The global apparel industry has undergone a sweeping shift across the previous two decades, according to findings within the August 2026 edition of The Textiles Observer, a complimentary publication issued by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).
China continues holding its place as the foremost exporter of textiles and apparel worldwide, but Bangladesh and Vietnam have climbed to become substantial players on the international stage.
Bangladesh moved from the 14th largest apparel exporter in 2006 to second place in 2025, whilst Vietnam rose from 21st to third. Combined with China, these three nations accounted for roughly 44% of global apparel exports in 2025.
Worldwide garment exports climbed from approximately $560 billion in 2006 to $914 billion in 2025. Shipments of knitted garments nearly doubled across that timeframe, rising from $145.2 billion to $289.1 billion, whilst shipments of woven garments advanced from $158.5 billion to $257.7 billion.
Yet the most significant development has not been merely the expansion in trade volume. Rather, it has been a fundamental reshuffling of competitive standing across nations.
Simultaneously, demand patterns have grown increasingly dispersed across geographies. The United States remains the leading clothing importer worldwide, yet its share of global imports shrank from 18.9% in 2006 to 13.7% in 2025.
A wider spread of markets across Europe and Asia have gained in significance, giving rise to an increasingly multipolar global textile trading landscape.
Cotton still dominates several of the largest individual apparel product categories worldwide, including cotton t-shirts, cotton jerseys, and men’s and women’s cotton trousers and shorts. However, alternative fibres are growing at a swifter pace across numerous applications.
Cotton made up roughly 68.3% of global fibre demand in 1960, against 21.1% in 2025. Across that same span, synthetic fibres lifted their share from 4.6% to 71.7%.
This shift is likewise visible within garment trade flows. Shipments of knitted garments made from cotton climbed from approximately $69.9 billion in 2006 to $128.3 billion in 2025, but their share slipped from 48.3% to 44.5%.
Knitted garments produced from man-made and synthetic fibres expanded more rapidly, climbing from $35.6 billion to $99.2 billion and lifting their share from 24.6% to 34.4%.
The pattern proves even more pronounced within woven apparel, where man-made and synthetic fibres overtook cotton in export value starting from 2021. These findings do not suggest that demand for cotton is disappearing.
Instead, they point towards a matter of relative competitiveness: cotton remains part of an expanding worldwide apparel market, but rival fibres are capturing a larger slice of that expansion.
Image courtesy: Our-Team by Freepik
