Total wiber demand (million tonnes)

The line chart illustrates total textile demand over the globe between 1980 and 2015. Overall, the demand for polyester, cotton, and cellulosic textiles rose over the period shown, while the opposite was true for wool. Among them, polyester saw the most significant growth. In 1980, the cotton demand was more than 10 million tons, making it the most popular fabric, and had increased steadily to nearly 30 million tons by 2000. After declining to about 20 million tons during this period, it continued to rise gradually, peaking at over 30 million tons in 2015. From 1980 to 1995, the demand for polyester also witnessed a steady increase, yet more significant than cotton, from around 5 to 20 million tons. After 1995, it rose dramatically and reached its peak at nearly 70 million tons in 2015. In 1980, the demands for cellulosic and wool were almost the same, at around 5 million tons each. After that, they followed opposite patterns at a similar pace. From 1980 to 2000, while the figure for cellulosic dropped slightly then increased to about 10 million tons, that for wool increased then declined to almost no demand.