Distance0 km
Countries1
ValueNot priced
Distance travelled0 of 41,800 km
Active leg
Index / Supply Chains / T-shirt
A basic T-shirt sells in London for £2.50. Its cotton is grown in central Brazil, crosses the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean to Bangladesh, is spun, knitted, dyed and sewn near Dhaka, then sails to Britain. Round the Cape both ways, that is about 42,000 km, farther than once round the Earth†.
Summary
About 42,000 km for a £2.50 T-shirt
Price build-up
In US dollars, at about $1.33 to the pound on 16 October 2026. The factory figures are for many buyers, not for Primark, whose buying prices are not public.
If Primark paid what many buyers pay, about $2 to $3, there would be little or nothing left from the $2.78 it keeps after VAT to pay for shipping, warehouses, shops and staff. Either it pays much less, or the basic tee earns very little. The public record does not say which.
Legs
Every leg of the chain, from the gin to the shop. Distances are straight lines between the points on the globe unless a source gives the road distance.
| Leg | From | To | What | How | Packed | Distance or time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sapezal | Santos | Bales of lint | Truck, some rail | 40 ft containers | About 2,100 km | 80¢ a pound of lint |
| 2 | Santos | Chittagong | Bales of lint | Container ship | 40 ft containers | Up to about 58 days | Not published |
| 3 | Chittagong | Spinning mill | Bales of lint | Truck* | Containers or trucks | About 210 km† | Not published |
| 4 | Spinning mill | Knitting and dyeing | Yarn | Truck | Cones | Hours | $3.20 to $4.00 a kg |
| 5 | Knitting and dyeing | Sewing factory | Fabric | Truck | Rolls | Hours | Not published |
| 6 | Sewing factory | Chittagong | Shirts | Truck | Bagged, in cartons | About 240 km† | $2 to $3 a shirt |
| 7 | Chittagong | Felixstowe | Shirts | Container ship | Cartons in containers | 28 to 37 days round the Cape | 0% UK duty |
| 8 | Felixstowe | Oxford Street | Shirts | Truck, via a warehouse* | Cartons | About 110 km† | £2.50 a shirt |
Chokepoints
| Step | Who | If it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Growing | Mato Grosso | About 68% of Brazil’s cotton comes from 1 state |
| Export port | Santos | Most Brazilian cotton leaves through it, and it jams at harvest peak |
| Import port | Chittagong | About 99% of Bangladesh’s containers pass through it |
| Supply | Brazil | 38.5% of Bangladesh’s cotton, more than any other country |
| Sea route | The Cape of Good Hope | With the Red Sea avoided, almost every Asia to Europe box goes this way |
Paperwork
| Rule | Set by | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bale code | Brazilian cotton growers (Abrapa) | At the gin | Every bale carries a barcode and QR code that traces it to the farm |
| Plant-health certificate | Brazil | Before export | Confirms the cotton meets the buyer country’s plant-health rules |
| Bill of lading | Carrier | Both voyages | Records what is on board and who can claim it |
| Proof of origin | UK (DCTS) | Entry to the UK | Shows the shirt was made in Bangladesh, so it pays 0% duty. Since 1 January 2026, sewing in Bangladesh from imported fabric counts |
| VAT | UK | At the till | 20%: about 42p of the £2.50 price† |
| Modern slavery statement | UK | Every year | Shops with turnover above £36 million must say what they do about forced labour in their supply chains |
Risk
| Where | Risk | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Ports | Record harvests crowd Santos, and containers wait |
| Bangladesh | Wages | A new wage board for garment workers is being formed in 2026 |
| Bangladesh | Status | Leaving least-developed status on 24 November 2026; the UK keeps duty-free access, the EU until 2029 |
| Red Sea | Shipping | While ships avoid it, every voyage to Europe takes 7 to 10 days longer |
Gaps
Sources