One in every five sweaters globally comes from Dalang, a small town in Guangdong that produces over 900 million garments annually, with its entire industrial chain transaction volume exceeding 72 billion yuan. But the core signal from the 95th International Wool Textile Conference is that this scale advantage is being redefined by technological revolution and consumption shifts.
Efficiency Revolution: AI is Rewriting the Cost Curve of Wool Textiles
Data disclosed by Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), at the conference shows that the cost-reduction effect of smart manufacturing has far exceeded expectations. Taking Jiangsu Yueda Textile's 'Lighthouse Factory' as an example, the number of workers per 10,000 spindles decreased by about 70%, labor productivity increased more than fourfold, unit energy consumption dropped by 15%, and processing costs fell by 26%. This means that against the labor-intensive Dalang model, the cost advantage is being replaced by technological dividends driven by AI-enabled flexible manufacturing.
More notably, AI's penetration in design is accelerating. Semir's AI-assisted design system boosted overall R&D efficiency by 35% and pattern design efficiency by over 200%; Bosideng's 'AI Aesthetic Brain' reduced sample development costs by over 60%. These cases indicate that the design phase of the wool textile industry is shifting from 'experience-driven' to 'data-driven.' For industrial clusters like Dalang that started with OEM, this is both a challenge and a window to upgrade to ODM.
Consumption Divergence: The Experience Economy Reshapes Demand Structure
The concept of the 'experience economy' raised at the conference directly points to downstream pain points in the wool industry. The current global consumer market is characterized by ecological reconstruction, human-centric return, and structural differentiation. Consumers are no longer satisfied with the basic function of 'keeping warm'; they pursue health and well-being, emotional connection, and self-expression. This creates a mismatch with Dalang's supply structure, which has been dominated by 'high cost-performance, large batches.'
Macro data from China's textile industry confirms this trend. From January to April 2025, retail sales of clothing, shoes, hats, and knitwear by units above designated size grew by 8.1% year-on-year, while garment exports fell by 1.6% during the same period. The growth in the domestic market comes from 'quality' rather than 'quantity'—consumers are willing to pay for design, brand, and sustainability. Sun specifically noted that the global popularity of 'national trends' and the inclusion of Anta and SHEIN in the world's top 500 brands indicate that brand premium is becoming a new growth pole.
Supply Chain Restructuring: From 'Scale Stability' to 'Agile Response'
China's textile industry has maintained exports exceeding $300 billion for six consecutive years, with annual fiber processing volume exceeding 60 million tons, accounting for over 50% globally. These figures mean China's textile industry is the 'ballast stone' of the global supply chain. But another signal from the conference is that external shocks such as geopolitical conflicts, energy volatility, and shipping disruptions are forcing the supply chain to shift from 'pursuing low cost' to 'pursuing resilience.'
Sun pointed out that the rise of developing countries is changing the industrial and market landscape. For industrial belts like Dalang, the centralized production model of 'one in five sweaters globally from Dalang' faces pressure from decentralization and regionalization. AI and digital technologies offer a solution—through intelligent scheduling, digital twins, and industrial internet, companies can achieve multi-base, small-batch flexible responses without sacrificing efficiency.