Textile trade spans raw fibres, yarns, fabrics, clothing and the waste streams created after use. The figures below keep those stages separate, with dates, geography and measurement definitions shown so production, trade value, employment and municipal solid-waste estimates are not conflated.
Key Textile Trade Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2023, synthetic fibres accounted for almost three quarters of global fibre production worldwide, compared with 45% in 1996.
- In 2023, cotton represented about one fifth of global fibre production worldwide.
- In 2023, man-made fibres represented 65%–70% of traded value in global yarn and fabric categories.
- In 2023, China produced 73% of synthetic raw materials in the global synthetic-fibre supply chain.
- In 2023, China exported 44% of global fabrics.
- In 2023, U.S. apparel imports totaled $79.3 billion.
- In 2023, five named suppliers provided 27.0% of U.S. apparel imports: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan.
- In 2024, EU imports of apparel and clothing accessories reached €90,059 million.
- In 2024, apparel and clothing accessories made up 3.7% of EU total goods imports.
- In 2024, China supplied €25,816 million of EU apparel and clothing-accessory imports.
- The global garment industry provided around 94 million jobs, according to an ILO estimate.
- An estimated 42 million women garment workers were employed in Asia.
- In Indonesia, women represented about 58% of more than 4 million garment-sector workers.
- In 2018, U.S. textiles in municipal solid waste totaled 17.03 million tons.
- In 2018, the U.S. textile recycling rate was 14.7%.
- In 2018, U.S. landfills received 11.30 million tons of textile municipal solid waste.
Contents
- Global fibre production and textile trade value
- Textile and apparel import data in major markets
- Textile suppliers by country and product stage
- Garment trade employment and gender data in Asia
- U.S. textile waste generation and recycling
- Long-run U.S. textile waste trends
Global Fibre Production and Textile Trade Value Statistics
UNCTAD’s comparison distinguishes fibre production from trade in yarns and fabrics. That distinction matters: a production share describes what is made, while a traded-value share describes the value recorded in cross-border trade categories.
- Synthetic fibres accounted for almost three quarters of global fibre production in 2023, up from 45% in 1996. UNCTAD identifies synthetic fibres as man-made fibres; this is a production comparison, not a comparison of trade value. UNCTAD, Trends in natural and man-made fibres trade.
- Cotton represented about one fifth of global fibre production in 2023. This is a rounded UNCTAD estimate for the world, not a measure of cotton’s share of apparel imports. UNCTAD, Trends in natural and man-made fibres trade.
- Man-made fibres accounted for 65%–70% of traded value in global yarn and fabric categories in 2023. The range applies to those upstream categories, not to all textile trade. UNCTAD, Trends in natural and man-made fibres trade.
| Measure | Period | Geography | Reported result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synthetic-fibre raw-material production | 2023 | China/world | China produced 73% |
| Fabric exports | 2023 | China/world | China exported 44% |
| Yarn and fabric traded value | 2023 | World | Man-made fibres: 65%–70% |
China’s 73% share concerns synthetic raw materials across the synthetic-fibre supply chain, not finished apparel. Its 44% share concerns upstream fabric exports and should not be treated as a share of apparel exports. UNCTAD, Trends in natural and man-made fibres trade.
The WTO dataset referenced in the UNCTAD discussion provides merchandise trade values by commodity group from 1980 for about 170 economies. That coverage statistic describes the dataset, not a textile-only trade value. UNCTAD, Trends in natural and man-made fibres trade.
Textile and Apparel Import Statistics in Major Markets
Import totals show the scale of demand recorded at the border, not domestic production. The U.S. figure is apparel-specific, while the Eurostat 2024 table uses SITC 84 for apparel and clothing accessories.
- U.S. apparel imports totaled $79.3 billion in 2023. The USITC definition covers apparel imports and does not represent total U.S. textile imports or domestic apparel production. USITC, USITC Releases Report on Apparel Export Competitiveness of Certain Suppliers to the United States.
- Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan together supplied 27.0% of U.S. apparel imports in 2023. The combined share excludes other suppliers and is specific to apparel. USITC, USITC Releases Report on Apparel Export Competitiveness of Certain Suppliers to the United States.
- EU imports of apparel and clothing accessories were €90,059 million in 2024. The Eurostat table uses SITC 84 and reports total imports rather than isolating fibres or fabrics. Eurostat, Imports of articles of apparel and clothing accessories (SITC 84), 2024.
| Import measure | Period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. apparel imports | 2023 | $79.3 billion |
| EU apparel and clothing-accessory imports | 2024 | €90,059 million |
| Apparel and clothing accessories in EU goods imports | 2024 | 3.7% |
| EU imports from China in apparel and clothing accessories | 2024 | €25,816 million |
Apparel and clothing accessories represented 3.7% of EU total goods imports in 2024. China supplied €25,816 million of those EU imports, measured as the extra-EU partner value in Eurostat’s SITC 84 table. Eurostat, Imports of articles of apparel and clothing accessories (SITC 84), 2024.
At member-state level, Belgium imported €7,789 million of apparel and clothing accessories in 2024, while Denmark imported €5,121 million. Eurostat’s country totals include intra- and extra-EU flows. Eurostat, Imports of articles of apparel and clothing accessories (SITC 84), 2024.
Textile Suppliers by Country and Product Stage
Supplier comparisons are meaningful only when product definitions and periods match. The U.S. ranking group below concerns apparel in 2023, whereas the older EU comparison concerns clothing and footwear in 2017.
India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Pakistan ranked among the top 10 U.S. apparel import suppliers in 2023. The statistic identifies a rank group, not each country’s individual value share. USITC, USITC Releases Report on Apparel Export Competitiveness of Certain Suppliers to the United States.
The Eurostat comparison below is retained as a historical clothing-and-footwear measure from 2017, so it is not directly comparable with the 2024 SITC 84 apparel-only table.
| Supplier | EU clothing and footwear imports | Period |
|---|---|---|
| China | €33.4 billion | 2017 |
| Bangladesh | €14.6 billion | 2017 |
| Türkiye | €9.1 billion | 2017 |
| Vietnam | €6.7 billion | 2017 |
| India | €6.0 billion | 2017 |
| Cambodia | €4.0 billion | 2017 |
These figures are from the same Eurostat comparison and cover EU extra-EU clothing and footwear imports. They should not be combined with the 2024 apparel-and-clothing-accessory values as if they used the same classification. Eurostat, Imports of articles of apparel and clothing accessories (SITC 84), 2024.
Garment Trade Employment and Gender Statistics in Asia
Trade is also measured through the people working in garment supply chains. The ILO figures are estimates or study-specific measures, and they should not be read as a complete census of formal global garment employment.
- The global garment industry provided jobs for around 94 million workers, according to an ILO estimate. The total can vary with industry definitions and the treatment of informal work. ILO, How to achieve gender equality in global garment supply chains.
- An estimated 42 million women garment workers were employed in Asia. This is an ILO estimate for the Asian garment sector, not necessarily a census of formal wage employment. ILO, How to achieve gender equality in global garment supply chains.
- Women represented about 58% of Indonesia’s more than 4 million garment-sector workers. The denominator is sector employment, and the figures are presented by the ILO as an estimate. ILO, How to achieve gender equality in global garment supply chains.
- Women in Indonesia’s garment sector earned 6.5% less than men in the same job. This is an Indonesia-specific comparison, not a global garment-sector wage gap. ILO, How to achieve gender equality in global garment supply chains.
The employment figures describe the labor scale associated with garment production, while the import figures describe border values. Neither measure alone captures the full value added across fibres, yarns, fabrics, manufacturing, logistics and retail.
U.S. Textile Waste Generation and Recycling Statistics
The EPA’s 2018 estimates cover textiles entering U.S. municipal solid waste (MSW). Reused textiles are not included in generation until reused items later enter MSW, so these figures are not a complete measure of every textile discarded or reused.
| U.S. textile MSW measure | 2018 estimate |
|---|---|
| Textile generation | 17.03 million tons |
| Share of MSW generation | 5.8% |
| Textile recycling | 2.51 million tons |
| Recycling rate | 14.7% |
| Combustion with energy recovery | 3.22 million tons |
| Share of MSW combustion with energy recovery | 9.3% |
| Landfilled textile MSW | 11.30 million tons |
| Share of all MSW landfilled | 7.7% |
The EPA estimated a 13% recycling rate for clothing and footwear textiles in 2018, compared with 15.8% for sheets and pillowcases. These are narrower product subsets than all textiles in MSW. EPA, Textiles: Material-Specific Data.
In the same 2018 accounting, textile combustion with energy recovery was separate from recycling, and landfilling was a separate pathway. Keeping those pathways distinct prevents recovery, recycling and disposal from being treated as interchangeable outcomes. EPA, Textiles: Material-Specific Data.
Long-Run U.S. Textile Waste Management Trends
EPA’s historical series shows how U.S. textile MSW generation, recycling, landfilling and combustion with energy recovery changed across selected years. The values are estimates, and a dash in the historical table means data were unavailable.
| Year | Generation | Recycling | Landfilling | Combustion with energy recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.76 million tons | 50 thousand tons | 1.71 million tons | Not reported |
| 1970 | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | 10 thousand tons |
| 1990 | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | 880 thousand tons |
| 2000 | 9.48 million tons | 1.32 million tons | 6.28 million tons | Not reported |
| 2015 | 16.06 million tons | 2.46 million tons | 10.54 million tons | 3.06 million tons |
| 2017 | 16.89 million tons | 2.57 million tons | 11.15 million tons | 3.17 million tons |
The historical series reports U.S. textile generation of 1.76 million tons in 1960, 9.48 million tons in 2000, 16.06 million tons in 2015 and 16.89 million tons in 2017. Recycling was 50 thousand tons in 1960, 1.32 million tons in 2000, 2.46 million tons in 2015 and 2.57 million tons in 2017. EPA, Textiles: Material-Specific Data.
Landfilling was 1.71 million tons in 1960, 6.28 million tons in 2000, 10.54 million tons in 2015 and 11.15 million tons in 2017. Combustion with energy recovery was 10 thousand tons in 1970, 880 thousand tons in 1990, 3.06 million tons in 2015 and 3.17 million tons in 2017. EPA, Textiles: Material-Specific Data.
These long-run numbers describe U.S. MSW pathways rather than global textile trade. They therefore complement, but do not replace, the international fibre, apparel-import and garment-employment measures above.