Global Apparel Trade Trends 2025: Diverging Markets, Shifting Supply Chains
This report tracks monthly apparel import and export data across the USA, EU, UK, and Japan on the import side, and China, Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam on the supply side, through September 2025, alongside retail sales and inventory readings for major US and UK retailers.
Aggregate imports across four key markets reached US$ 128.2 billion in the January–July 2025 period, an 11% YTD increase over the same period in 2024. But beneath this headline, the directional signals split sharply. The UK posted the strongest import momentum, with August 2025 volumes up 17% year-on-year and a 12% YTD gain. The EU held steady at 13% YTD growth with US$ 64.8 billion absorbed through August. The USA, by contrast, recorded a -3% decline in July imports to US$ 7.7 billion, consistent with softening consumer sentiment and a Consumer Confidence Index that slid to 94.2 by September 2025.
On the supply side, Vietnam is the clear outperformer. Its YTD apparel exports reached US$ 22.6 billion through July 2025, an 11% gain, with market share rising in both the USA (22%) and the EU. China posted a -2% YTD decline, its September exports falling 8% year-on-year to US$ 12.0 billion. India’s apparel exports reached US$ 12.3 billion YTD through September 2025, a 3% gain, though a -10% September decline signals near-term headwinds. Bangladesh held at 4% YTD growth despite a volatile monthly trend.
Retail: Physical Holds, Digital Softens
US apparel store sales reached US$ 144.3 billion for January–August 2025, a 3% gain. UK apparel stores hit £35.7 billion through September, up 7%. However, US online clothing and accessories e-commerce contracted by 3% in Q2 2025 versus Q2 2024, continuing a two-quarter negative run. UK online clothing declined 3% in Q3 2025.
Indian apparel retail sales maintained growth momentum, with July 2025 registering a 9% year-on-year increase, accelerating from 3% in the same month of 2024, supported by stable domestic consumption patterns.
The full report covers monthly import and export trends across eight countries, retail and e-commerce performance in the US and UK, inventory data from major retailers including Walmart and Target, and India’s domestic apparel retail trajectory from January through September 2025.
