U.S. fashion companies’ shift away from China shows no signs of slowing down, according to a recent survey from the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA).
This year, over 40 percent of respondents to USFIA’s annual Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study said they sourced less than 10 percent of their apparel products from China, up from 30 percent in 2022 and 20 percent in 2019.
This year’s study surveyed executives from 30 U.S. fashion companies from April to June. Approximately 73 percent self-identified as retailers, 60 percent as brands and 65 percent as importers/wholesalers.
The survey, now in its 10th year, also saw the percentage of respondents no longer using China as their top supplier hit a record high in 2023: 61 percent. Only 50 percent said the same last year, which itself was a giant leap from the pre-pandemic normal of 25 percent to 30 percent.
Meanwhile, nearly 80 percent of respondents said they plan to reduce sourcing from China over the next two years. A record high of 15 percent plan to “strongly decrease” sourcing from the country. Large-size U.S. fashion companies—around 77 percent of respondents reported having more than 1,000 employees—that currently source more than 10 percent of their products from China were “among the most eager to de-risk,” the report said.