EU Textile Industry

The European Union (EU) is an organization of 27 member states that maintain a single market to increase efficiency by avoiding trade restrictions and tariffs between European nations. Textiles are a large and critical industry for these nations.

Size

The European Commission reports that, as of 2007, the European textile and clothing industry consists of about 220,000 companies and 2.3 million workers. The industry also generated € 197,600,000,000 (about $277 billion) in gross revenue that year.

Producers

The European Commission lists the UK, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden as the major producers of textiles within the European Union. The majority of textiles remain in the EU, with only 20 percent of textiles and clothing being sold to non-member countries.

Focus

Textile production in Europe has shifted its focus from simple mass production to more expensive, specialty products. According to the European Commission, the EU is the leader in textiles used for technical and industrial purposes, rather than clothing.

References

• European Commission: Statistics of textiles
• European Commission: The EU-27 textiles and clothing industry