The annual revenue of Australia’s slow fashion market is at $1.98 billion, making up just 11 per cent of the overall apparel market that stands at $18 billion.
This is according to research conducted by global online footwear brand Public Desire, compiling data from Statista, IBISWorld as well as official reports published across various countries.
According to research, Australia is the seventh in the ranking among nine other countries, with fast fashion making up a larger chunk of the overall apparel spend at $7.64 billion, or 42.44 per cent. The percentage of fast fashion revenue is the second-highest among the other nine countries, just behind Canada where fast fashion makes up 82.5 per cent of the market.
Australia also sees 382,000 searches for “Shein”, with just 3,600 searches for "thrift stores near me.”
The UAE ranks first in the slow fashion market, with 47.3 per cent of its apparel market revenue coming from sustainable fashion, amounting to $5 billion. This significant share indicates a strong consumer preference for slow fashion despite having a substantial fast fashion market share of 22.46 per cent.
Estonia takes the second position in the slow fashion market, at 45 per cent. The apparel market size of the country is $960 million, in which the slow fashion market size is $43.91 million, twice as big as Estonia's fast fashion market.
The search amount for the “Shein” is the second lowest, but thrift stores make up just 370.
Finland holds the third place. The country has a balanced distribution between fast fashion at 30.7 per cent and slow fashion at 21.5 per cent, with the overall apparel market revenue at $4.45 billion.
Japan is the fourth with the third largest search amount of “thrift stores near me” at 32,900 searches. Fast fashion accounts for 20.02 per cent of the market, while slow fashion holds a nearly equal share of 20.022 per cent, each contributing $18 billion, in a overall apparel market worth $89.9 billion.
This is followed by France, with a slow fashion market share of 19.4 per cent, or $7.9 billion. Its fast fashion market is the third-highest market at $16.63 billion. It also has the largest amount of people searching for Shein, at 5.67 million searches. The search amount for "thrift stores near me" is 20,400.
Canada takes the sixth place with slow fashion taking up 13 per cent of the apparel market, amounting to $2.6 billion, with fast fashion surging past 82.5 per cent of the overall apparel market.
Following Australia in seventh place is the United States, with the largest apparel market valued at $358.7 billion. Slow fashion constitutes 10.8 per cent of the market, or $39 billion, while fast fashion takes up 37.9 per cent of the entire apparel market.
The USA also has the largest search amount both for “Shein” at 13,200,000 and 3,270,000 for "thrift stores near me”.
The final two are India and Latvia respectively. India’s slow fashion market is at 8.4 per cent of the overall apparel market worth $1.05 billion. Fast fashion makes up 13.8 per cent of the apparel industry, which is the lowest percentage share across the 10 listed countries. India also records 975,000 searches for "Shein", with those searching for thrift stores at 24,000.
Latvia is last, with a slow fashion market share of 4.9 per cent, in an overall apparel market worth $849.5 million. Meanwhile, it’s fast fashion share is 18.01 per cent, or $153 million, with one of the smallest amounts of searches for Shein at 70,800.
A spokesperson from Public Desire said there is a global trend towards sustainability in fashion, with significant variations based on regional consumer preferences and market dynamics.
“As awareness and demand for sustainable fashion grow, it will be interesting to observe how these markets evolve and the potential impact on the global fashion industry.”