One out of every five sweaters globally is produced in Dalang, Dongguan. This wool textile town became the global industry's focal point again during the 95th International Wool Textile Conference in June 2025. Behind a full-chain transaction value exceeding 72 billion yuan and an annual garment output of over 900 million pieces lies a deeper signal revealed by Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council: China's textile industry is shifting from a scale advantage to a new paradigm driven by technology, branding, and the intelligent economy.
Resilience Behind the Data
From January to April 2025, revenue of China's above-scale textile enterprises fell 0.3% year-on-year, but total profit surged 19.3%, with a profit margin of 2.9%. This profit rebound against a revenue decline indicates that the industry is digesting external pressures through product upgrades, cost optimization, and digital transformation. Retail sales of garments, footwear, hats, and knitwear by units above the designated size reached 512.13 billion yuan, up 8.1% year-on-year, accelerating by 5 percentage points from the same period last year. Domestic consumption resilience is evident.
However, export performance diverged. From January to May, textile and apparel exports totaled 116.73 billion USD, a mere 0.1% increase. Textile exports reached 59.48 billion USD, up 1.7%, while apparel exports fell 1.6% to 57.24 billion USD. This data reflects the stable global supply chain position of intermediate goods (fabrics, yarns) but also shows that finished garment exports face dual pressures from overseas demand fluctuations and trade barriers.
Intelligent Restructuring of Production and Organization
Data from the China National Textile and Apparel Council shows that the digitalization rate of key processes across the industry has reached 63.2%, higher than the national manufacturing average. In 2024, 30 textile enterprises were included in the 5G factory list. This technological penetration is transforming factory operational efficiency. For example, Jiangsu Yueda Textile's 'Lighthouse Factory' reduced its labor per 10,000 spindles by about 70%, increased total labor productivity by more than four times, lowered unit energy consumption by 15%, and cut processing costs by 26%. Semir's AI-assisted design system boosted overall design and R&D efficiency by 35% and pattern design efficiency by over 200%. Bosideng's 'AI Aesthetic Brain' reduced sample development costs by more than 60%.
These cases demonstrate that AI is no longer just a concept but a tangible tool directly translating into cost reduction and efficiency gains. For buyers, this means enhanced flexibility and rapid response capabilities in the supply chain, potentially shortening delivery cycles for small-batch, multi-variety orders.
Experience Economy and Consumption Polarization
The global consumer market is characterized by ecological restructuring, a return to human-centric values, and structural divergence. Consumers are increasingly segmented and stratified, with health, emotional connection, and self-expression becoming core demands. This directly drives the wool textile industry's shift from 'functional fabrics' to 'emotional fabrics'. Natural fiber wool, in the context of health consumption and green responsibility, is gaining a premium again.
China's textile industry has also taken substantial steps in brand building. Anta and SHEIN have entered the 2026 GYBrand World's Top 500 Brands; Hengli, Weiqiao, Erdos, and Shenzhou International have deepened global engagement through cross-border M&A, global capacity layout, and multi-brand operations. This parallel strategy of branding and globalization is reshaping the stereotype of 'OEM' for China's textile industry.
Green Manufacturing and Policy Drivers
Advanced green technologies such as non-aqueous dyeing and digital printing are being rapidly adopted, improving overall resource efficiency. China's high-performance fiber capacity now accounts for more than one-third of the global total, with applications expanding from traditional textiles to high-end manufacturing sectors like aerospace and marine engineering. This technological spillover means the wool industry is not limited to apparel but may enter new tracks like industrial textiles.