In 2022, China was the top ranked global clothing exporter with a share of approximately 31.7 percent, followed by the European Union, Bangladesh, and Viet Nam. In that year, China and the European Union were also the leading textile exporters in the world.

Apparel and clothing market in Europe

Europe has one of the most lucrative apparel and clothing markets in the world. In 2020, specialized clothing stores in the European Union generated more than 139 billion euros in turnover from retail sales, continuing the downturn experienced in 2019. Between 2011 and 2020, the number of clothing and footwear retail stores in the European Union has decreased, despite steady increase in turnover from retail sales during this time period. This could be attributable to the key role e-commerce came to play in the apparel market in Europe and beyond. In 2019, there were some 262 thousand stores specializing in clothing and around 53 thousand footwear and leather goods stores in the EU.

Leading clothing retailers in Europe

Europe is home to some of the world’s most famous clothing retailers and brands. The Spanish apparel company Inditex was the leading fashion retailer in Europe, with a turnover of 17.5 billion euros in 2021. Inditex is the mother company of iconic brands such as Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear and more. The Swedish H&M (Hennes and Mauritz) followed in second place, with a turnover of around 13.2 billion euros. The German fashion retailer Zalando came in third place, with roughly 10.4 billion euros in annual turnover in 2021. A brand value comparison between H&M and Zara shows that the Swedish retailer’s brand value was higher than Zara’s.

India’s apparel market was expected to grow at a rate of about ** percent and reach a value of ** billion U.S. dollars by 2021. The kids wear segment accounted for about ** percent of the total apparel market in India in 2018. The segment was predicted to reach nearly *** trillion Indian rupees by 2028.

Growth in the Indian apparel industry

The rise of urbanization, along with other aspects seemed to have transformed the apparel industry in India. Over the years, the market witnessed steady growth. Furthermore, the textile sector is one of the oldest in the country and employed around *** million people in 2019. With a wide range of choice between hand-spun and hand-woven textiles to sophisticated mill products, different parts of the country take pride in donning their regional and cultural outfits. This had, in recent years expanded to include fusing styles of clothing from the other parts of the world, giving the entire market an eclectic makeover.

Apparel exports from India

In 2018, apparel exports from India amounted to around **** billion dollars. Offline sales dominated the export channel, with fabric being the leading exported product. The value of exports from the country has slightly dipped in the last two years. One reason for this could be competition from counties like China and Vietnam. Additionally, Bangladesh’s duty-free agreement with the European Union further challenges India’s apparel exports. Nevertheless, manufacturers in the country have shifted their focus to diversifying exports to Hong Kong, Japan and South Africa. It remains to be seen if this can make up for the dip in exports since 2018.

In the face of environmental and social impact of the fashion industry, many retailers are pledging to make fashion a sustainable and transparent industry, and sharing their policies and practices with consumers. H&M is one of these brands that publish data about their supply chain, factory numbers, locations and employee numbers, so that consumers remain informed about the social impact of the clothes they purchase. China: main clothing supplier As seen in the present graph, China, Bangladesh and Turkey are top three locations where H&M sources its products. This is also true for many other fast fashion retailers, as the majority of the world’s clothing supplies come from these countries. In Sweden, where the retailer is headquartered, there are a total of *** suppliers and factories manufacturing H&M's clothing products and accessories. Sustainable cotton sourcing In addition to accountability and transparency principles H&M is pursuing, the retailer is also dedicated to sustainable cotton usage in its products. Based on the retailer’s policy, uptake and traceability performance on sustainable cotton sourcing, H&M scored an overall **** out of 100 in 2020. According to the ranking criteria, this renders H&M as a retailer that “leads the way”.