Second-hand textiles now compete on price with budget new clothing
Price parity between new budget and second-hand clothing is reshaping France's textile market fundamentals.
Event / Economy
France Textile Consumption 2025
Analysis of French textile consumption patterns in 2025 reveals 3.6 billion new items purchased annually, with online retail growth and rising second-hand market adoption driven by price parity with fast fashion.
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2026-08-16 to 2026-11-13 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 17 Jun, 10:34 UTC
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What happened
Clothing represents 82% of new textile purchases destined to become waste
Clothing items represent 82% of all new textile pieces purchased. The director general of Refashion warns that these items will become waste tomorrow, with two-thirds currently ending up incinerated or buried rather than recycled.
Shoe purchases increase by 4% while baby clothing category grows 5%
Shoe purchases increased by 4% in 2025. The baby clothing category, which had declined the previous year, experienced a 5% increase driven particularly by low-price retailers and large grocery store chains.
Online retailers grow sales by 12% as consumers favor direct-to-consumer platforms
Online retailers selling exclusively online, such as Zalando and Shein, recorded a 12% growth in sales volume. These companies are identified as the primary drivers of growth in the textile market, alongside discount retailers which grew 3%.
Average French consumer purchased 43 clothing items per person in 2025
In 2025, the average French consumer purchased 43 pieces of clothing, 4 pairs of shoes, and 12 articles of household linens per person. This represents an increase of one additional clothing item compared to 2024.
Second-hand textile consumption reaches 65,000 tonnes, growing 4.8% year-over-year
Second-hand textile consumption represented 65,000 tonnes in 2025, accounting for 7.2% of total textile and shoe consumption in France. This represents a 4.8% increase compared to 2024, showing growing consumer adoption of pre-owned clothing.
French consumers purchased 3.6 billion new textile items in 2025
French consumers purchased 3.6 billion new textile items in 2025, averaging 10 million pieces per day. This represents an increase from 3.5 billion items in 2024. The figure is based on data collected from 11,000 brands selling textiles in France, including Asian platforms like Shein and Temu.
Downtown retail chains decline 2% while suburban retailers grow 3%
Downtown retail chains experienced a 2% decline in sales while suburban retail chains and grocery stores selling textiles grew 3% and 2% respectively. Sports specialty retailers declined by 3%.
Average price of new budget clothing equals second-hand textile prices
Seven out of ten textile purchases are entry-level products at an average price of 8.30 euros, which is equivalent to the average price of second-hand textiles at 8.50 euros, according to Refashion.
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2 alternative perspectives
Online sales surge while traditional retail splits between downtown decline and suburban growth
Online sales up 12% while downtown retail declines but suburban stores grow 3%.
French textile consumption hits record with 3.6 billion items purchased
France's textile consumption surged to 3.6 billion items in 2025, but 82% faces waste disposal.