Consumption of clothing, footwear and household textiles per person

In 2022, each person in the EU consumed on average around 19 kg of clothing, footwear and household textiles. This amounts to around 8,5 million tonnes of total EU consumption of textiles.

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Different studies have yielded different numbers of textiles consumption volumes, ranging from 12-25 kg per person (ETC/WMGE, 2019)(EC JRC, 2021)(ETC/CE, 2022). When calculating the apparent consumption (production – import + export) based on Eurostat production and trade data – and excluding industrial/technical textiles and carpets - a total consumption for 2022 of 19 kg per EU capita is estimated, consisting of - on average - about 8 kg clothing, 4,4 kg footwear and 7,6 kg household textiles. This amounts to a total apparent household consumption of around 8,5 million tonnes of textile products (excl. carpets and other textiles) in Europe.

While consumption volumes dropped in 2020, they increased again in 2021 and 2022, continuing and even surpassing the trend from before the COVID-19 crisis (+13% in comparison with 2019). This rise is mainly driven by an increase of consumption of footwear (+38% in comparison with 2019), and to a lesser extent due to changes in consumption patterns of clothing (+3% in comparison with 2019).

Consumption of textile products is a key driver of value chain environmental and climate pressures and impacts arising from high-volume textile production and consumption.

Moving away from fast fashion is at the core of the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. It is to be achieved via overarching objectives for prolonging product lifetime through circular design, and producing high-quality, durable and circular textiles. Differentiation by product groups allows for a more nuanced understanding of consumption patterns and the circularity potential of each product group.

Definition

The yearly textiles consumption estimates come with a high degree of uncertainty, and different studies have yielded different numbers, often using different scopes and calculation methods. For the scope of this metric clothing, footwear and household textiles are taken into account, excluding industrial/technical textiles and carpets. The resulting ‘apparent consumption’ (= production + import – export) is calculated based on production and trade data from 2022.

Methodology

Apparent consumption numbers for clothing, footwear and household textiles were calculated based on Eurostat data on EU27 production and trade, with the formula 'Apparent consumption = Production + import - export'. Total apparent consumption numbers were divided through population numbers from the corresponding years to get per capita numbers.

Metadata

Data source: Eurostat [DS- 056120] and [nama_10_co3_p3],

Unit: kg/cap

Temporal coverage: 2010 - 2022

Geographic coverage: EU27

Literature

· ETC/CE, Textiles and the environment: The role of digital technologies in Europe’s circular economy (2025)

· EEA, Textiles and the environment: the role of design in Europe’s circular economy — European Environment Agency (2022)

· ETC/CE, Textiles and the environment: the role of design in Europe’s circular economy (2022)

· EC JRC, Circular economy perspectives in the EU textile sector (2021)

· EEA, Textiles in Europe's circular economy — European Environment Agency (2019)

· ETC/WMGE, Textiles in Europe's circular economy (2019)

Consumption of clothing, footwear and household textiles per person

References and footnotes