31 March 2024 Report

Textiles Market Situation Report 2024

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 330,000 tonnes between 2019 and 2020, however this downward trend was temporary. Consumption figures are back to near pre-covid levels, with the UK consuming 1.42 million tonnes 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, 1.45 million tonnes of used textiles were generated in the UK in 2022. Of this, around 276,000 tonnes were sold to the public, 650,000 tonnes were diverted to reuse and recycling from end-of-life disposal, and 421,600 tonnes were exported.
  • In 2021, around 711,000 tonnes of used textiles were discarded in the household bin and in general waste containers at Household Waste Recycling Centres. This means almost half (49%) of all used textiles in the UK was disposed of in general waste, or 35 items per person per year on average. Of these items, 84% was incinerated with energy recovery and 11% was sent to landfill.  
  • Between 2013 and 2023, there was a 57.5% reduction in price per tonne for textile bank donations and a 41% reduction for charity shop donations, without accounting for inflation. The 2023 figures stood at £172.5 per tonne for textile banks and £255 per tonne for charity shops.

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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Download files

  • Textiles Market Situation Report 2024 - UK

    PDF, 3.66 MB

  • Textiles Market Situation Report 2024 - Wales

    PDF, 1.74 MB

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