Global Smart Clothing Market: by Product (Outer Wear, Inner Wear), Fabric Type (Active Smart, Passive Smart, and Ultra Smart), Application (Military & Defense, Sports & Fitness, Fashion & Entertainment, Healthcare, and Others), Distribution Channel (Online and Offline), and Region - Market Perspective, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, and Forecast for 2023-2032

Market Perspective

The global Smart Clothing Market size was worth around USD 1.9 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to reach USD 9.2 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of around 19.2% between 2023 and 2032 driven by the increasing popularity of innovative clothing products that provide both smart and fashionable solutions.

Smart clothing products offer an aesthetic and fashionable appeal while also providing the capability to track and monitor various aspects of the body, including health concerns.

The proliferation of sports and leisure activities has led to an increase in consumer demand for smart clothing products. Fitness enthusiasts, in particular, prefer clothing that is easily washable, sweat-resistant, and equipped with sensors that track their fitness performance. In line with this, numerous market vendors are focusing on launching smart clothes with dry cleaning and washing services to provide various customized options.

For example, in December 2020, Samsung launched the AirDresser, a smart clothing care solution that provides easy and convenient garment care for luxury living and working spaces. The AirDresser uses powerful air and steam to remove dust, and bacteria, and freshen and disinfect clothes.

The growth of IoT-connected clothing and an increased focus on monitoring physical conditions with biometric data, such as heart rate, temperature, pulse rate, and muscle stretch, are also contributing to the business expansion. Additionally, the increasing need for smart clothing in military applications, such as bulletproof jackets for soldiers, is further driving the smart clothing market share. Smart clothing manufacturers are developing wearable sensors that generate useful wearer data for effective health and activity monitoring, thereby improving the durability and appeal of clothing.

Key Insights:

• Based on product, the outerwear segment held the largest market share
• Based on fabric type, the active smart segment generated the highest market revenue  
• Based on the application, the sports & fitness segment dominated the market
• Based on distribution channels, the online segments dominated the market
• Based on region, North America held the largest market share

The popularity of Nanomaterials in the Development of Antimicrobial Smart Textiles Augments the Market Growth

Textile manufacturers are investing in the development of smart textiles to expand the application of sensors and nanotechnology in fabrics. This is driven by the need for textiles that can maintain their comfortable, washable, and perspiration-emitting properties while also being durable. The medical textile industry is constantly evolving and discovering new ways to meet the needs of patients while maintaining a high level of performance. In recent years, several market vendors have developed smart textiles for a wide range of medical applications, such as heart, brain, and lung monitoring solutions, as well as smart blankets.

Businesses are also innovating new products to increase their market share and capture a significant portion of the industry. For example, researchers at Rice University Lab developed a clothing concept that incorporates electronic circuitry into everyday wear. The researchers implanted nanotube fibers into athletic clothes to continuously monitor a wearer's heart rate and take an electrocardiogram (EKG). The cloth is more efficient than traditional chest straps when conducting experiments, as the carbon nanotube-embedded fabric gathers more data.

Advances in nanotechnology have also assisted hospitals and nursing facilities worldwide by utilizing skin cells as a means of communication. By understanding this system, designers have been able to create garments that assist these organizations with their work. The healthcare sector has greatly benefitted from the development of smart hospital wear that tracks and monitors patient data. Additionally, pediatric wearable technology has proved particularly helpful for monitoring ECG readings or breathing rates in premature infants.

Expanding Wearable Electronics Industry and Miniaturization of Electronic Components Driving the Market Growth

Smart textiles and wearable electronic devices are becoming increasingly popular due to their numerous benefits for human comfort, health, and well-being. Recently developed advances in stimuli-responsive surfaces and interfaces, sensors, and actuators have led to the development of new generations of smart fabrics, yarns, and garments that can be used in E-textiles.

Electronics have been growing rapidly throughout the last decades, with their uses in day-to-day life and with the ongoing trend of miniaturization which allows more advanced electronic devices such as smartphones and PDAs to be manufactured. Wearable electronic devices are used to maintain human health, typically by monitoring various aspects of the user's well-being. Recent advancements in wearable technology include electronic shirts that can monitor children or elderly people, as well as inbuilt systems that track a particular location and several different aspects of the user's life.

Lack of Standards and Regulations Restraints the Market Growth

The lack of standardization and regulations related to smart textiles is restraining the smart clothing market growth. Even though the textile industries are keenly designing their products with improved safety and performance, however, these efforts are not meeting the market expectations owing to the limited availability of dedicated standardized test methods. Lack of standardization and quality control poses the highest barriers to smart textiles entry, especially into the healthcare industry. Producing e-textiles components that comply with safety and design standards can be challenging, time-consuming, and costly, which are limiting market expansion.

Segmentation Analysis

Based on product, the market is bifurcated into outerwear and innerwear. The outerwear segment is projected to continue dominating the market due to the increased availability of numerous colored outerwear such as pants, t-shirts, jackets, and others.

Based on fabric type, the smart clothing market is segmented into active smart, passive smart, and ultra-smart. The active smart textile is expected to hold its dominance throughout the forecast period. Active smart clothing is increasingly common in the market because it offers versatile functions and the ability to adapt and change functions based on the external environment.

Based on the application, the market is categorized into military & defense, sports & fitness, fashion & entertainment, healthcare, and others. The sports & fitness segment is responsible for generating the highest market revenue due to the high demand for performance-based fitness tracking systems among the global population. The market is driven by the need to reduce sports-related injuries and improve athlete performance, by tracking navigational data more easily, it becomes less likely for accidents to occur. Additionally, the sports apparel sector can observe an uptick in sales over the forecast period as sensor technology continues to witness strong demand.

Recent Developments

In December 2021: Nanoleq closed a USD 12.55 million Series A funding round to reinvent health monitoring based on smart textiles which aimed to expand their operations and bring the next generation of health monitoring textiles to market, combining their expertise in innovative soft electronic materials, biosignal acquisition, and textile technology.

In July 2021: HeiQ and the LYCRA Company entered into a broad-based collaboration across multiple technology and brand platforms that are committed to bringing more innovative, high-quality, and economically viable textile technologies to consumers around the world.

In May 2021: Nextiles launched products geared toward the sports and performance market, with their products utilizing traditional sewing techniques with printed circuit boards to create flexible materials containing sensors embedded within fabrics. These devices are used for analyzing biometric data such as muscle tension and movements, along with incorporating biomechanics into workouts or athletic activities.

North America is dominating the Market Share Due to the Presence of Major Market Vendors with Growing focus towards Health & Fitness

North America smart clothing market is expected to register a significant growth over the forecast period due to increasing focus of consumers on health & fitness. The presence of various market vendors with increased investments in smart fabric technology is propelling market growth. The regional market growth is also fueled by the increasing efforts of the population to adopt healthy lifestyles with the help of smart wearables. The U.S. military funded defense electronic textiles to invest in better protecting its soldiers and borders.

The region is witnessing a high demand for smart clothings in across the US and Canada. This is further supported by rising trends among fitness-minded higher-income groups. Recently, researchers from Rice University's George R Brown School of Engineering lab have developed conductive nanotube fibers that can be woven into clothing to monitor wearer heart rates. Growing awareness about fitness, increasing trials to prevent injuries during sports activities, and increasing investments in defense would lead to the growth of the smart clothing industry across the region over the forecast period.

Asia Pacific is the Fastest Growing Market owing to the Growing Incidences of Chronic Diseases and Availability of Smart Clothing

Rapidly growing aging population and increasing incidences of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and respiratory diseases are creating a significant demand for smart clothing, which is expected to drive the smart clothing market revenue. Currently, companies that focus on the commercialization of smart clothing are analyzing the use of flexible printed circuits and also increasing the integration of electrically conductive textiles, which provides a reliable way to incorporate an electrical component into the textile structure instead of external bulky hardware.

In recent years, several labs in collaboration are working to create a self-sufficient power source that might be included in textiles. Technologies such as RFIDs for inventory tracking and sensor-based clothes for the medical industry are all expected to contribute a significant proportion of revenue to the Asia Pacific smart clothing market.

Key Players in the Global Smart Clothing Market

• AiQ Smart Clothing
• APEX MILLS
• Celanese Corporation
• CUTECIRCUIT
• Kolon Industries, Inc.
• Loomia Technologies Inc
• Sefar AG
• TexRay Industrial Co., Ltd.
• Toray Industries, Inc.
• ZSK Stickmaschinen GmbH

The global smart clothing market is segmented as follows:

By Product

• Outer Wear
• Inner Wear

By Textile Product

• Active Smart
• Passive Smart
• Ultra Smart

By Application

• Military & Defense
• Sports & Fitness
• Fashion & Entertainment
• Healthcare
• Others

By Distribution Channel

• Online
• Offline

By Region

• North America
  • The U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • France
  • The UK
  • Spain
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Nordic countries
    • Denmark
    • Finland
    • Iceland
    • Sweden
    • Norway
  • Benelux Reunion
    • Belgium
    • The Netherlands
    • Luxembourg
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • New Zealand
  • Australia
  • South Korea
  • Southeast Asia
    • Indonesia
    • Thailand
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • Rest of Southeast Asia
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• The Middle East & Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Egypt
  • Kuwait
  • South Africa
  • Rest of the Middle East & Africa
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Rest of Latin America