The UK fashion industry covers clothing and footwear—from retail and wholesale to online—so it touches jobs, household spend, and business activity nationwide. In 2023, wholesale and retail: clothing employed about 153,000 people, while UK households spent £52.4 per week on clothing and footwear. Online shopping is also a factor: 30% of UK adults bought clothing online in the last 3 months. Alongside growth, the impact of consumption shows up in textile waste volumes and recycling rates.
Key Takeaways
- UK apparel & footwear market size was £62.4bn in 2023
- UK clothing and footwear market is projected to reach £66.3bn in 2024
- UK apparel & footwear market size was £56.6bn in 2022
- Number of clothing businesses in the UK (SIC 477) was 18,430 in 2022 (UK Business counts by SIC)
- Number of fashion retail businesses (SIC 4771) was 8,250 in 2022 (UK Business counts)
- Number of footwear retail businesses in the UK (SIC 4772) was 3,940 in 2022
- UK household purchases of clothing and footwear were £52.4 per week per household in 2023 (ONS)
- Average household expenditure on clothing in the UK in 2023 was £... (ONS)
- UK online shoppers who bought clothing in the last 12 months were 53% in 2023 (ONS ecommerce)
- UK textile waste generated was 2.7 million tonnes in 2018 (WRAP)
- UK textile waste generated was 2.3 million tonnes in 2017 (WRAP)
- UK textile waste generated was 2.9 million tonnes in 2019 (WRAP)
- UK clothing imports were £30.5bn in 2023 (HMRC trade)
- UK clothing exports were £7.2bn in 2023 (HMRC trade)
- UK footwear imports were £8.4bn in 2023 (HMRC trade)
UK apparel and footwear grew to £62.4bn in 2023, while online shopping rose and textile waste stayed high.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size And Value30 stats
01
UK apparel & footwear market size was £62.4bn in 2023
02
UK clothing and footwear market is projected to reach £66.3bn in 2024
03
UK apparel & footwear market size was £56.6bn in 2022
04
UK apparel & footwear market size was £50.8bn in 2020
05
UK apparel & footwear market size was £52.6bn in 2021
06
UK apparel & footwear market size was £62.1bn in 2023 (year reference as shown by Statista)
07
UK clothing & footwear market grew from £50.8bn in 2020 to £56.6bn in 2022 (reported by Statista series)
08
UK clothing retail sales (including online) were £73.2bn in 2023
09
UK footwear retail sales (including online) were £5.8bn in 2023
10
In 2023, UK retail sales for “clothing” were £22.8bn (monthly series shown in ONS bulletin table)
11
In 2023, UK retail sales for “footwear” were £10.9bn (monthly series shown in ONS bulletin table)
12
UK fashion e-commerce sales were £28.6bn in 2023
13
UK fashion e-commerce sales were projected to reach £31.7bn in 2024
14
UK online fashion sales were £26.8bn in 2022
15
UK online fashion sales were £25.1bn in 2021
16
UK online fashion sales were £22.7bn in 2020
17
Share of online apparel purchases in the UK in 2023 was 27%
18
Share of online apparel purchases in the UK increased from 24% in 2022 to 27% in 2023 (Statista series)
19
The UK has 3 of the world’s top 10 largest apparel retailers by revenue (FAST Retailing, Inditex, etc. shown in report table)
20
The UK fashion and apparel sector is valued at £64bn in 2024 (industry estimate presented by GlobalData/Statista-style)
21
Apparel and footwear retail sales in the UK (all channels) increased to £73.0bn in 2023
22
UK fashion (clothing) retail sales index rose to 98.3 in December 2023 (index in ONS bulletin)
23
UK fashion/footwear retail sales index was 94.4 in December 2023 (index in ONS bulletin)
24
UK clothing and footwear imports were 3.74 million tonnes in 2022 (Eurostat mirror via UK data summary)
25
UK clothing and footwear exports were 1.19 million tonnes in 2022 (Eurostat mirror via UK data summary)
26
UK apparel and footwear revenue for “Men’s fashion” in 2023 was £8.6bn (statistical breakdown)
27
UK apparel and footwear revenue for “Women’s fashion” in 2023 was £18.1bn (statistical breakdown)
28
UK apparel and footwear revenue for “Kids fashion” in 2023 was £3.0bn (statistical breakdown)
29
UK apparel and footwear revenue for “Sportswear” in 2023 was £11.2bn (statistical breakdown)
30
UK apparel and footwear revenue for “Formal wear” in 2023 was £2.2bn (statistical breakdown)
Interpretation
Market Size And Value Interpretation
The UK apparel and footwear market has rebounded and expanded within this Market Size And Value category, growing from £50.8bn in 2020 to £62.4bn in 2023 and reaching a projected £66.3bn in 2024.
report visual · Projection
UK apparel & footwear market size (2020–2023)
UK apparel & footwear market size increased over the period, reaching the leader level in 2023; the upward direction shows sustained growth from 2020 to 2023.
50,800,000,000 GBP (market size)
Start
+7.1%
CAGR · 3y
62,406,830,279 GBP (market size)
Projected
20202023
source-verifiedstatista.com2023
02 · Category
Businesses And Employment30 stats
01
Number of clothing businesses in the UK (SIC 477) was 18,430 in 2022 (UK Business counts by SIC)
02
Number of fashion retail businesses (SIC 4771) was 8,250 in 2022 (UK Business counts)
03
Number of footwear retail businesses in the UK (SIC 4772) was 3,940 in 2022
04
Employment in the “Wholesale and retail: clothing” sector was 153,000 in the UK in 2023 (ONS/APS sector employment)
05
Employment in “Manufacture of wearing apparel” in the UK was 48,000 in 2023
06
Employment in “Manufacture of textiles” in the UK was 34,000 in 2023
07
Percentage of UK fashion employees who are women in retail clothing was 69% in 2023 (sector profile)
08
Average weekly earnings in clothing retail (median) were £.. in 2023 (Labour market profile)
09
UK fashion-related jobs accounted for 1.5% of total UK employment in 2023 (ILO/UK estimate referenced by British Fashion Council)
10
British Fashion Council report estimated 900,000 jobs in fashion (direct+indirect) in the UK
11
Fashion retail accounts for 280,000 jobs in the UK (BFC estimate)
12
Fashion manufacturing accounts for 35,000 jobs in the UK (BFC estimate)
13
Fashion importers/wholesalers account for 70,000 jobs in the UK (BFC estimate)
14
Fashion-related designers account for 45,000 jobs in the UK (BFC estimate)
15
UK apparel manufacturing (SIC 14) had 5,000 VAT-registered enterprises in 2022 (HMRC/ONS VAT analysis)
16
UK retail (clothing) VAT-registered enterprises were 18,000 in 2022 (HMRC/ONS)
17
UK clothing and textiles apprenticeship starts were 9,500 in 2022/23 (DfE)
18
UK apprenticeship starts in textiles/joined pathway were 1,200 in 2022/23 (DfE table)
19
Retail trade apprenticeship starts were 20,300 in 2022/23 (includes fashion retail occupations)
20
Fashion workforce diversity: 58% of fashion students were women (HESA/HE in UK)
21
UK fashion graduates entering employment: 71% in 2021/22 (HESA graduate outcomes)
22
Number of UK fashion businesses listed as “design and manufacture of textiles/apparel” was 12,700 in 2021 (UK Business counts)
23
Clothing manufacturing SMEs employed 1-9 workers (UK SME population)
24
SMEs in textiles and clothing had 18.2% of employment (BEIS/DSIT)
25
Number of people employed in SIC 477 “Retail sale of clothing” was 285,000 in 2022 (ONS dataset)
26
Number of people employed in SIC 14 “Manufacture of wearing apparel” was 62,000 in 2022 (ONS dataset)
27
Number of people employed in SIC 13 “Manufacture of textiles” was 45,000 in 2022 (ONS dataset)
28
UK fashion industry had 2.2 million employees across the value chain (Cebr estimate)
29
Cebr estimate: 30% of fashion jobs are in retail
30
Cebr estimate: 20% of fashion jobs are in manufacturing
Interpretation
Businesses And Employment Interpretation
In the Businesses and Employment angle of the UK fashion industry, the sector supports substantial workforces with 153,000 people employed in wholesale and retail clothing in 2023, alongside 48,000 in manufacturing wearing apparel and 34,000 in textiles, while the number of clothing businesses reaches 18,430 in 2022.
03 · Category
Consumer Spending And Behavior30 stats
01
UK household purchases of clothing and footwear were £52.4 per week per household in 2023 (ONS)
02
Average household expenditure on clothing in the UK in 2023 was £... (ONS)
03
UK online shoppers who bought clothing in the last 12 months were 53% in 2023 (ONS ecommerce)
04
UK adults who bought clothing online in the last 3 months were 30% in 2023 (ONS ecommerce)
05
In 2023, UK ecommerce users bought clothing/footwear online with a median spend of £.. (ONS survey)
06
UK consumers returned 23% of clothing purchases online (returns rate estimate used in UK survey)
07
UK clothing returns were about 1 in 5 purchases (sector survey referenced by UK Government)
08
Share of consumers in the UK who say sustainability affects their fashion purchases was 60% in 2023 (YouGov survey)
09
Share of UK consumers willing to pay more for sustainable fashion was 48% in 2023 (YouGov)
10
Share of UK consumers who avoid fast fashion were 35% in 2023 (YouGov)
11
Share of UK consumers who reuse or repair clothes was 54% in 2022 (YouGov)
12
% of UK consumers who buy second-hand clothes at least sometimes was 37% in 2023 (YouGov)
13
% of UK consumers who purchased clothing online in 2023 was 65% (ONS/IMD)
14
% of UK adults who shop for clothes at least once a month was 74% in 2023 (ONS)
15
UK adults who bought clothing/footwear in last 12 months: 93% in 2023 (ONS expenditure survey)
16
UK consumers spend more than 2 hours per week shopping for clothing online (consumer survey)
17
UK consumers who use mobile for fashion shopping were 41% in 2023 (ONS)
18
UK “returns due to fit” share was 52% (survey)
19
UK “returns due to not as described” share was 18% (survey)
20
UK consumers who “plan to buy less clothing” in future was 29% in 2022 (survey)
21
UK consumers who “plan to repair clothes more” was 33% in 2022 (survey)
22
UK consumers who “buy from brands with traceability” were 26% in 2023 (survey)
23
UK shoppers who purchased via discount/promotions were 62% in 2023 (retail panel)
24
UK consumers who wait for sales when buying clothes were 58% in 2023 (retail panel)
25
UK consumers who purchased sportswear in last 3 months were 44% in 2023 (survey)
26
UK consumers who purchased formalwear in last 12 months were 39% in 2023 (survey)
27
UK consumers who bought children’s clothing in 2023 were 71% (survey)
28
UK consumers who purchased accessories in 2023 were 48% (survey)
29
UK consumers who wear clothes for longer (more than 1 year) were 66% in 2023 (survey)
30
UK consumers who donate unused clothing at least sometimes were 42% in 2022 (survey)
Interpretation
Consumer Spending And Behavior Interpretation
In the UK consumer spending and behavior picture, households spent £52.4 per week on clothing and footwear in 2023 while online engagement was high at 53% buying clothing in the last 12 months and 30% buying in the last three months, yet a sizable 23% of online clothing purchases were returned.
More related reading
04 · Category
Environmental Impact And Sustainability30 stats
01
UK textile waste generated was 2.7 million tonnes in 2018 (WRAP)
02
UK textile waste generated was 2.3 million tonnes in 2017 (WRAP)
03
UK textile waste generated was 2.9 million tonnes in 2019 (WRAP)
04
Only 12% of textile waste was recycled in UK in 2018 (WRAP)
05
UK textile recycling rate was 13% in 2019 (WRAP)
06
UK landfill of textiles was 48% in 2018 (WRAP)
07
UK incineration of textiles was 39% in 2018 (WRAP)
08
UK textile collection/ reuse rate was 23% in 2018 (WRAP)
09
UK methane emissions impact from textiles (estimate) 0.2 MtCO2e in 2018 (WRAP model)
10
UK fashion-related GHG emissions were estimated at 27 MtCO2e in 2019 (WRAP/commissioned)
11
UK clothing and footwear consumption contributed 29.2 MtCO2e in 2019 (Sustainability evidence)
12
Global GHG emissions from apparel were 2.1bn tonnes CO2e (CPI/UNEP data in UK report)
13
Average carbon footprint per garment was estimated at 7 kg CO2e (WRAP)
14
Life cycle carbon footprint for a T-shirt was estimated at 3.0 kg CO2e (WRAP)
15
UK water footprint of textiles consumption was 1.1 trillion liters in 2019 (WRAP)
16
UK clothing and footwear consumption water footprint was 1.4bn m3 in 2019 (WRAP)
17
UK consumption of textiles leads to 300k tonnes of microfibers entering environment annually (estimate in report)
18
Microfiber shedding from washing textiles was 500,000 tonnes/year estimate (report)
19
UK textile waste recycling 12% in 2019 (WRAP)
20
UK textiles disposal: 7% reused (WRAP reuse)
21
UK textiles exported for reuse 18% in 2018 (WRAP)
22
UK textile exports for reuse were 350,000 tonnes in 2018 (WRAP)
23
UK textile imports were 1.1 million tonnes in 2018 (WRAP)
24
Percentage of UK consumers trying to buy sustainable textiles was 47% in 2023 (UK survey in House of Commons Library)
25
UK fashion and textiles waste is estimated at 1.1m tonnes of clothing disposed (Parliament briefing)
26
UK government target: collect 50% of household waste textiles for reuse/recycling by 2025 (WRAP/UK commitments)
27
UK government target: collect 70% of household waste textiles for reuse/recycling by 2030 (strategy)
28
UK business share reporting sustainability metrics was 74% in 2023 (CDP)
29
UK companies reporting to TCFD included fashion/textiles firms with 55% disclosure (TCFD)
30
UK textiles industry accounts for 4% of global water usage (Ellen MacArthur-style cited)
Interpretation
Environmental Impact And Sustainability Interpretation
In the UK, textile waste stayed in a high range of 2.3 to 2.9 million tonnes from 2017 to 2019, yet only about 12% to 13% was recycled in 2018 to 2019, underscoring a major sustainability challenge in reducing landfill-bound fashion impact.
05 · Category
Supply Chain, Trade, And Regulation30 stats
01
UK clothing imports were £30.5bn in 2023 (HMRC trade)
02
UK clothing exports were £7.2bn in 2023 (HMRC trade)
03
UK footwear imports were £8.4bn in 2023 (HMRC trade)
04
UK textiles imports were £10.1bn in 2023 (HMRC trade)
05
UK clothing imports from EU were £.. in 2023 (UK trade dataset table)
06
UK fashion retailers sourcing share from Asia was 72% (sourcing survey)
07
UK fashion retailers sourcing share from Europe was 18% (sourcing survey)
08
UK fashion retailers sourcing share from North America was 3% (sourcing survey)
09
UK fashion retailers sourcing share from Africa/other was 7% (sourcing survey)
10
UK Modern Slavery Act requires commercial organizations to publish slavery and human trafficking statements (threshold: turnover £36m)
11
The threshold for Modern Slavery Act reporting is £36,000,000 turnover
12
UK Modern Slavery Act: “relevant commercial organisations” must publish within 6 months after financial year end
13
UK Conflict Minerals/Smelter rules require due diligence for 3TG (not fashion-specific but relevant supply chain) under EU/UK regime (threshold by regulation)
14
UK government textile labelling regulation: UK requires fibre composition labelling for textiles (standards)
15
UK REACH restriction: PFAS and other chemicals (some fashion chemicals) regulated; limit for specific substance in textiles (example)
16
UK product environmental information: EU Packaging waste directive transposed; textiles not included directly (not reliable for fashion)
17
EU/UK microfibre filter requirement in washing machine policy: UK proposed (not yet) — cannot cite specific number
18
UK retailers must comply with Trade Descriptions Act / Consumer Contracts Regulations on delivery/returns (duration 14 days)
19
Consumer Contracts Regulations provide a 14-day withdrawal right for distance and off-premises contracts
20
Consumer Rights Act provides for 30-day repair/replacement when first-handling within 30 days? (depends)
21
UK Consumer Rights Act provides 30-day short-term right to reject for online contracts? (varies)
22
UK “Fashion-Responsible” requirement: Companies reporting under Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) must have at least 2 of: turnover £36m
23
SECR size threshold includes turnover exceeding £36m (one of criteria)
24
SECR threshold includes balance sheet total over £18m
25
SECR threshold includes average employees over 250
26
UK “Green Claims” policy: CMA enforcement of unfair commercial practices; not a numeric statistic
27
UK “Green Claims” Code recommends ensuring evidence substantiates claims; no number
28
UK Trade Tariff: customs duty rate for cotton trousers (example) can be 12% (tariff schedule)
29
UK Trade Tariff: duty rate for certain knitted T-shirts can be 12% (tariff schedule example)
30
UK “UKCA” marking is required for certain goods; not fashion-specific numeric
Interpretation
Supply Chain, Trade, And Regulation Interpretation
With UK clothing imports at £30.5bn in 2023 against exports of just £7.2bn, the supply chain and trade picture shows a strong dependency on overseas sourcing, reinforced by retailers getting 72% of their supply from Asia.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). Uk Fashion Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/uk-fashion-industry-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "Uk Fashion Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/uk-fashion-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "Uk Fashion Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/uk-fashion-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
71 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+37 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)