The Global Market Made for Pakistan...Without Pakistan In It

By Zein Ahmed

Let’s start with a number: $400+ billion. That’s the estimated size of the global halal and modest fashion market. By the end of this decade, it’s projected to be well over half a trillion dollars.

Now, another number: $318 billion. That’s what Muslim consumers alone spent on apparel in 2022 -- a figure that’s only growing. This isn’t a niche trend. It’s a seismic shift in global demand, merging modesty with a deep hunger for ethics: transparency, fair labor, traceable production, and authentic stories.

On paper, this is a market tailor-made for Pakistan. We have the heritage, the handwork, the natural fibers, and generations of skill in modest silhouettes. But in practice, when the world shops for ethical, modest fashion, they’re buying brands from Istanbul, London, Dubai, and Jakarta. Pakistan is not in the game. We’re on the bench.

Textile Giant, Craft Dwarf

Let’s be clear: Pakistan is not absent from global fashion. We’re just present in the least valuable way. We are a textile powerhouse. Our textile and apparel exports reached about $16.6 billion in FY 2023-24, the cornerstone of our national exports. We are a top global supplier of yarn and denim fabric.

But zoom in on crafts and value-added handmade goods—the very heart of the ethical fashion movement—and the picture collapses. Pakistan’s annual handicraft exports are a mere few hundred million dollars. Compare that to regional peers like India and Bangladesh, which earn billions from their craft sectors.

This is the paradox: a sector that employs millions, predominantly women, is treated as a side story, while the country leaves billions in export revenue on the table.

When Craft is Treated as Charity, Not Industry

Why this glaring gap? Much of the answer lies in how our craft ecosystem has been structured. For decades, the sector has been nurtured through NGO projects and short-term donor grants. These initiatives have done crucial work in skills training and women’s empowerment, but they’ve also created a structural ceiling.

Funding is tied to 2–3 year project cycles, not long-term market building. Artisans are positioned as “beneficiaries” rather than competitive economic partners. The result is fragmentation—thousands of micro-initiatives unable to consolidate into export-ready brands that meet the quality, reliability, and scale demanded by international buyers. Craft remains “social work,” not a serious export industry.

The Cost of Invisibility

While we hesitate, our competitors accelerate. India has leveraged its textiles and crafts into a premium, aspirational brand. Bangladesh has turned garment manufacturing into a $40+ billion export engine. Turkey and Indonesia own the narrative in modest fashion. Pakistan’s absence comes at a steep cost:

• Economic Loss: Forgoing an estimated $2–3 billion or more in potential annual export income.
• Lost Livelihoods: Every dollar earned in this labor-intensive sector goes directly into households, often led by women.
• Lost Narrative: Fashion and craft are soft power. When our stories are absent from global shelves, our image is shaped by others.

The Blueprint: From Missed Opportunity to National Strategy

The solution isn’t a mystery. It’s a choice. We must stop treating craft and ethical fashion as a "nice-to-have" and start treating it as a strategic export industry. Here’s how:

1. Reframe the Sector: Move craft from the cultural portfolio to the heart of export industrial policy. Set national targets for value-added fashion exports.
2. Move Up the Value Chain: We must export brands, not just fabric. Invest in design-led labels that carry our identity—ajrak, ralli, phulkari, chikankari—in contemporary silhouettes for the global modest and ethical consumer.
3. Build Export-Ready Ecosystems: Replace fragmented projects with dedicated craft clusters offering shared services: design studios, quality control, logistics, and marketing support. Provide long-term blended finance, not short-term grants.
4. Digitize the Story: Use e-commerce to go direct-to-consumer globally. Use technology to track provenance, so every product can show its maker, its impact, and its journey—exactly what the conscious consumer wants to see.
5. Align with Global Goals: Position this as a women-centered, inclusive export sector. This aligns with SDGs and attracts not just charity, but serious impact investment.

The Call

The global market is asking for what we already have: skill, story, and soul. We have the textiles, the heritage, and the hands. What’s missing isn’t capacity. It’s strategy and courage. The world is ready for a fashion narrative stamped 'Made with purpose in Pakistan.' It’s time we decided to tell it.