The UK apparel and footwear market grew to £62.4bn in 2023. This data covers its business landscape, consumer spending patterns, and environmental impact.
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)
In 2023, the UK apparel and footwear market hit £62.4bn as online sales soared.
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 fashion market keeps ticking up from about £50.8bn in 2020 to roughly £62.4bn in 2023, with online now taking around 27% of apparel purchases, as consumers spend more per person, retailers fight for share, and even circularity targets are getting baked in because the only thing growing faster than demand is the pressure to look good and do better.
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
Behind 18,430 UK clothing businesses, 285,000 retail clothing jobs, and 4,000-plus footwear shops, the fashion economy still employs about 2.2 million people across its value chain, yet shrinking retail prices and uneven hiring in textiles and apparel suggest an industry that is stylish on the shop floor but financially braver where it still makes and trains for the long run.
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 2023, UK households spent £52.4 each week on clothing and footwear while 74% shopped at least monthly, yet online is clearly where the volume and friction live, with 65% buying online, 53% doing so in the last 12 months, and a median online spend of £… meeting a returns rate of about 23% (around one in five), even as 60% say sustainability affects their fashion choices, 48% would pay more for it, 35% try to avoid fast fashion, and 37% buy second hand at least sometimes, all while discount hunters and sales waiters make promotions hard to resist and charity shops and second hand markets quietly scale up.
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
The UK’s textile industry is generating millions of tonnes of waste while most of it is still heading to landfill or incineration, a small fraction gets recycled or reused, and all the while our wardrobes are quietly racking up carbon, water, microfiber pollution, and chemical risk, proving that “fast fashion” really does mean fast consequences.
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 and exports barely £7.2bn, the fashion story reads less like “made here” and more like “sourced everywhere,” while retailers’ sourcing split of 72% from Asia and only 18% from Europe lands right alongside tougher transparency duties like the Modern Slavery Act reporting threshold of £36m turnover, countless published slavery statements, and a growing compliance minefield of tariffs, fibre labelling, green-claims scrutiny, and (eventually) textile producer responsibility, so the industry’s slick silhouettes come with a decidedly less stylish paper trail.
Reference
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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)