The global home textiles market is one of the most profitable business segments in the global textile industry as it is witnessing a steady growth driven by factors like rising consumer spending on home renovation, fashion sensitivity towards household furnishing as well as growing real estate market among others. This feature captures what’s trending in the segment.

The global home textiles market is estimated at $137 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 3.8 per cent between 2016 and 2021. With an average growth of 3.5 per cent per annum it is projected to reach $152 billion in 2025. China and the US respectively account for approximately 29 per cent and 20 per cent share of this market, of which China is expected to grow at faster CAGR of close to 6 per cent between 2022 and 2025. China’s share in global textiles market is expected to rise from 25.4 per cent in 2016 to 31.6 per cent in 2025 while the share of the US is likely to decrease from 21.9 per cent to 19.5 per cent during the same period despite growing in value terms, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. In terms of consumption, the US and Europe are the biggest consumers constituting around 60 per cent of the global home textile imports. On the supply side, countries like India, China and Pakistan stand as the key suppliers.

The market trends in global home textiles sector not only help in estimating the market size and make projections but are also indicative of how the sector is shaping up. Developments and trends across the entire value chain encompassing retail, manufacturing, technology, innovation, sustainability and circularity, and colour and design is immensely contributing to the sector’s overall evolution. Let us have a look at them.

DEVELOPMENTS IN RETAIL

As end-part of value chain, retail reflects what consumers are looking for and how home retailers are responding to their changing tastes, demands and aspirations. Some of the top home retailers as well as those with significant home category share in their business reported key developments worth mentioning.

IKEA

World’s largest home retailer IKEA wants to invest in future. This made it devise a way to invite and incorporate participation from its consumers – not the adults but children. The Swedish retailer has an international digital panel named IKEA Kids Advisory Panel to get feedback from 40 children aged 8-14 years from all over the world. The panel shares feedback which shapes product development and design ideas – BLAVINGAD being one such range. Started selling in October in all IKEA markets, the new range with long-term vision is inspired by children’s curiosity about marine life and consists of vibrant new items which are not only expressive but playful too. The collection comprises soft toys of kids’ favourite marine animals, aquatic textiles, submarine and fishing games, and dreamy lighting for two age groups – 3 to 7 and 8+ years. On learning that children are concerned about the ocean and specifically the animals that call it home, IKEA based the design vision of BLAVINGAD around marine life which also consciously includes more sustainable materials, such as 100 per cent recycled polyester in select items (soft toys). The Panel feedback helped IKEA to know which ocean creatures the children from different countries like the most.

As a result, the range ended up having characters of dolphins, orca, blue whale, turtle and octopus.

IKEA also exhibited its social consciousness and responsibility during the year. In June, it launched a caring collection named VÅRDANDE inspired by the fundamentals of well-being and nourishing oneself. This is in partnership with five Asian social businesses – Classical (Bangladesh); Ramesh Flowers, Doi Tung (Thailand); Spun (India); and SAITEX (Vietnam) and aims at creating a better everyday life through long-term job opportunities and livelihood for vulnerable groups. Meaning ‘caring’ in Swedish language VÅRDANDE collection includes textile products such as kimono, yoga mats and blankets, a carrying basket, a soft storage solution, bowls and plant pots. A large part of this collection is either handmade or made in a sustainable industrial set up of five Asian partners. Most materials involved in producing the collection have been sourced locally like banana fibres, clay and jute. In case of cotton, it is sourced from more sustainable sources that require less water, pesticides and fertilisers. Since partners’ localised social businesses employ people who have difficulty in finding a job in the labour market, the collaboration has enabled handcrafted products made by them to sell in IKEA’s stores worldwide.

Walmart

The home category is attracting the attention of the world’s many top retailers, including Walmart. The retail giant expanded into home categories to meet the home décor and furniture needs for the entire family. It all began in June 2021 when Walmart unveiled Gap Home – an assortment running into 400 items including bedding and bath, home décor and tabletop. The first anniversary of this debut was marked in 2022 by launching a 200-item new category – Gap Home Kids, on its website. The range, the company says, offers prices that are parent-approved and styles that are kid-approved. The collection incorporates Gap’s signature chambrays, stripes and washed denim with kid-friendly colourways and prints. The GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and OEKO-TEX Standard 100-certified collection comprises comforters, sheets, throws, shower curtains, bath rugs, towels and window panels, all constructed of organic cotton with tufted poly area rugs that are machine washable too. In addition to the online launch, Gap Home Kids made a foray into the physical space as well. For a limited time, the collection was shown at Hunker House – an experiential showroom from digital media brand Hunker, in the Abbot Kinney neighbourhood of Venice Beach.

Lowe’s

American home décor and textile retailer Lowe’s has similar plans to expand its home décor brands in stores and online via introduction of new brands. Implementing those plans, in February 2022 the retailer launched a new multi-category private label – Origin 21. Lowe’s private label is for millennial consumers who seek to modernise their home style. Origin 21 collection encompasses rugs and floor mats, curtains, decorative pillows and throws, furniture, patio furniture, mirrors, lighting, home accents, wall art, bathroom varieties and faucets, decorative shelving, outdoor pots and plants. Later in the year, this launch was followed by introduction of patio collection as well as replacement cushions made with fibres derived from recycled plastic bottles. Lowe’s acquiring of the carpet brand The Stainmaster in 2021 was also part of the expansion strategy. As has been proven time and again that private label is a lucrative option to fill demand gaps and enhance profit margins, Lowe’s expansion of brands underlines similar goals.

Macy’s

Another key development was observed in yet another American retailer Macy’s, when it launched its new ‘Own Your Style’ brand platform in March 2022 aiming to help customers discover and express their own personal style. Part of the company’s Polaris strategy, the new platform aims to position Macy’s as the go-source for fashion and style, involving digital and social-first experiences, branded content, sequenced storytelling, in-person expert advice and personalised data-driven recommendations. The site launch highlighted inspirational trends in home – Hello There, Sunshine and Contemporary Home – as well as apparel-oriented trends for prom, swim, vacation wear, and men’s and women’s clothing. Curated products within the home-themed trends included fashion bedding, tabletop, kitchen and dining wares, decorative pillows, furniture, candles/aromatics, home décor, lighting and rugs. In addition to the digital experience, Macy’s stores feature monthly ‘Own Your Style’ and ‘Now Trending’ pavilions stocked with key items. To support the project, Macy’s reintroduced Macy’s Style Crew – a diverse community of in-house style experts. Their social media followers and Macy’s customers gave tips, live demos, product tutorials and recommendations.

Bed Bath & Beyond

While Lowe’s attempted expanding its brand portfolio, others like Bed Bath & Beyond chose to resurrect their existing operations by taking a pause. In September 2022, Bed Bath & Beyond candidly revealed its store closure plan with first group of 150 stores to be axed. The store closures across nearly 2 dozen states in the US also included a one-time must-see location on E Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus Mall, NJ near its headquarters. More than 50 stores constituted the first round of closure and the states with largest number of stores happened to be California (8), Illinois (6) and New York (5). The shuttering of stores is being attributed to the company’s decision of financial restructuring. Other measures of restructuring include cutting staff across corporate and supply chain offices by 20 per cent and slashing the capital expenditure, largely by pausing new store openings and remodelling.

Online Retail

Online retailers are also not far behind in contributing to new developments. There is an instance of San Francisco-based DTC brand Coyuchi – a pioneer in organic luxury linens, which chose to giving its customers a hands-on experience through opening stores. The brand opened new store in Palo Alto, California. The sustainable living brand’s new store is located in Town & country Village – a neighbourhood shopping centre with restaurants and specialty shops. The brand has a neighbourhood of like-minded luxury stores such as Sur La Table, Diptyque, Marine Layer, Hudson Grace and more. Opened on November 18, 2022, the 1,300 sq ft store is Coyuchi’s second retail location after Point Reyes Station that opened long back in 2008. With new CEO at helm, the store expansion is part of the company’s growth strategy. Coyuchi’s stores are staffed by ‘natural home advisors’. The new store offers coastal design inspiration, a robust display of swatches and a large interactive touchscreen to revive all possible colour and textile options. The Palo Alto store provides the brand a space to bring together industry leaders and partners, educate customers and the local community, raise awareness for the brand’s sustainability besides fostering Coyuchi’s growing community.

BACKEND DEVELOPMENTS

The backend of the sector was also abuzz with developments in manufacturing and supplying side as well as among textile companies, ranging from collaboration to latest technology adoption and from strategising sourcing to making a comeback.

Widened Sourcing

Learning from COVID experience, the global home textile companies are expanding their sourcing base. Following the trend, Dubai-based Texlynx plans to expand its global buying footprint into more countries. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the company offering consulting and brand development services as well as third-party inspections, and having core products of fabrics and yarn, home textiles for retail and hospitality, medical textiles and apparel, announced opening of sourcing offices in Myanmar and Vietnam starting in mid-2023. An office in Uzbekistan later part of 2023 will also follow. The new offices will source microfibre and 100 per cent polyester-filled home textiles. It will also add sports-related items to its new Vietnam operation. The company currently operates buying offices in China, India, Italy, Pakistan, Turkey and the US, besides having partner offices in Chile, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Collaborations

US-based soft home and bath products specialist Parkview Home Textiles added a new brand to its portfolio via a licensing agreement with Bluestar Alliance to produce and distribute home textiles for Kensie – a fashion apparel brand for women and girls that is sold in major department stores and boutiques across the US and Canada. The multi-year agreement covers a range of products including quilts, comforters, sheets, blankets, pillows, curtains, rugs and shower accessories. The Kensie brand is globally recognised for its contemporary designs suiting the modern women’s active lifestyle. The brand now looks forward to expanding in the home textiles and soft goods categories incorporating design from its RTW (ready to wear) and accessory collections. The new Kensie home textiles and soft goods collection will begin shipping in the first quarter of 2023.

The Brooklyn-based company West Elm Kids also built on a partnership launched last spring to create a curated collection of textiles and decorative accessories. West Elm Kids collection, in collaboration with designer Sarah Samuel, featured 33 holiday-themed items inspired by The Nutcracker, including sheets, pillows, a signature rug, a play tent, pyjamas, lighting and an advent calendar. It is Samuel’s second collection with West Elm Kids that includes her love of patterns, pom-poms and a playful palette which is perfect for the holidays at home with the kids.

Making a Comeback

Lillian August’s Lifestyle brand returned to the fabric market by entering into a licensing agreement with Tempo Upholstery and Drapery Fabrics Inc to manufacture decorative pillows, outdoor cushions, and fabrics with high performance characteristics for both indoor and outdoor use. The new collection will be a perfect marriage of Lillian’s design elements with Tempo’s quality performance fabrics, pillows and cushions, technical and customisation capabilities and supply chain efficiencies. As a company Tempo operates two divisions – Tempo Fabrics and Tempo Home, and sells premium products to consumers, retailers, furniture manufacturers and brands. The partnership marks Lillian August brand’s return to the fabric market which is how the company started many years ago. The first collection, produced by Tempo for Lillian August, will be launched this fall and will be a signature Lillian August mix of palettes, patterns, materials and textures. The initial introduction will include indoor and outdoor performance fabrics as well as outdoor pillows.

Innovation

The major US home textiles supplier Standard Fiber which specialises in performance technologies that improve sleep, wellness and comfort, has introduced an innovative collection of pet products under its new Petnology brand which includes products for a variety of different pet personas. Each collection within Petnology brand will feature a pet personality and enhanced product attributes that will make it easily relatable, fun and functional unique to their character. The collection incorporates technology in easy-to-understand solutions for pet owners. Additional branded accessories will join into the product mix later in 2023.

Technology

At ISPO Munich fair, HeiQ unveiled its bio-based proprietary textile technology HeiQ Mint Odour. The plant-based technology is designed to make textiles smell fresh even after repeated use. This allows home textiles and clothing to be washed less frequently. The technology is jointly developed with Patagonia to address body odours on textiles. HeiQ Mint is OKEO-TEX certified, Bluesign approved and ZDHC complaint, while USDA bio-preferred certification is currently in progress.

Luxury Aesthetics

French luxury design house Hermès introduced a new home collection centred on colour-blocked textiles that are light as air. First time presented during the Milan Design Week at Salone del Mobile in June 2022, textiles are the central theme of the entire home collection – six creations (five plaids and a bed cover) made in cashmere – one of the mansion’s favourite materials. The textiles explore the different processing techniques: cashmere strips form the design of the plaids; the intertwined and hand-dyed squares make up a large patchwork in lustrous tones; the geometric shapes, assembled with a connection technique, evoke the image of stained-glass windows. A large, quilted bedspread brings together colours, patchwork and the traditional quilting technique. Additionally, there is also the porcelain service and the designer Coulisse lamp, presented in a new version that is covered in a hand-painted parachute fabric.

SUSTAINABILITY & CIRCULARITY

Textiles are an integral part of modern life. The material applications and the manufacturing processes are no less manifold. This presents a great challenge for the international textile industry since it obtains raw materials from a broad spectrum of sources and uses numerous processes to make a huge variety of products. Thus, there is a great potential for the sustainable development of the industry in today’s time as well as in the future. The industry keeps seeking ways for sustainable development. Amidst the state of environmental emergency that we are currently living through, the textile industry has a responsibility to examine its processes and bring required change. There is a need to take materials first approach and focus on the sourcing, design and sustainability of materials. Keeping this at the core, many industry players are working towards sustainability and circularity.

Macy’s, for instance, announced a sustainable initiative programme to drive a circular future wherein textiles play a significant role. In 2022 beginning, Macy’s became part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation community that focuses on accelerating and enabling the transition to a global, circular economy and FABSCRAP – a non-profit in New York city that helps to ensure that the fabric waste from the design and development process is reused, upcycled, down cycled and recycled responsibly. With an objective to reduce waste, Macy’s team embraced a technology that allows the scaling back of the number of physical samples required from suppliers without impacting fit, colour, and other design aspects. The process significantly reduced textile waste. While only 5 per cent of samples were digital in 2019, the share of all virtually-made samples increased to 61 per cent in 2022. Simultaneously, the Macy’s reverse logistics team is also working to move goods from customers back to the sellers, or manufacturers, or sold to resellers to continue the lifecycle of the product. This is being done to reuse and extend the life of all products. Through its partnership with Give Back Box, Macy’s customers can contribute to the responsible lifecycle of their clothes, toys and other pre-used items by downloading a pre-paid shipping label from Macy’s website and sending them to be donated for resale and recycling. Macy’s has also adopted best practices to reduce packaging, including standardising the size of packing cartons and minimising packaging materials.

Macy’s is not the only player in the industry which is consistently developing ideas and solutions around circularity in textiles. Many others are seeking more sustainable ways to produce textiles and recycling options within the framework of the circular economy marked by continuous reuse of materials. The approach not only reduces the need for new raw materials but also cuts the amount of waste generated. In technical cycle, inorganic materials such as nylon, polyester, plastic and metal are being recycled with no loss of quality. In the biological cycle, ways to return organic materials such as linen and bast fibres to nature at the end of their useful life are being adopted.

COLOUR & DESIGN TRENDS

Going by Heimtextil – one of industry’s most important global event for interior textiles, interior design and interior trends, the mood for upcoming season with new products and designs can be gauged. Its special summer edition Heimtextil 2022 displayed home textile and colour trends for 2023 under the overarching theme ‘Next Horizons’. The theme comprised 4 colour palette trends – Empowered & Beyond Identity and Deep & Hyper Nature, focusing on sustainability and conservation:

Empowered Identity: This colour forecast encourages new ways of seeing old crafts, heritages and expressions in a new and modern way. The colour trend represents a collaboration with the past and connects cultures with the next generations by driving sustainable transformation. The Empowered Identity colour palette consists of bold primary colours such as Raw Umber, Prussian Blue, Vermillion etc. These colours resemble their colour pigment origins. The bold colour trend is relevant for the extrovert who are driven by curiosity and the new things, and effect change. The textile trends in 2023 to go along with these colours will result in upcycled and recycled materials such as recycled synthetic fabrics, embroidered applique, and chunky woollen weaves.

Beyond Identity: This trend shatters the myth that sustainability needs to be earthy only, instead offers a positive message that it can be colourful too. This is why Beyond Identity features a range of pastels which are not just sweet but aggressive as well. In this colour trend, sustainability is not down-toned but rather transforms in the vibrant pastel colour palette. Targeted at a younger consumer, the colour trend showcases flowing textiles and billowy shapes. This is exemplified in making natural textile dyes created by using food waste such as red onion peel and avocado seeds. Illustrated by fluidity, the colours symbolise the identities in flux. This colour palette includes 8 Pantone shades – 12-0646 TCX, 13-1208 TCX, 14- 4311 TCX, 14-6312 TCX, 15-1216 TCX, 16- 1452 TCX, 17-3802 TCX and 17-3936 TCX.

Deep Nature: This colour trend is a continuing one that has been ongoing hence more familiar. The trend is inspired by higher understanding of resources and ecosystems. It puts into a collaboration that is upbeat and modern. The trend is geared to the consciously aware consumer and realised for the home with a modern edge. It is for a world that has just started to understand the imbalance of nature and is only in the beginning stages of taking action to rebalance. The trend also exhibits a move away from linear production with some textiles like leek paper–a more scalable textile made of fungi mycelium—and eel grass that has the ability to regenerate in addition to being biodegradable. The Deep Nature colour palette also includes 8 shades of Pantone – 13-1010 TCX, 15-1119 TCX, 16-1506 TCX, 17-0636 TCX, 18-1616 TCX, 18-4011 TCX, 18-1048 TCX and 19-0608 TCX.

Hyper Nature: Centred around the fusing of digitalisation and nature, the Hyper Nature is a dynamic mix having a high visual expression which connects tech and nature to create a more sustainable environment. For instance, creating a blanket with natural, organic motif using a digital approach; or the digital art such as images that also include the leek fields in Amsterdam. Through the use of photobiology, light science technology and the use of LED lights, the use of pesticides in the leek fields is decreased by up to 50 per cent, protecting the planet in the process. At the same time, the textiles that shape the Hyper Nature trend have a digital-like quality to them as they represent nature in the metaverse. The Hyper Nature colour palette includes Pantones 14-1323 TCX, 14-0627 TCX, 15- 0343 TCX, 16-5810 TCX, 17- 0610 TCX, 18- 0724 TCX, 18-1741 TCX and 19-3842 TCX.

FURNITURE DESIGN & COLOURS

The pandemic introduced concept of ‘Work From Home’ made home, first by compulsion then pleasure, the place of refuge in which people want to spend best of one’s life. This new way of living craves for the living space to be beautiful and personalised as home becomes a place to both enjoy leisure time and to work with concentration. This has brought a change in the furniture and design aspects towards new solutions that express a sense of regeneration from old spaces, with emotion-expressing colours being one of them. For 2023, purple, dove grey and emerald green are projected as key design colours by Italian furniture company Arredare Moderno. Purple, an elegant and refined colour, is associated with both creativity and romanticism and proves to be extremely versatile as it can adapt to both modern and classic styles characterising daytime and night-time environments. Dove grey, one of the most widely used neutral shades in interior design in recent years, gives the room a feeling of spaciousness and creates a very cosy space. Emerald green, which expresses elegance, was once reserved only for elegant interiors but is now becoming the hero of any room in interior design.

Additionally, the colour trend institutes have predicted three trendy colour combination palettes that will be found in proposals from the worlds of fashion, design and home – multicolour palette (purple, fuchsia, black and orange), delicate palette (dove grey, light blue, camel and grey), and evergreen palette representing all shades of green. It is predicted that furniture will be made of more sustainable materials such as bamboo, cork and wool. They will also be made from more unusual fabrics in response to the growing trend of ‘upcycling’ and the desire to stand out from the crowd. Some of the most popular unusual fabrics include vinyl, parachute fabric and wire mesh.

FORECAST 2023

The global home textiles in 2023 is going to be exciting area. Some of the ongoing efforts of 2022 will continue, some will accelerate while the new ones that will emerge, will shape the sector’s quality output and efficiencies. The year is expected to witness an increased use of local resources, equipment and services; environment-friendly material alternatives; existing stock components; rented and loaned materials, responsible waste management; and design for recyclability. Though the action to recover from the imbalance created in our ecosystem over the last several centuries has already begun, 2023 is expected to witness the real change that needs to happen. In addition, a move from linear production to the one with circular mindset is expected too, along with more use of bio-(biodegradable) plastics.