One in every five sweaters worldwide is made in Dalang, a small town whose woolen knitwear industry has surpassed 72 billion yuan in annual trade. On June 24, the 95th International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO) Congress opened here, bringing together representatives from over 20 countries to discuss green transition and global supply chain collaboration. The centerpiece was the global launch of the IWTO Wool Green Paper, described by participants as a 'key lever' for industry transformation.
Standards Game Heats Up
The Green Paper's release reflects the wool industry's defensive position in global environmental narratives. Multiple speakers noted that existing data deliberately exaggerates wool's negative environmental impact, while younger generations, influenced by biased messaging, generally view livestock farming as environmentally problematic. Despite significant industry investment, misleading narratives remain hard to reverse. The Green Paper aims to reshape the promotional narrative and proactively seize discourse control.
This means wool industry competition is escalating from raw material and capacity levels to rule-making areas such as carbon footprint accounting, durability standards, and natural fiber alliances. Currently, only a few companies participate in the Green Paper project, requiring unified global industry action. Plans include region-specific carbon footprint standards and a natural fiber industry alliance. For Chinese wool textile firms, this presents both a challenge—requiring resources for standard co-creation—and an opportunity to gain trade leverage if they lead in standard-setting.
Dalang Model: From OEM to Branding
Dalang's woolen industry has evolved over 40 years, exporting to over 100 countries with a complete chain from raw material processing to design, manufacturing, and trade. Annual garment output exceeds 900 million pieces, with total chain trade value over 72 billion yuan. These numbers reflect the power of openness and industrial clustering.
Local government explicitly positions Dalang in a golden period of transformation, focusing on technology, culture, and green development. Moving from OEM to cultural empowerment and then to independent brands, Dalang's path mirrors the broader shift of China's wool textile industry. Experts emphasized that China holds the world's largest wool processing capacity, importing large volumes of raw wool and exporting finished products, while leveraging smart and green manufacturing to empower global supply chains.
Challenges persist. Trade protectionism continues to impact supply chains. While Dalang's resilience has been proven, long-term reliance on OEM models carries accumulating risks. Upgrading toward branding, intelligence, and enterprise-level innovation is an unavoidable task.
Youth Power and Industry Sustainability
The Congress featured a special wool youth project session, where dozens of young representatives from different countries introduced their businesses. The project aims to build a cross-regional platform for newcomers to network and consolidate industry strength. Speakers noted that wool textile is not just an ancient craft but a cause worth passing down through generations.
This session reflects industry concerns about talent gaps. The wool sector faces not only environmental pressure but also structural issues like aging labor and low youth willingness to enter the field. Through youth projects, the industry seeks to cultivate a new generation of practitioners in a globalized context, ensuring supply chain sustainability.