Sustained increase of global fibre production
Textile Exchange released its Materials Market Report for 2025, its 12th edition. Global fibre production reached 132 million tonnes in 2024, up from 125 million in 2023. Once again, market growth is driven predominately by petrochemical synthetic fibres.
Cotton’s global market share was down from 20% to 19%, though production volumes were roughly the same (24.5 million tonnes in 23/24, vs 24.8 million tonnes in 22/23). The proportion of certified fibre is up from 31% to 34%, as reported to Textile Exchange. As for recycled cotton, the organisation estimates some 300,000 tonnes were ‘produced’ in 2024, just 1% of global cotton production (for wool it is 7%).
Manmade cellulosic fibre (MMCF) production increased from 7.9 million tonnes in 2023 to 8.4 million tonnes in 2024. This large family of fibres, ranging from acetate to lyocell, accounts for 6% of the global fibre market, a proportion that remains stable year in year out. Textile Exchange has found that MMCFs made from recycled feedstocks (pulp from cotton waste) edged upwards from an estimated 0.7% in 2023 to 1.1% in 2024. Growth in this sector could be due to new standards for pulp, and efforts by Canadian NGO Canopy to boost production of what it calls ‘next gen’ cellulosics.
Elastane production increased slightly last year, from 1.4 to 1.5 million tonnes, with some 3.2% recycled. Textile Exchange data pegs the stretch fibre at 1.1% of global usage.
Like all global data for fibres and textiles, and as Lutz Walter regularly points out in his LinkedIn posts, the production numbers presented in the Textile Exchange report cover all textile applications: apparel, home textiles, footwear as well as the myriad technical applications (from construction to geo-textiles). The organisation has launched a research project to assess fibre usage specifically for its audience, that is ‘consumer’ end-uses. It is expected that this will increase the proportion of natural fibres in its findings, as technical applications are overwhelmingly synthetic.
Image: Cradle-to-Cradle / C&A
