History of Textile Clothing
- 9.000 BC – Textile clothes are made from wool in Mesopotamia (current Turkey, Iran and Irak).
- 5.000 BC – Clothes are made from cotton in India, Pakistan, Latin America
- 3.000 BC – Clothes are made from Flax in Egypt
- 3.000 BC – Clothes are made from Silk in China
Nylon
- Invented in 1932 by Dupont de Neymours
- Nylon is a fossil-based synthetic fibres
- Cheap alternative to natural fibres
- Will lead to Polyester and Acrylic
- 2015 = 48 Mn Ton of polyester produced
- 2015 = 26 Mn Ton of cotton produced
- Advantages of Polyester compared to cotton:
- cheaper
- easier to process
- colours remain longer
Fashion Capitals
Traditional fashion capitals
- Paris
- Milan
- New York
- London
Newcomers
- Shanghai
- Lagos
Fashion Industry Global Turnover
- $ 1000 Bn in 2002
- $ 2500 Bn in 2015
- Expected turnover in 2025 = $ 5000 Bn
Clothes Consumption per Year per Capita
- UK = 26.7 kg / capita (equivalent of 16 jeans and 40 T-Shirts)
- US / Canada / Germany = 16 Kg / capita
- Italy = 14.5 Kg / capita
- France = 9 Kg / capita
- China = 5 Kg / capita –> expected: 10-16 Kg/ capita in 2030
- World Average = 5Kg / capita
China in Fashion Industry
- China is currently the biggest fashion market in the world
- China represents 38 % of the annual Growth of the fashion industry
- China consumes 35 % of luxury goods
Fashion Industry Profit
Most profit of the fashion industry was made by 20 companies
- Nike (US)
- Inditex (Spain)
- LVMH (France)
- TJX (US)
- Kering (FR)
- Hermes (FR)
- Fast Retailing (Japan)
Wealth Forbes Ranking in 2020
- Bernard Arnault (LVMH) – 3rd place with $ 76 Bn
- Armancio Ortega (Inditex) – 6th place with $ 55 Bn
- Phil knight (Nike) – 25th place with $ 30 Bn
Profit Drivers of Fashion Industry
- Economy of Scale (industrialisation)
- Technical development (machines)
- Technological development (Materials)
- Delocalisation
Delocalisation
Reason for delocalisation: cheap work force & no social protection
- Biggest losers of delocalisation in second half of 20th century: UK and France
- Biggest winner of delocalisation in second half of 20th century: China
- China used to produce 2/3 of all clothes in the 1980s
- China average monthly wage in 2000 = $ 72
- China average monthly wage in 2019 = $ 326
China becomes too expensive, Fashion production delocalises to other countries. Average monthly wage in 2019 …
- Bangladesh = $ 95
- Laos = $ 128
- Pakistan = $ 152
- Vietnam = $ 180
- Cambodia = $ 182
- Malaysia = $ 267
- Indonesia = $ 280
- Thailand = $ 309
Latest trends, delocalise to following countries (2019)
- Ethiopia = $ 26
- Lesotho = $ 146
- South Africa = $ 244
- Kenya = $ 267
Reason for delocalisation: low environmental regulation
Fashion is important Source of Pollution
- Industrial production of textile creates 1.7 Bn ton CO2 / year = the same quantity as aviation and maritime transport together
- Sourcing of feedstock (Agriculture, cattle (leather) and transport) creates 2.1 Bn ton CO2 / year
- To reach 1.5 ° t° increase by the year 2100, the fashion industry will need to reduce its GHG by 50%
- Sweet water consumption of textile industry= 4 %
- The production of 1 jeans requires 7500 litres of water
- 20 % of all industrial water pollution
- Ocean Microplastics: the washing of synthetic textiles produces 35 % of all microplastics in the oceans
Refs
Arte – Les dessous de Cartes – Le Textile
Personal Remarks
The China average wage grew from $72 in 2000 to $ 326 in 2019. This represents an increase of 450 %
Chinese politicians seems to be more efficient than US or EU politicians when it comes to increasing the purchasing power of their populations.