This dossier looks into the apparel and clothing industry’s supply chain worldwide in four chapters. The first chapter presents international trade flows of apparel and used apparel, including the main importing and exporting countries. The second chapter exhibits the leading fashion retailers’ supply chain network with statistics on the supplier factories used in the manufacturing of their clothing. The third chapter looks at employment figures in the garments industry, especially in Asia, where garment workers represent 75 percent of all textile, clothing, and footwear manufacturing employment worldwide. The dossier concludes with a chapter on consumer sentiment on the social impact of the fashion industry and awareness of the issues associated with apparel supply chain, such as fair wages and labor conditions.
Table of ContentsApparel tradeSupplier locations of apparel retailersEmploymentConsumer awareness
1. Apparel trade
Description: In 2021, China was the top ranked global clothing exporter with a share of approximately 32.8 percent, followed by the European Union, Bangladesh, and Viet Nam. In that year, China and the European Union were also the leading textile exporters in the world.
Description: In 2021, China was the leading exporter of apparel to the rest of the world, with an export value of around 176 billion U.S. dollars. The EU ranked second, exported approximately 151 billion U.S. dollars worth of apparel that year.
Description: In 2021, European Union was the second leading importer of apparel worldwide, with an import value of around 195 billion U.S. dollars. Japan, ranked third, imported approximately 27 billion U.S. dollars worth of apparel that year.
Description: This statistic shows the trade value of worn clothing and other worn articles from leading importers worldwide in 2020, by country. That year, the trade value of used clothing imported to India amounted to approximately 241.6 million U.S. dollars.
Description: This statistic shows the trade value of worn clothing and other worn articles from leading exporters worldwide in 2020, by country. That year, the trade value of used clothing exported from the United States amounted to approximately 712.6 million U.S. dollars.
Description: In 2021, the share of ready-made garment (RMG) exports in Bangladesh amounted to approximately 81.16 percent of the total exports. Although a decrease from the previous year, this was an increase from 2012, in which RMG exports accounted for approximately 78.55 percent of the total exports in Bangladesh.
2. Supplier locations of apparel retailers
Description: This statistic lists the 20 most transparent fashion companies in the world in 2022. In 2022, OVS was ranked as the joint highest scoring fashion brand in terms of transparency, with a transparency index score of 78 percent. This was twelve percent H&M, with 66 percent.
Description: Parent company to brands like Zara, Pull & Bear, Bershka, and Stradivarius among others, Inditex Group is Europe’s leading clothing retailer. Like many other clothing retailers, Inditex outsources a large quantity of its production to suppliers in countries like China, Turkey, and Bangladesh. As of 2021, China had the highest number of suppliers that manufactured clothing and garments for Inditex. The group also had suppliers and factories in Spain and other locations in Europe such as Portugal and Turkey.
Description: In the face of environmental and social impact of the fashion industry, many retailers are pledging to make fashion a sustainable and transparent industry, and sharing their policies and practices with consumers. H&M is one of these brands that publish data about their supply chain, factory numbers, locations and employee numbers, so that consumers remain informed about the social impact of the clothes they purchase.
Description: Primark is one of the first brands that come to mind in fast fashion. An Ireland-based retailer of value clothing, Primark operates in 14 countries and owns around 400 stores worldwide, concentrated mostly in the United Kingdom (UK).
Description: The British retailer Marks & Spencer sources its products in the clothing and home categories from an array of global suppliers. As of January 2022, M&S had 245 factories providing the retailer with clothing and home products in China. Following China, India hosted the highest number of suppliers, with 105 factories.
Description: German clothing retailer C&A sources its products from 36 different global suppliers. As of May 2021, Brazil hosts the highest number of supplier factories for the retail giant, with a total of 798 supplier factories. China and Bangladesh come in second and third place, with 221 and 156 factories respectively. In Germany, where the retailer is based, C&A only has four factories.
Description: According to the most recent transparency figures of the British retailer New Look, the two leading supplier countries of the company were China and Turkey, with 175 and 122 factories in these countries respectively. In the United Kingdom (UK), where the retailer is based, New Look has 13 supplier factories.
Description: As of May 2021, the highest number of ASOS manufacturing factories are situated in China, with a total of 231. India and Turkey come in second and third place for the number of ASOS manufacturing factories, with 217 and 130 factories respectively. ASOS, a UK-based online fashion and cosmetic retailer, has 24 manufacturing factories situated in the UK.
3. Employment
Description: According to data estimates released by the International Labour Organization, there were 65 million garment workers in Asia in 2019, and this number represented 75 percent of garment workers worldwide. 35 million of these garment workers were women, and garment employment consituted 5.2 percent of all working women in the region.
Description: In Asia, garment workers made up of 3.4 percent of total employment in 2019. This rate was higher in the South Asia region (at 4.3 percent), which includes major garment supplier countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Description: According to the results of a study published in July 2021, workers in the garment industry in Indonesia earned the highest basic monthly wage compared to other major garment-producing Asian countries. In the time period between March 2020 and March 2021 (the first full year of COVID-19 pandemic), Indonesian garment workers had an average monthly basic wage of 243 U.S. dollars. Cambodia and Myanmar followed in the list with average monthly basic wages of 190 U.S. dollars and 157 U.S. dollars, respectively. When taking the seven countries surveyed into account, the estimated global average of monthly basic wage of garment industry workers was estimated to be worth 200 U.S. dollars per month in this time period.
Description: According to the results of a study published in July 2021, India had the largest amount of job losses among garment industry workers compared to other major garment-producing Asian countries. In the time period between March 2020 and March 2021 (the first full year of COVID-19 pandemic), it was estimated that 712 thousand workers in the garment industry had lost their jobs in India. Bangladesh and Indonesia followed in the list with job losses amounting to 438 thousand and 183 thousand workers, respectively.
Description: In 2017, roughly ten thousand individuals operated in the Italian machinery manufacture for the production of textile, apparel and leather. According to the estimates provided by Prometeia, between 2018 and 2021, the sector of machinery manufacturing for the clothing industry was forecasted to remain stable in terms of employment.
Description: This statistic shows the total employment figures for the textile and clothing manufacturing industry in the European Union from 2009 to 2021, split into the clothing and textile industries. Man-made fibers are included in the textile segment. Of the two segments, the clothing manufacturing industry employed the largest number of people. In 2021 this was estimated at around 761 thousand people.
4. Consumer awareness
Description: According to a recent survey conducted with fashion consumers in five countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, European consumers generally agreed that brands had a responsibility in disclosing information about the wage conditions of their supply chain workers. The share of respondents who agreed with this premise was the highest in Spain at 75 percent and the lowest in Germany, at 63 percent.
Description: According to a recent survey conducted with fashion consumers in five European countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, the majority of consumers were of the opinion that brands should publish their social and environmental policies. Whereas the share of respondents agreeing with this statement was at 71 percent in Germany, in Spain more consumers (at 80 percent) found this statement important.
Description: According to a recent survey conducted with fashion consumers in five countries in Europe including the United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, over seven in 10 consumers were of the opinion that fashion brands should publish which are factories used to manufacture their clothes. Whereas the share of respondents agreeing with this statement was at 70 percent in Germany, in Italy more consumers (at 79 percent) found this statement important.
Description: According to a 2020 survey conducted with fashion consumers in five countries in Europe including the United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, the majority of consumers were of the opinion that brands should be required by law to say if they are paying the workers who make their products a fair, living wage. Whereas the share of respondents agreeing with this statement was at 68 percent in Germany, in the UK more consumers (at 80 percent) found this statement important.
Description: According to a recent survey conducted with fashion consumers in five European countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, about 43 percent of UK consumers thought it was important that the clothing they bought was made by workers paid a fair, living wage. This share was lower at 28 percent among Italian consumers surveyed in the study.
Description: According to a recent survey conducted with fashion consumers in five European countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, about 47 percent of German and Italian consumers thought it was important that the clothing (including shoes and accessories) they bought was made without using child labor. This share was lower at 40 percent among Spanish consumers surveyed in the study.
Description: This statistic presents the share of consumers in five European countries tried not to purchase clothing in situations where they had concerns about their impact on society. The data reveals that for 19 percent of consumers in the United Kingdom (UK), possible impact on society informed their decisions about purchasing clothing. In comparison, only 11 percent of Italian respondents shared the same concern.
Source fromStatista
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