The 2024 Textiles Market Situation Report updates on the present state of the UK textiles market.
The report includes market data on clothing and textile consumption rates, household expenditure on clothing, average clothing prices, UK textiles imports and exports, UK textiles manufacturing, the post-consumer textiles market, and upcoming innovation and developments.
Since the last Textiles Market Situation Report was published in 2019, the textiles industry has faced several challenges, such as the UK’s exit from the EU, the covid-19 pandemic, and a cost-of-living crisis. These macroeconomic developments, coupled with growing concerns about climate change and the environmental impact of fashion, have questioned established market knowledge and necessitated business practice shifts.
Key findings
Consumption
- The covid-19 pandemic had a large impact on textiles consumption, with rates falling 330 kilotonnes between 2019 and 2020, however this downward trend was temporary. Consumption figures are back to near pre-covid levels, with the UK consuming 1,420 kilotonnes of new textile products in 2022.
- The average cost per item of clothing in the UK has decreased by 2% since 2015, reaching £16.70 in 2023.
Imports and exports
- Leading up to 2021, there was a significant decline in the value and volume of textile imports and exports. For imports in particular, this was largely attributable to a shift towards onshoring production post-Brexit and during the pandemic when the movement of goods became more difficult.
- Post-2021, the volume of imports has recovered, but only by 12.5%. Yet, the cost of those imports is greater than pre-pandemic levels, indicating a shift towards a higher £/kg ratio.
Post-consumer textiles
- Approximately 1,400 kilotonnes of post-consumer textiles were generated in the UK in 2022. Of this, around 276 kilotonnes were sold to the public, 650 kilotonnes were diverted to reuse and recycling from end-of-life disposal, and 421.6 kilotonnes were exported.
- In 2021, around 727.7 kilotonnes of textiles were discarded to landfill or incineration, with 546.4 kilotonnes disposed of in household residual waste bins, equating to about 4.2% of general waste.
Other resources
A nation-specific version of the Textiles Market Situation Report was created for Welsh Government and is available to download in Welsh translation below. The Welsh version of the report looks at the present state of the textiles market in Wales, where nation-specific data was available.
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