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Apparel supply chain worldwide - Statistics & Facts

The global apparel industry is a complex, giant machine that churns out billions of clothing articles and accessories, reaching billions of consumers worldwide. In 2022, the global market revenue of apparel and accessories was estimated to be worth over 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars. While the leading names of the apparel industry typically originate from Europe or North America, the majority of manufacturing and production for these companies happens elsewhere, mostly in countries in Asia where wages are lower.

Trade

China was the leading supplier of clothing worldwide in 2021, accounting for roughly one-third of worldwide exports. This equated to an export value of roughly 176 billion U.S. dollars. After China, the EU as a trading bloc was the next largest apparel exporter, responsible for almost 30 percent of global clothing exports. In the EU that year, there were around 761 thousand people working in the manufacturing of clothing items. The EU was also a major player when it came to imports of apparel, leading the rankings by a considerable margin. The United States ranked second, importing over 100 billion dollars’ worth of clothing.

Suppliers of fashion retailers

Despite social and ethical issues surrounding apparel sourcing, many well-known fast fashion companies outsource their manufacturing to overseas factories, with China being the leading location of factories brands such as Inditex Group or H&M use. Over the years, initiatives coming from the fashion industry to make the supply chain more transparent and ethical succeeded in making many brands disclose their supply chain relations. Based on the amount of information they provide as to their supply chain practices and policies, many brands have already been identified as making sufficient efforts, while others were still seen to be lacking.

A challenge to fashion businesses

The supply chain can cause a headache for executives at fashion companies. In a 2022 survey, 85 percent of senior fashion executives named the rising cost of raw materials as the biggest problem that will affect the supply chain beyond 2022. This was just one of the many issues: other popular responses were the cost of shipping, port delays, and availability of transport. Improving supply chain networks and improving supplier partnerships were two key areas executives in the industry were looking at to protect themselves against disruption in 2022.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by P. Smith, Feb 15, 2024

Key insights

Revenue of the apparel market worldwide
1.5tr USD
Leading apparel/accessories company based on sales
LVMH
Leading exporter of clothing worldwide
China
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