International oil prices are soaring, and the cost of raw materials for clothing is changing daily, but raising prices on jackets and yoga pants isn't that easy.

Ask AI · How Soaring Oil Prices Are Affecting the Cost of Yoga Pants and Windbreakers

This article is sourced from: Time Finance Author: Zhou Jiabao

Photo source: Visual China

“Right now, spot prices aren’t rising, but pre-orders have already increased.”

On April 3, a textile company sales representative, Zhou Li, told Time Finance that “three days after the Strait of Hormuz was closed at the beginning of March, yarn raw materials started surging in price. Some yarn materials have already risen by 4,000–5,000 yuan per ton.” Zhou Li’s company mainly makes polyester fiber fabrics, and its downstream customers are mostly outdoor and sports brands as well as apparel manufacturers.

In March this year, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz—dubbed the “world’s oil valve”—took an abrupt turn. Oil transportation was temporarily disrupted, and WTI crude oil futures rose from $70 per barrel at the beginning of March to $111 per barrel on April 3, surging nearly 60% month-on-month. As of 9:33 a.m. Beijing time on April 8, WTI crude had fallen back to $96.43 per barrel, still remaining at a high level compared with the beginning of March.

The shockwave from the oil price frenzy affects not only gasoline but also petroleum chemical products—among them, the textile manufacturing industry. Data show that more than six-tenths of global textile fibers are synthetic fibers. Polyester accounts for over half. The raw materials for outdoor footwear and apparel such as windbreakers, yoga pants, and running shoes almost all come from petroleum.

“One price per day—pick-ups have to line up”

“Now the quotation can only hold for one day.”

In early April, a textile enterprise head in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, Gao Shuai, told Time Finance, “Last year and the year before, the price of polyester was relatively stable. But the increase since the start of this year has truly exceeded expectations. From the start of the year to now, polyester types are up about 2,500–3,000 yuan per ton; nylon types are up about 5,000 yuan per ton.”

According to the quotation sheet from the upstream chemical fiber materials supplier he provided, a polyester finished filament widely used in sportswear, windbreakers, and home textiles fabric—its price in December last year was 9,650 yuan per ton. By late March this year, it had surged to 12,350 yuan per ton, an increase of over 27%.

Also according to data from the B2B bulk commodities data service platform, Business Society (生意社), on April 8, the benchmark price for a certain polyester staple fiber was 8,390 yuan per ton. Since the beginning of March, the price increase has been clear. At the same time, dye, auxiliary materials, and logistics costs have also risen in parallel.

Photo source: Business Society

“The more prices go up upstream, the only thing we can do is follow the same amount.” Gao Shuai said, “For long-time customers, limited spot supplies can still maintain the original price. But for new customers, spot orders and all pre-orders have already implemented price increases.” Another purchaser also admitted, “We can’t get the goods recently, the line-up is severe, and it affects our delivery.”

As prices rise, supply has also become tight.

On March 31, DuPont? (Need verify). Actually: On March 31, global chemical fiber leader “Invista” China plant released a performance-exemption notice regarding materials such as Nylon 6,6: “Due to supply constraints of butadiene caused by conflicts in the Middle East, the sources of raw materials that the Yilong plant of Invista? (China) Co., Ltd. relies on cannot be supplied normally.”

Nylon 6,6 is one of the key raw materials relied on by yoga apparel brands such as lululemon and Alo. Invista is the upstream source manufacturer of high-end nylon 6,6 materials. Its partner companies include China material supplier Taihua New Materials (603055.SH). Sports brands such as lululemon are among its indirect customers. Another domestic nylon giant, Tongda? Actually: Shenda? (600810.SH) also released, in late March, an unforeseeable force majeure notice about the supply of nylon 6,6 slices. Its customers include BASF, Michelin, and others.

Windbreakers and yoga pants costs are both going up

Raw material price pressure inevitably flows through to the outdoor footwear and apparel end.

“Windbreakers typically use petroleum-based products.” Engineer Yao Weiming from Guangdong DeMei Fine Chemicals Group Co., Ltd. said.

A senior executive at an outdoor gear company, Lin Fei, calculated for Time Finance: “Currently, the prices of yarns for apparel made from chemical fibers are basically up around 30%. Yarn costs account for 40% of fabric costs. For a windbreaker, fabric and trimmings account for about 30% of the total garment cost. Based on comprehensive calculations, this round of raw material increases has raised total garment cost by about 4%.”

Normally, fluctuations in March raw material prices will directly affect summer apparel launched in June and July, as well as the pricing of subsequent autumn and winter new products.

Lin Fei said that brands usually stock up in advance. In the short term, price increases have limited impact on the brand’s retail prices. The main effect is squeezing the profit margins of raw material suppliers. But if the situation in the Middle East continues for more than three months, retail prices will most likely rise as well—“by roughly around 5%.”

Yao Weiming provided a more intuitive estimate: taking a branded windbreaker priced at 299 yuan as an example, actual production costs are about 70–80 yuan, and fabric costs account for 40–50 yuan. Based on his estimate, this autumn the same windbreaker could be sold for 349 yuan, with the increase possibly exceeding 15%.

The pressure of end-market price increases will first pass through to smaller brands. Yao Weiming noted that big brands can effectively offset cycle fluctuations by locking prices long-term, purchasing inventory in advance, and prioritizing production capacity. Meanwhile, smaller brands and online brands that rely on pushing a single breakout product have weaker power in the supply chain. They either raise prices faster or are forced to absorb pressure.

Photo source: Pexels

He also believes that yoga pants may face even more pressure than windbreakers. “For windbreakers, the main raw material—polyester—has sufficient domestic production capacity and intense competition, so price elasticity is stronger. But for yoga apparel and sun-protection clothing, which rely on nylon, especially high-quality nylon, domestic supply concentration is high and production capacity elasticity is limited. Combined with a hoarding wave triggered by oil price increases, price fluctuations for nylon are further amplified. For example, for an online brand like SiinSiin yoga pants that relies on a single breakout product, the pressure is even greater.”

Consumers are becoming more sensitive, and outdoor brands are collectively bracing for tests

According to Time Finance’s review, outdoor brands have not yet publicly signaled price increases. However, in early April, fashion peers such as the H&M Group in Sweden and Next, a UK apparel retailer, have already taken action.

Next’s management said that if the conflict in the Middle East lasts for several months, or even continues into autumn, clothing prices could first see a small increase of about 1% around June and July in the summer, and then the increase could expand to a range of 4% to 10%.

Related topics such as “When oil prices rise, my windbreaker panics first” have also climbed to the hot charts on social media platforms. But for brands, raising prices is not easy.

Lin Fei told Time Finance that whether the end market adjusts prices, and by how much, essentially depends on a brand’s bargaining power and profit margins. “Brand retail price relative to cost has a certain multiple. It’s also possible that brands choose not to add or to add very little, to maintain sales.”

At the same time, consumers’ tolerance for brands’ price increases and cost pass-through behavior appears to be getting lower.

In recent years, some domestic outdoor brands have continued raising end-product prices by relying on brand premiumization strategies, and consumers’ perceptions have become clear.

In its IPO prospectus, outdoor sports brand Boshi? (Bersihua?) actually: Burei? “Bursei”? It states that in recent years, Boshi? has improved its brand positioning by launching high-performance products with higher gross margins. The prospectus shows that Boshi?’s average selling price for windbreaker suits and pants products was 381 yuan in 2022. By the first half of 2025, the average selling price of this category had increased to 459 yuan. In the same period, the average selling price of soft-shell windbreaker suits and pants rose from 169 yuan to 300 yuan, and fleece-lined suits and pants rose from 90 yuan to 190 yuan.

This also drove Boshi?’s overall gross margin to rise from 54.3% in 2022 to 59.6% in 2024. In the first half of 2025, Boshi?’s gross margin further increased to 64.2%.

But earning broad market recognition is not that easy. On social media platforms, many consumers complain that “prices for products have skyrocketed, but innovation and iteration are limited.” In the first half of 2025, Boshi? spent about 23.31 million yuan on R&D, only about 2.5% of the company’s revenue in the same period.

Similarly, in November last year, the classic Kanas down jacket and the new Alta down jacket from KAILAS? (凯乐石) had similar appearances, down fill amounts, and core fabrics. However, their prices jumped from 3,900 yuan to 4,800 yuan, and multiple media outlets also reported that this move sparked dissatisfaction among many consumers.

Yao Weiming told Time Finance that with raw material costs rising and profit margins being squeezed, brands have more than one option besides raising end-market prices—cutting costs is also an important approach. But he is also concerned that some brands may take the “shortcut” of implicitly reducing quality. “If they want to hold the end-market price steady, they might quietly replace it with lower-grade yarns. And consumers have no way to discover the difference.”

With upstream raw materials surging in price and supply-chain games intensifying, the outdoor apparel industry is standing at a crossroads between costs and consumer sentiment.

(At the interviewees’ request, Zhou Li, Gao Shuai, and Lin Fei in the article are all pseudonyms.)