Recovery for the Spanish textile industry has come at last. In 2016, the number of textile firms stopped falling for the first time in nearly a decade, and the country’s textile exports rose by 7%. This recovery is largely due to the success of ‘fast fashion’ brands such as Zara, and other clothing retailers including Desigual and Mango. Spain’s textile and apparel industry is one of the largest industries in the country, and clothing and textiles account for nearly 3% of Spain’s GDP.
In the past, Spain has faced fierce competition from Asia—China especially—as well as economic challenges due to the global recession and a decrease in consumer and industry demand. Additionally, many Spanish textile firms have found themselves unable to innovate and adapt to changing textile industry technologies and new practices, further lessening their ability to compete with other major players. Fast fashion has been able to help combat this, giving the Spanish textile and apparel industry low-risk opportunities to innovate and incorporate new manufacturing and design aspects. Fast fashion is popular with a large segment of the population due to its affordability and adherence to current fashion and textile trends; it’s also inexpensive to produce and does not often have a very long lifespan, meaning that consumers often re-purchase items or continue to purchase new textiles and articles of clothing in order to keep up with rapidly evolving Spanish clothing and fashion trends.
The textile industry in Spain is also benefiting from the country’s economic rebound and from the elimination of less competitive textile firms from the market. Almost 4,000 textile firms currently remain in Spain; this number is expected to remain stable over the next year at least. These surviving firms are focus heavily on exports, which has helped to create new business opportunities and markets for Spain to export their textiles and Spanish fabric. Spain now exports raw fabric to Morocco, the main destination for the majority of Spain’s textile exports, a factor that is expected to further boost the recovery of the textile industry in the near future.
In the future, we can expect Spain’s textile industry to become more fortified, and for both small and large players in the industry to increase their success and export abilities. BizVibe can connect you with Spain’s top textile and apparel manufacturers, as well as other manufacturers, suppliers, and wholesalers around the world, helping you to build your own network of global textile companies. Register for free now to get started.
