Shawls have been used since ancient times as a warm protective clothing. These high utility fashion accessories are mainly used to impart a feeling of warmth, to complement a costume as well as for symbolic reasons. However, with changing fashion trends and styles, the demand for shawls have also increased over the time. The increasing demand for shawls in turn has also given a boost to the shawl industry as a whole.

China is a leading manufacturer of shawls and wool textile in the world. China consumes around 382 million kg of clean wool every year. China specialise in catering to mass markets as they produce in bulk and due to economies of scale have a competitive edge in pricing. Moreover, China has entered WTO, which provides it with two major economic aspects namely, tariff reduction and market access. This has also provided China with an advantage to expand and restructure its shawl manufacturing industries.

Chinese shawls are popular for their fine finish, superior quality and versatility in design and coloring schemes. Shawls from China are famous in the international markets with the European Union, USA, etc. being the major markets.

Globalization also plays a leading role in the manufacture and export of shawls. Besides China, other global players in shawl manufacturing include Russia, France, Nepal, India, Thailand, Scotland, etc.

Russia is also known for producing shawls of various types, the most common one being the Orenburg shawls produced in the Orenburg region of Russia. These shawls are extremely fine and soft and are produced from the down of goats. These ethnic Russian shawls are world famous and are exported to various countries like France, Belgium, the U.S. etc. Russia is also known to produce silk and fringed woolen shawls. Pavlovo-Posad shawls and silk shawls from Russia are also famous all across the globe.

Among the South-East Asian nations, Thailand is known for producing fine quality Thai silk shawls. Thai shawls are known for their luster and exquisite designs and are widely popular in different parts of the world. Tie-dye Thai shawls with traditional Batik prints are extremely popular all across the globe and are exported to Europe and several Central Asian countries.

India is known for its fine quality and designer shawls since time immemorial and there had been several ups and downs in the India shawl industry. According to a published report, Indian shawls are very popular in European countries and the shawl industry has the potential to tap high-end fashion market overseas. It is actually designing where the Indian shawl industry had an edge over other countries.

Wool is the basic raw material used in the Indian shawl industry. Besides, cotton and silk are also used. Though a small part of the total textile industry, wool textile is an emerging sector in India. The sector has grown approximately 60 per cent over the last decade. India as a whole consumes about 103 million kg of wool at the industry level every year. Of this, apparel sector, comprising of shawls, tops, worsted yarn, fabrics and knitwear consumes only 32 per cent of the wool along with other fibres. India is one of the leading producer of wool textile and is the third largest consumer of Australian wool in the world.

In the recent time, there is a definite shift from pure wool to wool blend and even to non-wool. With the rise in the wool price, the shawl industry in India is going through a decline in export these days. As a result of unstable and high price of Australian wool, the emerging shawl industry is also heading towards non wool shawl production.