Handmade goods sit between creative work, online commerce and the wider textile economy. The statistics below define the population and period for each measure, separating Etsy marketplace evidence from adjacent craft, waste and industrial garment data.
Key Handmade Goods Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2024, Etsy’s consolidated marketplaces generated $12.6 billion in gross merchandise sales across Etsy, Reverb and Depop.
- At December 31, 2024, Etsy’s consolidated marketplaces had 8.1 million active sellers and 95.5 million active buyers.
- In 2024, the Etsy marketplace generated $10.9 billion in gross merchandise sales, representing 86.4% of consolidated marketplace GMS.
- At December 31, 2024, Etsy had 5.6 million active sellers and 89.6 million active buyers.
- At December 31, 2024, more than 100 million items were listed on Etsy.
- In 2024, custom or made-to-order merchandise represented approximately 30% of Etsy marketplace GMS.
- In 2024, Etsy’s six largest retail categories represented approximately $9 billion, or 87% of marketplace GMS.
- In 2024, average GMS per active Etsy buyer declined 3.5% year over year to $121.
- In 2024, Etsy added 24 million new marketplace buyers, down 14% from 2023.
- In 2024, approximately 48% of Etsy active buyers were repeat buyers.
- In November 2024, 29% of Etsy sellers said their creative business was their sole occupation.
- In November 2024, Etsy sellers reported that creative-business income contributed 11% of household income on average.
- In November 2024, 38% of Etsy sellers used creative-business income for household expenses.
- In 2024, U.S. arts-and-crafts participants spent an average of 125 minutes per participating day on the hobby.
- In 2018, U.S. textile generation reached an estimated 17.03 million tons, equal to 5.8% of total municipal solid waste generation.
- In 2018, 2.51 million tons of U.S. textiles were recycled, an estimated 14.7% recycling rate for textiles in municipal solid waste.
- In 2018, 11.30 million tons of U.S. textiles were landfilled, or 7.7% of all municipal solid waste landfilled.
- In 2014, developing Asia-Pacific countries exported $601 billion in garments, footwear and textile products.
Contents
- Key Handmade Goods Statistics
- Handmade Marketplace Scale, Sellers and Buyers
- Custom Goods, Categories and Buying Behavior
- Creative-Business Income and Seller Participation
- Textile Waste Generation Trends
- Textile Recycling, Recovery and Landfilling
- Craft Participation and Garment-Sector Context
Handmade Marketplace Scale, Sellers and Buyers
Etsy’s 2024 annual report provides the closest large-scale commercial evidence in this dataset, but its measures are marketplace measures rather than a complete estimate of handmade-goods industry sales. Gross merchandise sales (GMS) mean item value excluding shipping and net of refunds; they are not platform revenue.
| Marketplace measure | 2024 result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidated GMS | $12.6 billion | Etsy, Reverb and Depop |
| Etsy marketplace GMS | $10.9 billion | Etsy |
| Reverb GMS | Approximately $917.9 million | Musical instruments |
| Depop GMS | Approximately $788.9 million | Fashion resale |
Source: February 19, 2025 – 10-K: Annual report, Etsy, Inc.. Reverb and Depop are adjacent marketplace context, not handmade-only measures.
At December 31, 2024, the consolidated marketplaces had 8.1 million active sellers and 95.5 million active buyers. Etsy alone had 5.6 million active sellers and 89.6 million active buyers; active means a qualifying charge, sale or purchase within the trailing 12 months, and one person can have multiple marketplace accounts.
These figures describe active marketplace accounts, not necessarily full-time businesses or unique people across platforms. Etsy’s active seller definition requires a charge or sale in the last 12 months, while an active buyer made at least one purchase during that period.
Custom Goods, Categories and Buying Behavior
Etsy had more than 100 million listings at December 31, 2024. Listings represent available marketplace inventory, not completed sales, and custom or made-to-order merchandise is not identical to every handmade item.
In 2024, custom or made-to-order merchandise accounted for approximately 30% of Etsy marketplace GMS. The company also reported that its six largest retail categories—homewares, jewelry, apparel, craft supplies, paper and party supplies, and toys and games—represented approximately $9 billion, or 87% of Etsy marketplace GMS.
Buyer activity softened during the year:
- Etsy marketplace active buyers declined 2.6% year over year to 89.6 million in 2024.
- Average GMS per active buyer declined 3.5% year over year to $121 in 2024; Etsy attributed movement partly to macroeconomic factors.
- Etsy added 24 million new marketplace buyers in 2024, down 14% from 2023.
- New buyers contributed approximately 9% of Etsy marketplace GMS in 2024, while their GMS declined 17% year over year.
A repeat buyer made purchases on at least two days in the prior 12 months. Approximately 48% of Etsy active buyers were repeat buyers in 2024, and repeat buyers purchased on 4.9 days per year, compared with 5 days in 2020.
Source for marketplace and buyer measures: February 19, 2025 – 10-K: Annual report, Etsy, Inc..
Creative-Business Income and Seller Participation
Etsy’s November 2024 seller census is a survey of Etsy sellers, not a census of all handmade businesses. Its percentages are self-reported and should not be generalized to the entire handmade-goods workforce.
The survey indicates that selling can be a primary occupation for a substantial minority, while remaining a supplementary activity for many others:
- Approximately half of Etsy sellers sold exclusively on Etsy.
- For 29% of Etsy sellers, their creative business on and off Etsy was their sole occupation.
- Etsy sellers reported that their creative business contributed 11% of household income on average; this is not a measure of profit or revenue.
- 42% of Etsy sellers had financial dependents, and 23% had children under 18 living at home.
- 38% used creative-business income for household expenses such as bills, rent and food, although the survey did not measure the amount spent.
Seller businesses also had cross-border and supply-chain characteristics. 90% of Etsy sellers sourced supplies domestically, while 28% exported goods outside their home country; exporting at least one good does not equal export revenue.
Financial pressure was a reported entry factor: 64% of Etsy sellers cited financial challenges as prompting them to start their creative businesses. This is a self-reported reason and does not establish causation.
Source: February 19, 2025 – 10-K: Annual report, Etsy, Inc..
Textile Waste Generation Trends
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s textile series measures material entering municipal solid waste (MSW), not all handmade production or all textiles sold. Reused textiles entering the reuse market are not included in generation until they enter MSW, and the figures are estimates.
| Year | U.S. textile generation |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.76 million tons |
| 1970 | 2.04 million tons |
| 1980 | 2.53 million tons |
| 1990 | 5.81 million tons |
| 2000 | 9.48 million tons |
| 2005 | 11.51 million tons |
| 2010 | 13.22 million tons |
| 2015 | 16.06 million tons |
| 2017 | 16.89 million tons |
| 2018 | 17.03 million tons |
In 2018, textiles represented 5.8% of total U.S. MSW generation. The EPA notes that clothing and footwear generation uses sales data in part, so the series should be read as an estimated waste-flow measure rather than a direct count of handmade goods.
Source: Textiles: Material-Specific Data. Dashes in the EPA series mean data unavailable, not zero.
Textile Recycling, Recovery and Landfilling
EPA estimates show several distinct end-of-life pathways for textiles in U.S. MSW. Recycling rates below apply to textiles entering MSW, not to all textiles produced or sold.
| Measure | 1960 | 2000 | 2015 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Textiles recycled | 50 thousand tons | 1.32 million tons | 2.46 million tons | 2.51 million tons |
| Textiles landfilled | 1.71 million tons | 6.28 million tons | 10.54 million tons | 11.30 million tons |
In 2018, the estimated recycling rate was 14.7% for all textiles in MSW. The rate was 13% for clothing and footwear and 15.8% for sheets, towels and pillowcases.
Textile combustion with energy recovery reached 3.22 million tons in 2018, equal to 9.3% of MSW combusted with energy recovery. Landfilling reached 11.30 million tons, or 7.7% of all MSW landfilled; reused garments are counted when they eventually enter MSW.
Source: Textiles: Material-Specific Data.
Craft Participation and Garment-Sector Context
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a time-use measure for people who participated in an activity, not prevalence among all adults or annual participation. In 2024, U.S. participants in arts and crafts as a hobby spent an average of 125 minutes per participating day.
For context, participants in hobbies other than arts, crafts and collecting spent 151 minutes per participating day, while participants taking a class for personal interest spent 119 minutes. These comparison categories are broader than handmade goods or craft classes.
Source: Baubles, bangles, and beads: time spent on hobbies.
Handmade goods also sit within a much larger industrial textile and garment economy. The following figures should not be presented as handmade-only production:
| Geography and period | Industrial garment or textile measure |
|---|---|
| Developing Asia-Pacific, 2014 | $601 billion in garments, footwear and textile exports; three-fifths of the global total |
| Developing Asia-Pacific, 2014 | More than 40 million workers in garment and footwear employment; exports grew 5.1% |
| Indonesia, 2016-era project statistics | Garment sector around 1.4% of GDP and 6.6% of merchandise exports, about $11.6 billion |
| Indonesia, 2016-era project statistics | More than 4 million garment-sector workers, about 58% women, and more than 2,000 medium and large manufacturers |
| Indonesia, 2016 | Garment-sector wages around $154 per month; nominal growth about 8.8% annually since 2012 |
The Asia-Pacific figures come from the International Labour Organization’s industrial-sector reporting, while the Indonesia figures are approximate project statistics. They include factory-made goods and employment rather than independent makers or handmade sellers.
Sources: Strong export and job growth in Asia’s garment and footwear sector and Labour Standards in Global Supply Chains: A Programme of Action for Asia and the Garment Sector in Indonesia.