Going Global: The Textile and Apparel Industry

Today, textiles and apparel are produced in over 200 countries. Over the past 100 years, trade in textiles and apparel has progressed from independent markets within local communities to a complex global distribution system. No other forms of commerce can claim to be as pervasive throughout the globe as the production and distribution of textile and apparel products. Not only is this business found in all parts of the globe, but textiles and apparel provides employment for more people than any other industry, directly providing a livelihood for many millions of people, including employment of 37 million individuals in India alone! Going Global provides a coherent framework for understanding globalization in the field of textile and apparel from the perspective of not only business, but all major constituencies affected by world trade. Topics that will be selectively addressed include: economic/business, social/labor, political/government, trade associations, social activists, consumers, developed countries, newly developed countries, and developing countries.