The findings of the annual study on the state of fibres from nonprofit Textile Exchange are in, and the numbers don't look too good.
- Global fibre production has increased from around 112 million tonnes in 2021 to a record 116 million tonnes in 2022, after a marginal drop the previous year due to COVID-19.
- At the same time, the combined share of all recycled fibres has slightly decreased from around 8.5% in 2021 to 7.9% in 2022.
- Also, global fibre production per person has increased—from 8.3 kg per person in 1975 to 14.6 kg per person in 2022.
- The numbers come from 2023 edition of the Materials Market Report, rechristened this year from the earlier annual Preferred Fibre & Materials Market Report.
- The Materials Market Report covers total fibre and raw materials production volumes, independent of whether they are used for apparel, home textiles, footwear, or any other applications.
The overall findings: In the last 20 years, global fibre production has almost doubled from 58 million tonnes in 2000 and is expected to grow to 147 million tonnes in 2030 if business continues as usual.
- Without a rapid transition to “preferred” fibres and raw materials, including significantly reducing the industry’s reliance on virgin fossil-based synthetics, industry is unlikely to meet the 45% GHG emissions reduction target for raw material production by 2030.
- The drop in the share of recycled fibres is attributed to an increase in production of fossil-based polyester which had lower prices than recycled polyester. Still less than 1% of the global fibre market came from pre- and post-consumer recycled textiles in 2022.
- While the industry has made commitments to align with the 1.5°C pathway, virgin fossil-based synthetic fibre volumes continue to increase. Fossil-based synthetics production increased from 63 million tonnes in 2021 to 67 million tonnes in 2022.
The state of fibres: The report provides a breakdown of the status of different fibres.
- Cotton: Cotton from the programmes recognised by the 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge returned its market share to 27% of total cotton production in 2021–22, after declining from 27% in 2019–20 to 25% in 2020–21 owing to factors that included weather variations, changes to the Better Cotton programme, market conditions, and socio-political challenges.
- Polyester: Polyester fibre production volumes— making up 54% of total global fibre production in 2022—increased from 61 million tonnes in 2021 to 63 million tonnes in 2022, but the market share of recycled polyester fibres decreased marginally to 14% in 2022 from 15% in 2021. Reasons for this included the growing competition for PET bottles as feedstock, systemic challenges in scaling in textile-to-textile recycling, and the growth of virgin fossil-based polyester.
- Polyamide: Polyamide made up 5% of the global fibre market in 2022. Due to technical recycling challenges and comparatively lower prices for virgin fossil-based polyamide, recycled polyamide only makes up 2% of the total polyamide market share.
- MMCFs: Production of manmade cellulosic fibres (MMCFs) including viscose, lyocell, modal, acetate, and cupro increased from 7.2 million tonnes in 2021 to 7.3 million tonnes in 2022. FSC- and/or PEFC-certified MMCFs had an estimated market share of about 60-65% of all MMCFs in 2022.
- Forest MMCFs: Overall, the share of global forest area certified by FSC and/or PEFC decreased from around 11% in 2021 to around 10% in 2022, and is expected to further decline following the ban on timber from Russia, Belarus, and occupied Ukrainian territory as “conflict timber” in March 2022.
- Wool: Wool fibre production remained relatively unchanged at around 1 million tonnes in 2022. The market share of wool produced according to the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), ZQ, SustainaWOOL (GREEN and GOLD), and Climate Beneficial increased from around 3% in 2021 to 4.3% in 2022.
- Mohair: Approximately 4,550 tonnes of greasy mohair fibre were produced globally in 2022, and 41% of all mohair produced in 2022 aligned with the Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS), which is only in its third year after being launched in March 2020. RMS increased its market share to 79% of the total mohair production in South Africa and 38% in Australia in 2022.
- Alpaca: Global alpaca fibre production was around 6,250 tonnes in 2022. Following on from its launch in April 2021, the market share for the Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) reached 3.1% in 2022.
- Cashmere: Global cashmere production came to about 26,801 tonnes of greasy fibres in 2022. The market share of the cashmere programs increased to 35% of all cashmere produced worldwide in 2022, up from 17% in 2021.
- Down: Global down production volume was estimated at around 0.60 million tonnes in 2022. The market share of the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) slightly increased to 3.2% of the total down market in 2022.
- Leather: Leather, measured in terms of fresh hides of cattle, sheep, goats, and buffalo, had a global production volume of around 13.4 million tonnes in 2022.
- Rubber: Global natural rubber production came to around 14 million tonnes in 2022, making up 48% of the total 29 million tonne rubber market. Fossil-based synthetic rubber accounted for the remaining 52% of the market. In 2022, 2.9% of all the global rubber-producing area was FSC- and PEFCcertified.
