US home textile imports decline in Q1 as buyers chase affordability

US home textile imports fell in the first quarter of the year, according to a report by Fibre2Fashion, with the decline driven by buyers pushing harder on affordability.

The drop lands at the importing tier of the supply chain — US brands, retailers and import houses buying bedding, towels, kitchen textiles and related soft goods from overseas manufacturers. For sourcing teams at those companies, the Q1 figure is less a surprise than a confirmation: the American home textiles market has been repricing for several quarters, and the import line is now reflecting it.

Why are imports falling?

The report attributes the contraction to buyers seeking affordability. In practice, that shows up in two places in the sourcing file.

First, order volumes. When retail demand softens or consumers trade down, importers cut booked quantities rather than absorb the inventory risk. A first-quarter fall in import values suggests US buyers entered 2025 cautiously on home textiles, a category that boomed during the pandemic years and has been correcting since.

Second, supplier mix. Price-led buying pushes work toward mills and cut-and-sew operations that can hold quotes down — typically larger vertically integrated factories in South Asia and parts of Asia, where fabric, dyeing and finishing sit under one roof (vertical integration, i.e. multiple production stages owned by one supplier, which cuts lead time and cost). Suppliers who can't sharpen pricing lose share of a shrinking book.

What does this change for sourcing teams?

For practitioners, the readout is straightforward.

• Buyer leverage stays high. Falling import volumes mean US importers can push on price, payment terms and compliance documentation. Mills that once dictated minimums are competing for smaller, shorter-dated orders.
• Supplier consolidation accelerates. Affordability pressure favours scale. Mid-tier factories without cost advantages or compliance infrastructure are the likely casualties.
• Sourcing shifts track cost, not proximity. The report frames this as an affordability story rather than a nearshoring story — buyers are following price points, which keeps volume in low-cost producing countries.

Compliance angle

Sustainability claims in this segment increasingly trace back to enforceable standards rather than marketing language — US importers are expected to document fibre content, country of origin and product safety compliance (for example, CPSC flammability rules for textiles) at entry. Price pressure doesn't waive those requirements; if anything, aggressive cost-cutting raises audit risk at factories tempted to skip steps.

There are no confirmed buyer-supplier reallocations named in the report, and no specific country-level volume figures were disclosed alongside the headline decline — treat any supplier-shift rumours in this category as unconfirmed until customs data or named buyers say otherwise.

The sourcing decision this forces: importers will keep consolidating orders with fewer, cheaper, vertically integrated suppliers — and every vendor without a sharp quote and clean compliance file should expect a smaller 2025 book.