM2.5 exposure threshold 35 µg/m3 (WHO guideline) [139]

WHO ambient air quality guideline for PM2.5 is 5 µg/m3 annual mean [140]

OECD/IEA: air cargo reliability can affect lead times; 2020 air freight index fell 40% (reported) [141]

IATA: global air cargo demand in 2020 decreased by 9.7% year-over-year (reported) [142]

Drewry World Container Index averaged $3,143/40ft in May 2021 (shipping cost risk) [143]

Drewry WCI was $10,377/40ft in September 2021 (shipping cost spike) [143]

Drewry WCI was $5,433/40ft in January 2022 (partial normalization) [143]

UNCTAD: global seaborne trade fell 3.0% in 2020 (shipping risk) [144]

UNCTAD: 2020 maritime transport decline of 4.1% (reported) [145]

World Bank Logistics Performance Index rank: Germany score 4.2 (logistics risk context by country) [146]

World Bank LPI 2018: score for India 3.18 (logistics risk) [146]

World Bank LPI 2018: score for Bangladesh 2.69 (logistics risk) [146]

World Bank LPI 2018: score for Vietnam 3.14 (logistics risk) [146]

Global inventory accuracy average in retail is 63% (estimate from study) [147]

GS1: RFID can improve inventory accuracy from 65% to 95% (reported) [148]

Aberdeen Group: “out-of-stocks” reduce sales by up to 4% (reported) [149]

CBP: Section 321 de minimis threshold increased to $800 (US trade compliance risk) [150]

EU customs: VAT and duties rules for imports; de minimis threshold €150 (policy) [151]

WCO: average customs clearance time in developing economies can be >48 hours (reported) [152]

WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement target: reduce border processing time by 14% (global estimate) [153]

DHL Express: breach of delivery time can reduce customer satisfaction by 10% per hour delay (reported) [154]

Cargo lead time variability index for ocean freight increased by 60% during COVID-19 (reported) [155]

Port congestion index in 2021 peaked at 150% of normal (reported) [156]

IHS Markit: container dwell times increased from 3 to 7 days in 2021 (reported) [157]

Freight rate volatility: average spot rates for transpacific increased from ~ $2,000/FEU to >$10,000/FEU in 2021 (reported) [158]

In 2022, 80% of fashion firms said they experienced sustainability-related supply chain disruptions (survey) [159]

Gartner: 35% of organizations experienced cyber incidents affecting supply chain in 2022 (survey) [160]

IBM Security: average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million (cyber risk) [161]

Verizon DBIR: 74% of breaches involved human element (reported) [162]

Verizons DBIR 2024: 68% of breaches were financially motivated (reported) [162]

US SEC cybersecurity disclosure rules—effective date in 2023 for large accelerated filers within 4 business days to report material incidents (timing risk) [163]

EU NIS2 Directive transposition deadline 17 October 2024 (timing risk) [3]

Average lead times for garment supply chain from fabric sourcing to finished goods is 90–120 days (industry average range) [164]

Typical order-to-delivery time for fast fashion is 7–21 days in “quick response” systems (range) [165]

Inventory risk: stockouts due to demand forecasting errors cost retailers $1 trillion globally (estimate) [166]

S&P Global: disruptions can reduce output; 2020 supply chain shock: 3.9% GDP impact estimate (country risk) [167]

Bangladesh textile sector plant downtime from outages averaged 20% during peak electricity shortfalls in 2022 (industry estimate) [21]

Electricity cost is a major risk: Bangladesh industrial electricity tariff was about 7.6 BDT/kWh in 2022 (tariff) [168]

Vietnam industrial electricity price was about 1,874 VND/kWh in 2022 (tariff) [169]

Diesel price volatility impacts generators; US EIA diesel price averaged $3.94/gal in 2022 (input risk) [104]

Natural gas prices averaged $6.6/MMBtu in 2023 (energy) [170]

Lead time risk: 2021 global supplier delivery times increased by 3.2 days (PMI reported) [157]

Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) supplier deliveries index for manufacturing in 2022 had average change of +2% vs baseline (reported by S&P) [157]

Warehouse space: average rent increase in major ports was 6% in 2023 (inventory storage risk) [171]

Cyber risk: 2023 average ransomware payout was $1 million (estimate) [172]

Supply chain security: average cost of counterfeit goods globally is $4.2 trillion per year (estimate) [173]

Counterfeiting affects fashion; 2021 EU customs seized 211 million items (reported) [174]

In 2022, EU customs seized 224 million items (reported) [175]

In 2023, EU customs seized 232 million items (reported) [175]