Where Are Most Fabrics Made in the World? (2024)

FAQs

Where are most fabrics made? ›

China. China is literally at the top of the textile supply chain. It is the number one exporter of textiles in the world. A huge percentage of apparel and accessories are exported from China to numerous countries across the globe.

Wool, wood, cotton, cocoons, coal, and petroleum are natural resources used to make fabrics. The reason each of these very different things can become fabric is that they all share a common chemistry. They are all made of very long molecules called polymers. Not all polymers are good for making fabric, though.

Fibers from plants

The fiber is plucked off the seeds and separated from the dried plant parts. Then it is brushed and combed so that the fibers point in the same direction. The 2-4 cm long fibers are twisted to make yarn, which is then woven or knit to make blue jeans, T-shirts, sweaters, towels, and bed sheets.

Traditional materials such as cotton, linen and leather are still sourced from plants and animals. But most clothes are more likely to be made of materials and chemicals derived from fossil fuel-based crude oil. There are nine major types of raw materials commonly used in clothing today.

In 2022, the top importers of Textiles were United States ($148B), Germany ($69.3B), Japan ($35.3B), France ($35.2B), and United Kingdom ($33.7B).

China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam lead as the largest clothing manufacturing countries globally. China boasts the highest output, with over 28% of the world's garments produced there.

According to business owners, it's almost impossible to create textiles from start to finish with 100 percent American-made materials. Watch "World News with Diane Sawyer" for more "Made In America" tonight on ABC. The textiles and apparel Americans use are increasingly foreign-made.

Cotton. Known as the most popular material in the world, cotton is a light, soft natural fabric. The fluffy fiber is extracted from the seeds of the cotton plant in a process called ginning. The fiber is then spun into cloth, where it can be woven or knit.

Cotton: One of the world's oldest and most widely used fabrics, cotton is popular due to its versatility, comfort, and breathability.

Italy. Italy and other European countries are known to have some of the best tailors in the world. With their exceptional skills and talents, they can charge thousands of dollars for their made-to-measure suits. These bespoke items can take weeks and are always made from the highest quality materials available.

What is the oldest surviving clothing? ›

The Tarkhan Dress, named for the Tarkhan cemetery south of Cairo in Egypt where it was excavated in 1913, is an over 5000 year old linen garment that was confirmed as the world's oldest piece of woven clothing.

Shirts are sourced and sewn all over the world. The US is one of the leading producers of cotton. However, the largest producers are China and India who together produce 31% of the world's fiber.

Clothing made of materials such as animal skins and vegetation was initially used by early humans to protect their bodies from the elements. The usage of clothing and textiles across the ages reflects the varying development of civilizations and technologies.

Reib said 80 percent of Wildcat Territory's products are made in America. Her company buys fabric from all over the world, but also develops its own fabric in American mills. There aren't that many left, but there "is a small but still core group of people" who own mills in this country.

North Carolina (2,058 businesses), California (1,595 businesses) and Georgia (1,102 businesses) are the States with the most number of Textile Mills businesses in the US.

As the largest textile-producing and exporting country in the world, China's textile industry has become one of the main economic pillars in recent years, and the Red Dragon is renowned as the Country with the Best Fabric Quality.