That dollar amount results from a 19.2% increase for all T-shirt exporters over the five-year period starting in 2018 when exported T-shirts were worth $47.5 billion.
Year over year, revenues from globally exported T-shirts grew by 12.9% compared to $50.2 billion during 2021.
The 5 biggest exporters of knitted or crocheted t-shirts are mainland China, Bangladesh, Germany, Türkiye and Vietnam. Collectively, that leading quintet generated 47.4% of total international sales for knitted or crocheted t-shirts.
Among continents, suppliers in Asia sold the highest dollar worth of exports for knitted or crocheted T-shirts (inclusive of all types of materials) during 2022 with shipments valued at $31.5 billion or 55.7% of overall T-shirt exports. In second place were European shippers at another 27.5%.
Smaller percentages of total t-shirt exports were sourced from Latin America (10.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (4.2%), Africa (2.5%) then Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Most Popular T-Shirt Materials
Cotton is the dominant material used in t-shirt manufacturing. Cotton t-shirts accounted for $39.7 billion in international sales or well over two-thirds (70.1%) of total exported t-shirts. Similar apparel made from textiles other than cotton equaled $16.9 billion for the remaining 29.9%.
International sales of exported t-shirts made from cotton grew by 13.5% from 2021 to 2022. International revenues from t-shirts comprised of non-cotton materials rose by a slower rate (up 11.5%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for knitted or crocheted t-shirts is 6109. Drilling down, cotton T-shirts fall under 610910 while t-shirts made from other materials are categorized as 610990.
T-shirt Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of t-shirts (regardless of source materials) during 2022.
- China: US$9.3 billion (16.5% of total t-shirt exports)
- Bangladesh: $9.3 billion (16.4%)
- Germany: $2.8 billion (4.9%)
- Türkiye: $2.76 billion (4.9%)
- Vietnam: $2.7 billion (4.7%)
- India: $2.5 billion (4.5%)
- Honduras: $2.11 billion (3.7%)
- Italy: $2.06 billion (3.6%)
- Belgium: $1.41 billion (2.5%)
- Spain: $1.32 billion (2.3%)
- France: $1.32 billion (2.3%)
- Netherlands: $1.29 billion (2.3%)
- United States: $1.19 billion (2.1%)
- Mexico: $1.16 billion (2.1%)
- Poland: $1 billion (1.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 74.6% of t-shirt exports in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing t-shirt exporters were: Honduras (up 89,449% from 2021), United States of America (up 33.3%), Bangladesh (up 23.6%) and France (up 12.5%).
A pair of major providers posted declines in their exported t-shirt sales, namely the Netherlands (down -10.3% from 2021) and Germany (down -2%).
Cotton T-shirt Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of cotton T-shirts during 2022.
- Bangladesh: US$8.3 billion (21% of exported cotton t-shirts)
- China: $4.6 billion (11.7%)
- Germany: $2 billion (5.1%)
- Türkiye: $1.88 billion (4.7%)
- India: $1.88 billion (4.7%)
- Italy: $1.7 billion (4.2%)
- Vietnam: $1.59 billion (4%)
- Honduras: $1.58 billion (4%)
- Spain: $1.04 billion (2.6%)
- France: $1.02 billion (2.6%)
- Netherlands: $1.01 billion (2.5%)
- United States: $991.2 million (2.5%)
- Belgium: $872.3 million (2.2%)
- Poland: $822.8 million (2.1%)
- Mexico: $793.0 million (2.0%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 75.9% of globally exported cotton t-shirts in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of cotton t-shirts were: Honduras (up 2,226,159% from 2021), United States of America (up 33.5%), Bangladesh (up 23.5%) and France (up 13.6%).
A pair of leading providers posted declines in their exported cotton t-shirts sales, namely the Netherlands (down -12.9% from 2021) and Germany (down -0.7%).
Non-Cotton Textile T-shirt Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that, during 2022, exported the highest dollar value worth of T-shirts made from textile materials other than cotton.
- China: US$4.7 billion (27.8% of exported non-cotton t-shirts)
- Vietnam: $1.1 billion (6.4%)
- Bangladesh: $945.7 million (5.6%)
- Türkiye: $876.5 million (5.2%)
- Germany: $772.5 million (4.6%)
- India: $663.5 million (3.9%)
- Belgium: $538 million (3.2%)
- Honduras: $529.1 million (3.1%)
- Cambodia: $481.3 million (2.8%)
- Italy: $406.7 million (2.4%)
- Sri Lanka: $382.7 million (2.3%)
- Mexico: $349.7 million (2.1%)
- Pakistan: $341.4 million (2%)
- Indonesia: $304.8 million (1.8%)
- France: $293.5 million (1.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 74.9% of globally exported non-cotton t-shirts in 2022.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing exporters of non-cotton t-shirts were: Honduras (up 23,057% from 2021), Bangladesh (up 24.4%), Cambodia (up 23%) and Pakistan (up 17.5%).
Two supplier countries posted declines in their exports of non-cotton t-shirts, namely Germany (down -5.4% from 2021) and Italy (down -2.9%).
T-shirt Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are examples of established T-shirt companies.
- Fab Collections Limited (Bangladesh)
- Herbert Georg Santura (Portugal)
- Idea Group IGM SRL (Italy)
- Luxiberg (France)
- Nanchang Dongshen Knitted Garment Co, Ltd (China)
- NFS Trade International (Germany)
- PBM Polytex Limited (India)
- Ruma North America Group S de RL de CV (Mexico)
- Sky Apparel Limited (Turkey)
- Vietgo Company Limited (Vietnam)
The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
See also T-shirt Imports by Country, Top Fur Clothing Exporters Plus Average Prices for Furskin Clothes, Cotton Imports by Country and Top Exported Baby Clothing Sales
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for T-shirts. Accessed on August 6, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 6, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 6, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 6, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 6, 2023
Wikipedia, T-shirt. Accessed on August 6, 2023
