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
was estimated to be worth over 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars. While the
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.
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