According to calculations by the Textile Trade Association (BTE), the range of clothing on offer in Germany has shrunk significantly in recent years. A total of 3.75 billion pieces of clothing were still available in Germany in 2021. The association calculated the difference between production plus imports minus exports. The value corresponds to 650 million parts less than in 2018, the BTE reported. Within three years, the domestic availability of textiles has fallen by around 15 percent. According to the BTE, a good part of the lower supply in the past year is likely to be the result of delivery problems and failures due to the corona pandemic.
Statistically speaking, in 2021 each of the 83 million inhabitants of Germany had 45 new items of clothing on offer, including sportswear and workwear, but excluding shoes and household textiles. In 2018, this value was still around 50 parts.
The number of 45 items of clothing also seemed a lot at first glance, the BTE admitted. But one has to take into account that more than half of these are small items such as stockings and tights, underwear and lingerie, gloves, scarves, hats, T-shirts and undershirts. Many of these items would also wear out quickly.
According to the BTE, large items such as coats, sweaters or shirts made up a significantly smaller part of the supply with 17 items per person per year. According to the HDE, a total of 122 million coats, anoraks and jackets were stacked on retail shelves in 2021, which statistically corresponds to 1.47 parts per capita. There were also 326 million sweaters and cardigans and 168 million blouses and shirts. (dpa)