Textile Mills

NAICS 313 covers establishments that convert raw fibers and yarns into finished textile fabrics — spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, finishing, and coating operations that supply downstream apparel, home furnishings, automotive, and industrial markets. U.S. textile mill capacity has contracted sharply since the 1990s following NAFTA and China's WTO accession, but the surviving domestic industry has repositioned around technical textiles, military specifications, and performance fabrics that command higher margins than commodity production.

The geographic center of American textile manufacturing remains the Piedmont region of North and South Carolina, with additional concentrations in Georgia, Virginia, and New England. Milliken & Company, headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina, operates across performance textiles and specialty chemicals. Unifi, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, produces REPREVE recycled fiber used by brands including Patagonia, Nike, and Ford. Glen Raven Mills manufactures Sunbrella performance fabrics in Burlington, North Carolina. Mount Vernon Mills in Georgia and Springs Global in South Carolina represent legacy producers that have survived through product specialization.

The regulatory environment includes EPA oversight of wastewater discharge from dyeing and finishing operations, OSHA standards for mill safety, and compliance with the Berry Amendment, which requires the Department of Defense to source textiles domestically. The Berry Amendment provides a protected market for U.S. mills producing military uniforms, body armor fabrics, and other defense textiles, sustaining production volume that would otherwise have moved offshore.