Which countries buy the most clothes? (2024)

Which country buys the most clothes?

China is particularly dominant – the quantity of garments sold there is more than the other nine countries in the list combined. On average a US consumer purchases one mid-priced item of clothing per week.

France is the leading country for the fashion industry in the world, according to the Brands Countries IPX by IFDAQ. With more than 2,300 index points, France was ahead of Italy (2,205 points) and the U.S. (1,866 points).

In the United-States, 88% of consumers prefer shopping for fast fashion, followed by consumers in Europe (46%), India (25%) and China (21%).

This statistic shows the average annual expenditure on women's and girl's apparel by consumers in the United States in 2020, by age. In 2020, the 35 to 44 age group was the highest spender on women's and girl's clothing, spending 785 U.S. dollars on average in the year.

Germany is Europe's largest importer of apparel products with a total import value of 30.2 billion, of which €14.3 billion is Intra-EU imports and €15.9 billion is Extra-EU imports.

Bangladesh provides the lowest wages out of the major garment producing countries, where the monthly minimum wage for garment workers is 5,300 taka, or about 65 USD. India, China and Vietnam generally have much higher wages but lack a national minimum wage due to regional differences in economic development.

This statistic shows the average annual expenditure on men's and boys' apparel by consumers in the United States in 2020, by age. In 2020, the 35 to 44 age group was the highest spender on men's and boys' clothing, spending 515 U.S. dollars on average in the year.

The resulting IFDAQ Global Fashion and Luxury Cities Index revealed New York as the leading fashion capital, followed by Paris, Milan, and London.

Excessive Pollution

China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and several poor Asian countries account for almost all textiles made for fast-fashion retailers. These countries and other predominantly non-white nations are the largest producers of textiles.

Who makes the majority of our clothing?

Cotton farmers and ancillary workers dominate

The cotton farming sector – which involves mainly small-scale farmers and associated services operating throughout the developing world – dominates the fashion and textile industry workforce.

Currently the company is not involved in clothing design and manufacturing, and instead obtains its products from the wholesale clothing market in Guangzhou. Based in China and shipping across 220 countries, SHEIN is the world's largest fashion retailer, as of 2022.

The state spending the most money on clothing is not the one you would guess. While New Yorkers spent on average 764 dollars on clothing per person in 2018, those in West Virginia beat out all other states with a per-person expenditure of 2,735 dollars.

In 2020, the U.S. were the leading import country in the world with an import value of about 2.41 trillion US dollars. Import and export are generally important pillars of a country's economy.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria often tops the list of inexpensive countries to visit in Europe – and with good reason.

Denmark was the most expensive with prices 155 per cent of the EU average, followed by Sweden at 137 per cent and Finland at 133 per cent. Ireland was 129.5 per cent of the average.

A report released by the European Commission's data analysis wing Eurostat revealed that Ireland was the most expensive EU country for cost of living. Ireland and Denmark were found to be a staggering 40% higher than the EU average in 2021.

Which country is best for clothing business?

The resulting IFDAQ Global Fashion and Luxury Cities Index revealed New York as the leading fashion capital, followed by Paris, Milan, and London.