History:

The textiles and apparel industry is an ancient one; bone needles have been found dating as far back as 30,000 BC. During that time, the majority of clothing was comprised of prepared animal hides, with civilizations weaving together various animal and vegetable fibers to create unique clothes. The industry experienced relatively slow development and a lack of progress until the industrial revolution, when production of textiles and apparel was significantly altered by technology, including the cotton gin and pedal-powered sewing machines. In fact, due to high amounts of labor required in making a piece of fabric, the textile industry was among the first to be mechanized. Since then, there have been many technological advances on the textile side of the industry, which is very heavily dependent on technology, mostly incorporating the use of automation. The apparel side of the industry is still primarily done with human labor (humans operating sewing machines, etc.). This is the primary reason for the allocation of this industry in cheaper labor markets.