Smart Textiles Market
The market for Smart Textiles was estimated at $2.6 billion in 2025; it is anticipated to increase to $6.4 billion by 2030, with projections indicating growth to around $15.3 billion by 2035.
Report Summary
Market Data
Methodology
Table of Contents
Global Smart Textiles Market Outlook
Revenue, 2025
$2.6B
Forecast, 2035
$15.3B
CAGR, 2026 - 2035
19.2%
The Smart Textiles industry revenue is expected to be around $2.6 billion in 2026 and expected to showcase growth with 19.2% CAGR between 2026 and 2035. Building on this outlook, the Smart Textiles market is solidifying its role as a strategic pillar in advanced materials and wearable technology ecosystems, driven by rising demand for real-time monitoring, comfort-centric design, and enhanced protection in both consumer and professional environments. The dominance of Military & Defense and Sports & Fitness, which together account for 44.9% of end-use demand, illustrates how performance-critical applications are steering specifications for durability, accuracy, and seamless integration with digital platforms. Active Technology solutions, generating about $1.49 billion in 2025 revenue, are particularly significant as they embed power management, sensing, and communication directly into fabrics, reinforcing the ongoing relevance of Smart Textiles across connected apparel value chains.
Smart Textiles encompass smart fabrics, e-textiles, connected textiles, and intelligent textiles that integrate electronic components, micro-sensors, and responsive materials to deliver functionalities such as biometric tracking, temperature regulation, pressure sensing, and adaptive fitting. Their key features include flexibility, washability, and user-centric interfaces that enable unobtrusive data capture and interaction, making them ideal for applications ranging from defense uniforms and tactical gear to elite sports apparel, healthcare wearables, industrial protective clothing, and automotive interiors. Recent demand is being propelled by miniaturized electronics, improved energy storage, and standardized communication protocols that support IoT-enabled garments and other sensor-based textiles, while collaborations between material scientists, device manufacturers, and apparel brands accelerate commercialization and broaden use cases for Smart Textiles.
Market Key Insights
The Smart Textiles market is projected to grow from $2.6 billion in 2025 to $15.3 billion in 2035. This represents a CAGR of 19.2%, reflecting rising demand across Military & Defense, Fashion & Entertainment, and Sports & Fitness.
AiQ Smart Clothing, Jabil Inc., and Gentherm Inc. are among the leading players in this market, shaping its competitive landscape.
U.S. and Germany are the top markets within the Smart Textiles market and are expected to observe the growth CAGR of 18.4% to 26.9% between 2025 and 2030.
Emerging markets including India, Brazil and South Africa are expected to observe highest growth with CAGR ranging between 14.4% to 20.0%.
Transition like Integrating IoT with Smart Textiles is expected to add $958 million to the Smart Textiles market growth by 2030.
The Smart Textiles market is set to add $12.6 billion between 2025 and 2035, with manufacturer targeting Fashion & Entertainment & Healthcare Application projected to gain a larger market share.
With
increased demand in healthcare sector, and
Rise in Wearable Technology, Smart Textiles market to expand 479% between 2025 and 2035.
Opportunities in the Smart Textiles
European participation in marathons, triathlons, and cycling is also rising, but connected sportswear largely targets elite athletes and wrist wearables, not garments. This opens room for mid-priced, washable active smart textiles that capture biometrics, muscle fatigue, and posture during training. Global active smart textiles are projected to grow from $1.49 billion in 2025 to $3.91 billion by 2030 (21.34% CAGR), and sports and fitness applications in Western Europe should outpace this, driven by partnerships between sports brands, sensor suppliers, and digital coaching platforms.
Growth Opportunities in North America and Asia-Pacific
In North America, Smart Textiles adoption is led by the Military & Defense end-use, where e-textiles and intelligent fabrics are integrated into uniforms and gear for enhanced protection, communication, and biometric monitoring, underpinned by strong defense R&D spending and stringent performance standards. Top opportunities include co-developing connected textiles with defense contractors and first-responder agencies, focusing on robust thermal management, durability, and secure IoT integration to differentiate from conventional technical textiles. Competition is centered around established defense-focused textile suppliers and electronics integrators expanding into wearable technology, which pushes new entrants to specialize in high-spec niches and secure patents in advanced materials and sensor integration.
In Asia-Pacific, Smart Textiles growth is most strongly anchored in Healthcare, where intelligent fabrics and connected textiles are embedded into hospital linens, wound-care products, and rehabilitation garments to support continuous biometric monitoring and remote diagnostics. Strategic opportunities revolve around cost-effective, mass-produced e-textiles for clinical and home-care settings, combining performance apparel design with medical-grade functionality and localized manufacturing to meet diverse regulatory and pricing needs across the region. Competitive dynamics are shaped by collaboration between large regional textile manufacturers and medical device innovators, with investment flowing into scalable advanced materials platforms, data-ready wearable technology, and interoperable IoT integration that align with government-backed digital health and aging-population initiatives.
Market Dynamics and Supply Chain
01
Driver: Rising Wearable Technology Adoption and Advances in Functional Textile Engineering
Rising adoption of wearable technology is also driving smart textiles demand across multiple industries. Consumers increasingly prefer garments that integrate sensors, conductive fibers, and connectivity for real time data capture. Healthcare, defense, and sports sectors are also accelerating usage of textile based wearables for comfort and continuous monitoring. Simultaneously, also advances in functional textile engineering are also improving durability, washability, and energy efficiency of smart fabrics. Breakthroughs in nanomaterials, flexible electronics, and conductive polymers enable seamless integration without compromising comfort. Together these trends expand commercial viability, reduce production costs, and support large scale adoption globally. Manufacturers respond by developing modular smart textile platforms that can also be customized for medical apparel, tactical uniforms, and performance clothing, strengthening supply chains and accelerating innovation cycles. These improvements increase reliability, encourage brand partnerships, and attract investment from electronics, material science, and apparel companies worldwide. This convergence continues to redefine product design, scalability, and long term market growth globally.
Healthcare applications represent a key growth driver for the smart textiles market worldwide. Smart healthcare textiles integrate biosensors, conductive yarns, and responsive materials into garments and medical devices. These textiles continuously monitor vital signs such as heart rate, respiration, posture, and body temperature. An aging population and rising chronic disease prevalence increase demand for remote patient monitoring solutions. Smart textiles enable non intrusive monitoring, improved patient comfort, and real time data transmission to healthcare providers. also advances in washable sensors, wireless communication, and data security further accelerate adoption in clinical and home care settings. Consequently, hospitals, wearable medical device manufacturers, and digital health platforms increasingly collaborate to commercialize scalable smart textile solutions. This driver strengthens long term demand and positions smart textiles as essential healthcare infrastructure for future patient centered care.
02
Restraint: High Production Costs and Complex Manufacturing Processes Hinder Wide Smart Textile Adoption
One major restraint limiting smart textiles growth is high production costs and complex manufacturing requirements. Integrating sensors, conductive fibers, and flexible electronics into fabrics demands specialized processes, driving up material and labor costs. For example, washable sensor garments require encapsulation and robust assembly, making them significantly more expensive than traditional apparel. These higher prices reduce demand among cost-sensitive consumers and slow adoption in price-competitive markets like fashion. High entry costs also deter smaller manufacturers from investing in smart textile lines, concentrating innovation among larger companies and slowing overall market expansion and revenue growth.
03
Opportunity: Medical monitoring textiles for elderly home-care patients in Japan and Industrial protective smart uniforms for warehousing workers in USA
Japan’s aging population and shift toward home-based care create demand for medical smart textiles that unobtrusively track vitals, movement, and pressure injuries in bedding, pajamas, and socks. While passive smart textiles globally will rise from $1.15 to $2.44 billion by 2030 (16.2% CAGR), the biggest upside here is in active sensor-embedded fabrics linked to clinical dashboards and reimbursement schemes. Healthcare and assisted-living applications in Japan and Asia-Pacific are poised for strongest growth, especially where hospitals, textile manufacturers, and insurers co-develop regulated solutions.
E‑commerce-driven warehouse expansion and tight labor markets in the United States are amplifying demand for protective uniforms that monitor worker safety, ergonomics, and location in real time. Today, most logistics and warehousing staff still rely on basic high-visibility vests, leaving a gap for garments with integrated impact, posture, and environmental sensors. With global active smart textiles forecast to climb from $1.49 to $3.91 billion by 2030 (21.34% CAGR), industrial and protective applications in US logistics hubs should be among the fastest-growing niches.
04
Challenge: Lack of Standardization and Interoperability Slows Industry Scaling and Integration
A second key restraint is the lack of industry standards and interoperability for smart textile technologies. Smart fabrics often use proprietary sensors, communication protocols, and power solutions, making integration with external devices and platforms difficult. For instance, wearable health monitoring textiles may not seamlessly connect with common mobile health apps, frustrating end users and limiting adoption by healthcare providers. This fragmentation increases development costs and complicates supply chains. Without common standards for data formats, connectivity, and durability testing, collaboration across sectors remains limited, slowing market momentum and reducing investor confidence in long-term scalability and performance.
Supply Chain Landscape
1
Smart Textiles Materials
Ohmatex ApSJabil Inc
2
Conductive Fabrics Components
Gentherm Inc.EXO2
3
Flexible Electronics Assembly
AiQ Smart ClothingJabil Inc
4
Wearable Technology Applications
Sports smart clothingHealthcare embedded sensorsMilitary heated apparel
1
Smart Textiles Materials
Ohmatex ApSJabil Inc
2
Conductive Fabrics Components
Gentherm Inc.EXO2
3
Flexible Electronics Assembly
AiQ Smart ClothingJabil Inc
4
Wearable Technology Applications
Sports smart clothingHealthcare embedded sensorsMilitary heated apparel
Use Cases of Smart Textiles in Military & Defense & Fashion & Entertainment
Military & Defense : Smart textiles in military and defense applications are primarily focused on protective, adaptive, and sensor integrated fabrics. These include conductive textiles, phase change materials, and textiles embedded with biometric sensors. Such smart textiles are used in combat uniforms, body armor, and wearable systems to monitor soldier health, body temperature, hydration, and stress levels in real time. Advanced fabrics also provide flame resistance, chemical protection, and camouflage that adapts to environmental conditions. The key advantage lies in enhanced situational awareness and soldier safety, as real time data transmission supports faster decision making, reduces injury risks, and improves overall mission effectiveness in extreme and unpredictable environments.
Fashion & Entertainment : In fashion and entertainment, smart textiles are mainly aesthetic and interactive in nature, using LED integrated fabrics, color changing materials, and conductive yarns. These textiles are widely used in stage costumes, performance wear, and high end fashion collections to create dynamic visual effects that respond to movement, sound, or light. Designers and performers use smart textiles to enhance audience engagement through illuminated patterns, animated textures, and responsive garments. The unique advantage of smart textiles in this segment is creative freedom, allowing designers to blend technology with style. This application is driven by innovation, brand differentiation, and the demand for immersive visual experiences.
Sports & Fitness : Smart textiles used in sports and fitness applications mainly include sensor based and moisture responsive fabrics designed for performance monitoring and comfort. These textiles are integrated into athletic wear, compression garments, and smart training apparel to track heart rate, muscle activity, posture, and movement efficiency. Conductive fibers and flexible sensors enable continuous data collection without restricting motion. Athletes and fitness enthusiasts benefit from real time performance insights, injury prevention, and optimized training routines. The key advantage is improved athletic performance combined with enhanced comfort, as smart textiles also regulate temperature, manage sweat, and adapt to physical intensity during workouts and competitive sports activities.
Impact of Industry Transitions on the Smart Textiles Market
As a core segment of the Textile industry,
the Smart Textiles market develops in line with broader industry shifts.
Over recent years, transitions such as Integrating IoT with Smart Textiles and The Advent of Energy Harvesting Smart Textiles have redefined priorities
across the Textile sector,
influencing how the Smart Textiles market evolves in terms of demand, applications and competitive dynamics.
These transitions highlight the structural changes shaping long-term growth opportunities.
01
Integrating IoT with Smart Textiles
The integration of IoT with Smart Textiles is emerging as a primary growth catalyst, expected to add approximately $958 million to the Smart Textiles market by 2030 as connectivity becomes central to product differentiation and value creation. By embedding sensors, microelectronics, and wireless modules into IoT-enabled smart textiles, manufacturers are transforming traditional fabrics into data-generating platforms for continuous healthcare monitoring, athlete performance analytics, and interactive fashion experiences. This shift is accelerating commercialization of advanced wearable technology, e-textiles, and connected fabrics, particularly in high-value segments such as medical wearables and professional sports. As sensor-embedded garments evolve from niche prototypes to scalable solutions, ecosystem partnerships between textile producers, device OEMs, and digital platforms are set to redefine competitive dynamics and unlock recurring, service-based revenue streams in the Smart Textiles industry.
02
The Advent of Energy Harvesting Smart Textiles
The evolution of smart textiles toward energy harvesting and self powered fabrics marks a structural transition in how wearables are designed and deployed across multiple industries. Early smart textiles relied on external power sources, limiting mobility and endurance. The integration of photovoltaic fibers, piezoelectric yarns, and triboelectric fabrics now enables garments to generate electricity from sunlight, body motion, and environmental vibrations. In the defense sector, this transition reduces logistical dependency on battery resupply while supporting continuous operation of communication, sensing, and navigation systems. Similarly, in outdoor recreation and industrial safety, energy harvesting apparel powers GPS trackers, health monitoring sensors, and emergency signaling devices without frequent recharging. This shift is accelerating adoption by improving reliability, lowering lifecycle costs, and enabling longer mission duration in remote or off grid environments.