Knowra Clothing industry Clothing industry The economic sector that designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells clothing. It spans material sourcing and garment production through retail and reuse.
Textile manufacturing : The production of yarn, fabric, and other textile materials from fibers. It turns the fibers used by clothing producers into fabrics ready for garment making.
Fast fashion : A clothing business model built around quickly producing low-cost garments that follow changing trends. It intensifies rapid production and frequent purchasing within the broader industry.
Industrial Revolution : The period of major technological and economic change that began in Britain in the eighteenth century and spread elsewhere. Mechanized spinning and weaving helped establish large-scale clothing and textile production.
Haute couture : Custom-made, high-fashion clothing produced by skilled artisans for individual clients. It contrasts with mass-produced garments through bespoke fit, labor, and pricing.
Garment manufacturing : The industrial cutting, sewing, and finishing of clothing from fabric and components. It is the stage where textile materials become finished clothing.
Garment worker : A person employed to make clothing, often through cutting, sewing, or finishing garments. Workers' wages, safety, and bargaining power are central consequences of garment production.
Spinning jenny : A multi-spindle spinning machine developed by James Hargreaves in the 1760s. It increased yarn output and helped supply the expanding textile mills.
Made-to-measure : Clothing produced from a standard pattern adjusted to an individual's measurements. It occupies a middle ground between ready-made sizing and bespoke production.
Apparel supply chain : The network of suppliers, factories, logistics firms, and retailers involved in making and selling clothing. It connects dispersed production sites with brands, stores, and customers.
Rana Plaza collapse : The 2013 collapse of a garment factory building in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 people. The disaster exposed dangerous conditions in factories supplying international clothing brands.
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