Over the past years, there has been a growing body of news and data examining the state of the global textile industry, its barriers to growth and sustainability issues. The online retailers demanding an increasing share of Asian markets are further complicating the situation of workers and entrepreneurs in the sector, as their European and American counterparts cannot compete with garments produced at low prices and often under exploitative conditions. In Turkey, meanwhile, the textile industry remains a cornerstone of the economy and a major contributor to foreign trade, but the sector has suffered a serious decline in recent years due to economic and natural disasters. In our summary, we analyse the state of the global textile industry in 2024 and its prospects for the future, as well as the difficulties faced by the Turkish textile industry in recent years.
The global textile industry is a major player in the fashion industry, but it also plays a significant role in terms of investment, turnover and contribution to GDP, as well as in employment. Although the clothing and textile industries are usually considered separately, their interdependence and interrelated sectors make it worthwhile to treat them together. The number of people employed in the sector is over 430 million, representing around 12.6% of the global workforce.
The size of the world’s textile market grew from USD 638.03 billion in 2023 to USD 689.54 billion in 2024, a compound annual growth rate of 8.1% in one year. The growth was driven by factors such as:
- increased demand for artificially created materials,
- subsidies adopted by individual governments to support the sector,
- and strong economic growth in emerging markets.
If this trend is maintained, the market size could reach USD 903.45 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 7%. How the market will grow in the coming years will also depend on a number of factors, including continued growth in e-commerce and increased spending on leisure activities. However, alongside the pace of growth and acceleration of the market, fragmentation must also be taken into account. Fragmentation is a feature of the textile industry due to the presence of several small and medium sized producers, mainly in India and China. In addition, the easy availability of cheap labour and the increased government support needed to set up branches of major players in these countries are expected to drive growth in the market in the coming years.
In addition to classic raw materials such as cotton, wool and silk, the demand for smart textiles is also growing. These materials are able to interact with their environment, reacting to various physical stimuli, including thermal, mechanical, electrical and chemical sources. Their applications span a variety of sectors including fashion, entertainment, medicine, transport, sports and fitness, and military.
Another notable trend in the textile market is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into textile production. Textile manufacturers are increasingly leveraging AI to improve manufacturing processes and ensure product quality. In particular, AI is used for quality control in fabric production. However, the artificial materials presented are still only used in specific cases. The cotton segment continues to lead the market, with cotton products accounting for 38% of total textile revenues. In recent years, consumers have increasingly turned towards natural materials in addition to cotton. Purchasing habits, mainly driven by environmental and sustainability factors, are expected to continue to significantly change attitudes towards synthetic fibre products, which are forecast to decline.
In terms of regional performance, the Asia-Pacific region dominated last year. More than 50% of the revenue share was concentrated in the major textile hubs located in this region. The largest textile manufacturing companies are in China, India and Bangladesh, but output is also high in Vietnam and Pakistan. Of the world’s five largest textile mills, three are located in East Asia (India, China, Japan), one in Pakistan and one in Italy. The Indian textile industry is expected to grow even faster in the future, in view of a regulation that aims to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country. The majority of textile and clothing suppliers to the EU-27 are also Asian countries, whose share has increased significantly over the last decade or so compared to the past. In addition, the value of textile products from the UK to the EU has declined, from €5.1 million in 2013 to €3.1 million in 2023. The decline is due to the reintroduction of tariffs as a result of Brexit, as well as the shrinking UK textile sector.
The North American region is expected to continue to be a major focus for textile production, mainly due to the concentration of cotton production. Among the US states, the amount of cotton produced in Texas stands out: in 2023, 2.8 million bales of cotton were harvested in this state alone. The proportion of genetically modified cotton areas in the US, which are mainly herbicide-resistant crops, is also gradually increasing. The mainly US-centric regional textile industry produces high quality sports and leisure apparel and home textiles. Demand for these types of products is projected to continue to grow in the coming years, resulting in a marked expansion of the region’s textile industry. In addition to production, the North American region is also an important market for uptake, receiving 15.6% of EU-27 textile product exports.
In addition to Italy, the European market is dominated by Germany, Spain, France and Portugal, although their share is dwarfed by that of Italy, which accounts for 40% of the total European output. In Europe, more than 1.3 million people are employed in the textile sector, in which 197,000 companies are involved. Of the products manufactured here, 42% are fashion and clothing products, 14% are home textiles and 19% are industrial and technological textiles. A significant proportion of companies, 89%, are micro-sized, 9% are small, 2% are medium-sized and only 0.3% of companies can be classified as large. This also shows that most European products are mainly produced in micro enterprises, which employ essentially 1-2 people. A comparison with the employment figures shows the high proportion of micro-enterprises in the textile sector and the number of people employed in them in the European Union.
Turkey has long been a dominant player in the international textile market, and the high quality and competitiveness of its products are outstanding at the global level. There are five major textile centres in the country:
- Istanbul – in addition to its industrial production, its share of exports is also outstanding;
- Bursa – known mainly for its cotton fabrics, towels and woven products;
- Denizli – towels, bathrobes, bed linen and duvet covers are made in the city using modern technology;
- Gaziantep – one of the largest carpet manufacturing centres in the country;
- Kahramanmaraş – the centre of yarn production, as well as a significant confectionery sector.
The textile sector is particularly important to the economy, accounting for 15-17% of total production and employing more than 4 million people. The importance of the Turkish textile industry in the Central and Eastern European region is also demonstrated by the fact that, after the market liberalisation period following the regime changes, the Turks were the first Asian textile producing exporters to enter the region, which also underlines the country’s potential in the textile sector. Turkey has become the EU’s third largest supplier in just a few years and also exports significant quantities to the US. It is also a leader in sustainability compared to other countries, producing high quality, durable, less energy-intensive materials. However, in recent years there has been a steady decline in the sector’s exports, which have been significantly affected by the economic contraction following the coronavirus pandemic as well as the earthquakes of 2023. Eleven cities were affected by the earthquakes, which were home to 1,616 garment and 1,290 textile companies. 30% of total garment and textile exports flowed abroad from disaster-affected regions.
In 2022, the sector’s exports amounted to USD 36.7 billion, but in 2023, this figure was down by 10%, which is significant compared to the previous figures and the sector’s past performance. In addition to the reasons already mentioned, the decline was also driven by fewer orders from the US and the UK, as well as domestic economic reasons. The years 2022-2023 were mainly defined by high inflation and budget deficits in Turkey, which also affected the stability of the Turkish lira. In April 2023, the central budget recorded a deficit of 132.5 billion Turkish lira, more than double the deficit of the same period of the previous year. Inflation has also reached huge proportions, with the value of money in Turkey deteriorating steadily and drastically since 2020: 14.6% in 2020, 36.1% in 2021, and then almost doubling to 64.3% in 2022 and 64.8% in 2023.
Based on the results so far, inflation has fallen to 43% at the end of 2024, so the various economic policy and central bank decisions have started to reduce inflation, if not yet sufficiently. The earthquakes of 2023 and the resulting damage and destruction of textile businesses also led to a drop in exports, which resulted in less foreign exchange entering the country. Export data for the year 2024 suggest that exports of textiles, clothing and leather products have started to grow again, although still at lower levels than in the past. Clothing manufacturing and exports continue to produce the most products, and exports of textile products are also high. Between January and November 2024, exports of the three sectors (clothing, textiles, leather and leather products) reached USD 30.1 billion, still significantly below the 2022 figures. While the recovery of manufacturing units destroyed by the earthquakes could further expand the sector’s performance, modernisation in some areas would also be important. For example, digitalisation improvements and the involvement of more investors could help the sector to return to high performance.
