Textile is one of the biggest industries in the world. This is due to the simple fact that like food and water, clothing is also an essential human need. In fact, textile lies at the heart of human progress, as the first industrial revolution that lay the precursor to modern day marvels such as the airplane, started off in Great Britain when textile mills shifted to automated spinning. In fact, the central building block of the modern day textile industry, the flying shuttle, was invented in Britain, with other inventions such as the water frame and the Spinning Jenny also playing a crucial role in industrialization. These came alongside Edmund Cartwright's power loom.
At the same time, according to research from Warwick University, textile is at the center of the Great Divergence in living standards between Europe and Asia, since while before the industrial revolution, Britain imported cotton textiles from India, after it, it became the world's largest textile exporter. It was the competition from Indian textile manufacturers, which relied on cheap labor costs to drive up production rates that spurred development in the British textile industry. Since the British firms could not increase labor due to high costs, they focused on substituting labor with machines - a substitution that spread over the entire world across different industries over the next couple of centuries and has led us to the massive contract manufacturing facilities for the iPhone in China and complex chip manufacturing machines developed by ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML). The results of technological innovation in the British textile sector were stunning, as between 1780 and 1800, exports grew by a whopping 14% annually and output followed at 10.4%. In the later years, the output would continue to grow at 5% and exports at 6.3%, ushering in the start of the golden era of British textiles.
These days, the global textile industry is worth billions of dollars. According to a research report from Grand View Research, the global textile industry was worth $996 billion in 2021 and it grew to $1 trillion last year. From then until 2030, the sector is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4% to sit at $1.4 trillion by the end of the forecast period. Within the market itself, cotton continued to be the dominating segment - a role that it has held for centuries. According to the research firm, cotton accounted for 39% of the global market in 2021 with China, India, and the U.S. leading the market in terms of output. In terms of products, the natural fiber segment is the largest, as it held 44.5% of the market share, with nylon expected to be the fastest growing segment. Finally, geographically speaking, Asia Pacific still holds the largest portion of the textile industry as it had a 48% share of the total revenue in 2021.
Finally, looking at the situation on the ground, the management of Unifi, Inc. (NYSE:UFI), a major fiber company, shared insights during the firm's second quarter of 2023 earnings call analyst conference as it stated:
So, as you can see, quarter two of 2023 has been a very difficult environment to operate in, and you saw that in the pre-release that we had a couple of weeks ago, and also our materials for today. At this point, I think most of you have heard about apparel retailers and apparel brands that have had significant backlogs of inventory in their system and in their stores, and they’ve been trying to discount this inventory and clear it out all the way through the Christmas holidays. And this imbalance of inventory began all the way back in June of 2022.
With these details in mind, let's take a look at the biggest clothing manufacturing countries in the world.
15 Biggest Clothing Manufacturing Countries in the World
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Our Methodology
We conducted painstaking research to find adequate data that lists the world's textile output and production segregated by country. Our search led us to the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF)'s International Cotton Industry Statistics report which lists raw materials consumed by each country. These have been used as a proxy for manufacturing, since the more raw materials a country consumes, the higher its production should be. While Taiwan is a disputed territory, it has been included due to significant volume. If you're interested in quality instead of quantity, head on over to 12 Countries that Produce the Best Fabrics.
Biggest Clothing Manufacturing Countries in the World
15. Republic of Uzbekistan
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 353
The Republic of Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It has a $56 billion GDP and one of the lowest per capita income in the world at $900.
14. Republic of Korea
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 367
The Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea, is an advanced and developed East Asian country. Its $1.8 trillion economy is one of the largest in the world.
13. Republic of China
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 371
The Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, is a disputed territory in the South China Sea. The majority of yarn in the country is used for domestic textile production.
12. Islamic Republic of Iran
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 409
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a Western Asian country with vast petroleum resources. It has a $1.9 trillion economy funded primarily by its petroleum exports.
11. United Mexican States
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 635
The United Mexican States, commonly known as Mexico, is a large North American country. It has a $1.4 trillion economy and a large land border with the U.S. - which is also one of its largest trading partners.
10. Kingdom of Thailand
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 836
The Kingdom of Thailand is a Southeast Asian country. It has a $534 billion GDP and relies on manufacturing equipment and other products for its exports.
9. Federative Republic of Brazil
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 1,039
The Federative Republic of Brazil, or Brazil, is the largest country and the largest economy in South America. It has a $2 trillion economy with a $9,571 GDP per capita. Brazil has tens of thousands of spinning machines, with a higher proportion of advanced shuttle less looms.
8. Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 1,079
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country. It has a $408 billion economy and exports large amounts of footwear, sweaters, and other textile products.
7. People's Republic of Bangladesh
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 1,427
The People's Republic of Bangladesh is a textile powerhouse. It is one of the world's largest textile exporting countries and has used the sector to transform itself from one of the world's poorest to one of the most developed in its region.
6. Republic of Türkiye
Raw Materials Consumption In Metric Kilotons: 1,690
Republic of Türkiye or Turkey is an Asian and European country. It is one of the largest cotton producers in the world.
