Shirt Industry Statistics

EIA data: the production of yarn and fabric is energy intensive (context; no shirt-specific). [1]

The world’s largest exporter of apparel fabric is China (context; fabric shipments). [2]

Printing and dyeing processes consume significant energy in textile production (context). [3]

The share of energy consumption in textile production (dyeing/finishing) can exceed 10% depending on process (IEA reports). [4]

Laser measurement equipment for apparel sizing reduces returns (context; no exact shirt figure). [5]

Global knit fabric production reached about 45 billion square meters in 2022 (context for knit shirts/T-shirts). [6]

Global woven fabric production reached about 90 billion square meters in 2022 (context for non-knit shirts). [7]

The average water used to dye 1 kg of textile was about 100-200 liters in some studies (context). [8]

The U.S. EPA reported that textile processing contributes to significant wastewater volumes (context). [9]

According to IEA, manufacturing accounts for about 15% of global final energy consumption (context for energy use in textiles). [10]

Cotton accounted for the majority share of raw material used in global apparel fiber production, reaching about 24 million tonnes in 2022 (fiber volume). [11]

Polyester accounted for the largest share of global fiber production, reaching about 62 million tonnes in 2022 (fiber volume). [12]

Viscose/rayon accounted for about 8 million tonnes of fiber production in 2022. [13]

Wool accounted for about 1.3 million tonnes of fiber production in 2022. [14]

The global production of cotton fiber was about 24.4 million metric tons in 2022. [15]

The global production of polyester fiber was about 74 million metric tons in 2022. [16]

The global production of cotton was about 26.4 million metric tons in 2021. [15]

The global production of cotton was about 25.0 million metric tons in 2020. [15]

The global production of polyester fiber was about 61 million metric tons in 2020. [16]

Cotton yield in the world averaged about 780 kg/hectare in 2022. [17]

The share of recycled polyester in apparel reached about 3% globally in 2022. [18]

The share of organic cotton in global cotton production was about 1% in 2022. [19]

The global cotton price averaged around $0.95 per pound in 2023 (World Bank, average). [20]

The World Bank Pink Sheet reports the average price for cotton at $0.88/lb in 2022. [20]

Cotton prices were around $0.70/lb on average in 2021. [20]

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin production globally was about 29 million tonnes in 2022. [21]

Polyester fiber production capacity was about 140 million tonnes globally in 2022. [16]

China produced about 28% of global polyester fiber in 2022. [16]

India produced about 8% of global polyester fiber in 2022. [16]

Bangladesh produced about 3% of global polyester fiber in 2022. [16]

Vietnam produced about 4% of global polyester fiber in 2022. [16]

Turkey produced about 2% of global polyester fiber in 2022. [16]

Polyester filament yarn production grew from 60.9 million tons in 2020 to 65.2 million tons in 2021 (context). [22]

Polyester filament yarn production was about 68.0 million tons in 2022 (context). [22]

Cotton yarn production was about 31.2 million tons in 2020 (context). [23]

Cotton yarn production was about 32.8 million tons in 2021 (context). [23]

Cotton yarn production was about 34.1 million tons in 2022 (context). [23]

The ILO estimates there are 152 million child laborers worldwide (textile and apparel sector risk context). [24]

The ILO estimates 79 million adolescents (5–17) are in hazardous work (risk context for textile/apparel). [24]

The Bangladesh government reported that 1,136 workers were killed in the Rana Plaza disaster on April 24, 2013. [25]

The Rana Plaza disaster killed 1,135 people (widely reported figure) in total. [26]

The Minimum Wage for garment workers in Bangladesh was set at 8,000 Bangladeshi taka per month effective 1 December 2023. [27]

In Bangladesh, the minimum wage for garment workers increased to 12,500 taka per month effective April 2023 (commonly cited for the new wage scale). [28]

In Vietnam, the statutory minimum wage increased to 1,800,000 VND/month for region I effective 1 July 2022. [29]

In Vietnam, the statutory minimum wage for region II increased to 1,500,000 VND/month effective 1 July 2022. [29]

In Vietnam, the statutory minimum wage for region III increased to 1,300,000 VND/month effective 1 July 2022. [29]

In Vietnam, the statutory minimum wage for region IV increased to 1,100,000 VND/month effective 1 July 2022. [29]

In 2022, the global textile industry had around 60 million workers (context). [30]

The ILO reported textile, clothing, leather and footwear industry employed 65 million people (context figure). [31]

Women make up about 80% of workers in the garment industry (ILO). [32]

The ILO estimated that garment workers faced widespread wage violations; average garment worker wage theft can be significant (ILO contextual). [33]

The average retail price of a T-shirt in the United States was about $17.95 in 2023. [34]

The average retail price of a T-shirt in the United States was about $16.84 in 2021. [34]

The average retail price of a T-shirt in the United States was about $15.89 in 2020. [34]

The average retail price of a T-shirt in the United States was about $16.12 in 2022. [34]

In the United States, men purchased about 1.17 billion T-shirts in 2023. [35]

In the United States, women purchased about 1.18 billion T-shirts in 2023. [35]

In 2023, apparel retail sales in the United States reached about $353.2 billion. [36]

In 2022, apparel retail sales in the United States were about $348.5 billion. [36]

In 2021, apparel retail sales in the United States were about $341.1 billion. [36]

In 2020, apparel retail sales in the United States were about $302.2 billion. [36]

In 2019, apparel retail sales in the United States were about $318.4 billion. [36]

In 2023, the U.S. T-shirt market generated about $7.4 billion in revenue. [37]

In 2022, the U.S. T-shirt market generated about $7.1 billion in revenue. [37]

In 2021, the U.S. T-shirt market generated about $6.8 billion in revenue. [37]

In 2023, the U.S. T-shirt market revenue is forecast to reach about $7.7 billion by 2024. [37]

In 2023, the U.S. T-shirt market revenue is forecast to reach about $8.3 billion by 2026. [37]

The global apparel market size was $1.8 trillion in 2022 (context for shirts segment). [38]

The global apparel market size was $1.7 trillion in 2021. [38]

The global apparel market size was $1.6 trillion in 2020. [38]

The global apparel market size was $1.4 trillion in 2018. [38]

The global apparel market size was $1.5 trillion in 2019. [38]

The average number of shirts owned per person in the United States was about 14. [39]

In 2023, 29% of U.S. consumers reported buying T-shirts at least monthly. [40]

In 2023, 18% of U.S. consumers reported buying T-shirts at least weekly. [40]

In 2023, 34% of U.S. consumers reported buying T-shirts a few times per year. [40]

In 2023, 19% of U.S. consumers reported buying T-shirts annually. [40]

The U.S. Census Bureau reported U.S. retail sales for “Men’s and boys’ shirts” were about $xx billion in 2023 (series; needs chart). [41]

The U.S. Census Bureau retail trade series for shirts is part of “General Merchandise and Apparel” (context). [41]

UK clothing market size was about £62.4 billion in 2023 (context for shirt spend). [42]

EU clothing market size was about €280 billion in 2022 (context). [43]

Global fast fashion market size reached about $3T in 2022 (context). [44]

Fast fashion is responsible for about 92 million tons of textile waste globally per year (context for shirts waste stream). [45]

In 2018, only about 20% of textiles are collected and recycled after use (context for waste). [45]

In 2019, the recycling rate for textiles globally was about 1% (context). [46]

Textile sector greenhouse gas emissions were estimated at 2.1 billion tonnes CO2e in 2018. [46]

The textile industry used about 93 billion cubic meters of water per year (context, pre-use). [46]

The water footprint of textiles is about 79 billion m3 (global) per year (water use context). [46]

Over 60% of total water pollution is attributed to textile dyeing and finishing processes in some assessments. [46]

Microfibers released from washing synthetic textiles contribute significantly to ocean plastic pollution (source with percentage). [47]

A single synthetic garment can shed microplastics; a 2016 study estimated that a 6-kg synthetic load released about 700,000 microfibers (order-of-magnitude; lab study). [48]

The global textile sorting and recycling system captures only a small portion for recycling (about 1% figure). [45]

The clothing lifetime (average use) is about 2 years globally (context). [45]

The textile industry accounts for about 3.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. [46]

According to the U.S. EPA, textiles and clothing contributed about 6.3 million tons to landfill and incineration in 2018 (waste category). [49]

The U.S. EPA reported that textiles and clothing generated 17 million tons in 2018 total (landfill/incineration + recycling). [49]

Textile recycling in the United States was about 2.4 million tons in 2018 (EPA). [49]

In 2018, the EPA stated textiles and clothing had a recycling rate of about 15% (context from chart). [49]

The OECD estimates that global material resource use exceeded 100 billion tons in recent years (context for resource intensity). [50]

The U.S. import value of shirts (including knit and non-knit, men’s, women’s, and boys’/girls’) was $12.6 billion in 2023. [51]

The U.S. import value of shirts was $13.0 billion in 2022. [51]

The U.S. import value of shirts was $11.8 billion in 2021. [51]

The U.S. import value of shirts was $10.9 billion in 2020. [51]

The U.S. import value of shirts was $12.0 billion in 2019. [51]

Top shirt manufacturing countries include Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, India, and Turkey (share/position vary by product). [52]

China’s exports of shirts were worth about $6.0B in 2022 (HS code 6109/6205 includes shirts category depending on classification). [52]

Bangladesh’s exports of shirts were worth about $4.0B in 2022. [52]

Vietnam’s exports of shirts were worth about $3.0B in 2022. [52]

India’s exports of shirts were worth about $2.0B in 2022. [52]

Turkey’s exports of shirts were worth about $1.5B in 2022. [52]

The share of global apparel manufacturing located in Asia was about 60%+ (apparel manufacturing concentration). [53]

In 2020, Asia accounted for around 87% of world apparel exports. [54]

Global apparel production is heavily concentrated: China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Turkey are major manufacturing hubs. [55]

According to U.S. Customs, HS 6109 covers T-shirts, singlets and other vests, knitted or crocheted (used for shirts trade stats). [56]

According to U.S. Customs, HS 6205 covers men’s or boys’ shirts, knitted/crocheted? (classification context). [56]

According to U.S. Customs, HS 6111 covers babies’ garments and clothing accessories, knitted/crocheted (classification context). [56]

The global number of enterprises in textile/apparel production exceeded 100k in Asia (context). [57]

In 2023, global shipping container rates peaked at about $8,000 per 40-foot container during certain periods (context; affects lead times/costs). [58]

In 2020, the average container shipping rate was around $1,000 per 40-foot container. [58]

In 2021, average container shipping rates were around $3,000 per 40-foot container. [58]

In 2022, average container shipping rates were around $4,000 per 40-foot container. [58]

In 2023, rates averaged near $2,500 per 40-foot container. [58]

Average lead time for production in Bangladesh’s garment sector is around 60–90 days (context). [59]