The textile industry includes every business involved in growing or producing fibers, such as sheep farmers and cotton growers; those who make the fiber into thread; those who make the thread into cloth; and those who dye, bleach and finish the cloth.The textile industry also includes chemical companies that make synthetic fibers and all the resultant products. Then there are the wholesalers and retailers of all these textiles, and the products that are made from them.
History
Textiles have been around almost as long as humankind itself. Early humans wore animal skins and clothing woven from leaves and grasses. As humans evolved, so did the textiles they used in their daily lives and the processes by which they were made.
Significance
The textile industry affects every aspect of our lives. There are textiles in our cars, on our furniture, hanging at our windows, in the carpeting on the floors in our vehicles, homes and workplaces, and in the clothing on our backs. We dry ourselves with towels and sleep on sheets made by the textile industry. There are even textiles in the bag that carries your laptop computer from place to place.
Effects
Whole industries rely on the textile industry for their own products, such as the fashion and furniture industries, and the carpet and rug manufacturing industry. The textile industry also serves other segments of the marketplace, such as those involved in the textile arts like quilters and knitters. Even painters rely on the textile industry for canvas on which to paint. Other artists are actually part of the textile industry: those who sell their designs to fabric manufacturers, who print those designs directly on the fabric they make. There are industries that have been built on serving the textile industry, such as weaving machinery manufacturers, and even software providers who customize software for the textile industry.
Size
The textile industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry. One small component of the industry alone--the organic cotton growers (which excludes growers who don't farm with organic methods and all other components of the industry)--reached an estimated $3.2 billion in 2008, according to the nonprofit Organic Exchange.
Considerations
Other industries that rely on the textile industry for the success of their own business include manufacturers of embellishments used on clothing, such as buttons, sequins and zippers; and manufacturers of sewing machines, knitting needles and drapery hardware, just to name a few.
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