One out of every five sweaters globally is made in Dalang, Guangdong. This statistic was repeatedly cited at the 95th International Wool Textile Conference, which opened on June 24. Behind it lies an industrial cluster with an annual transaction volume exceeding 72 billion yuan and an annual garment output of over 900 million pieces. As natural fibers intersect with digital technology, and health consumption meets green responsibility, the growth engine of the wool industry is shifting.
Industry Coordinates: Dalang's Global Role
Dalang is a woolen knitting town that grew out of China's reform and opening-up, and a microcosm of how Chinese textiles integrate into global supply chains. Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), revealed in his keynote speech that China's annual fiber processing volume remains above 60 million tons, and annual garment output exceeds 70 billion pieces, accounting for over 50% of the global total. China's textile exports have exceeded $300 billion for six consecutive years, with strong exports of intermediate goods like chemical fibers and fabrics stabilizing global supply chains. This means Dalang is not just a production center but a node in the global wool supply chain.
The conference, themed 'Intelligent Weaving for the Future: Wool's Health and Digital Life,' targets two major trends: consumers' pursuit of health and sustainability is reshaping product logic, and AI is penetrating the entire chain from design to production. Sun argued that when natural fibers meet digital technology, the wool industry becomes a growth engine driven by new technology, new consumption, new culture, and new cooperation.
Data Behind Industrial Divergence
China's textile industry is under pressure in 2025 but shows clear resilience. From January to April, revenue of enterprises above designated size fell 0.3% year-on-year, but total profit rose 19.3%, with a profit margin of 2.9%. This reversal from 'revenue growth without profit growth' to 'profit growth despite revenue decline' indicates effective cost control and structural optimization. Retail sales of garments, footwear, hats, and textiles by units above designated size reached 512.13 billion yuan, up 8.1% year-on-year, accelerating by 5 percentage points from the previous year, signaling a recovery in domestic consumption.
However, investment and export data show divergence. From January to May, fixed asset investment in the textile industry grew 10.8%, but the garment and chemical fiber industries fell 10.3% and 14.5%, respectively. Textile and apparel exports reached $116.73 billion, up just 0.1%, with textile exports up 1.7% and apparel exports down 1.6%. This means upstream fabric and intermediate goods remain competitive, but finished garment exports face overseas demand fluctuations and trade barriers. For buyers, this implies greater stability in fabric supply chains than in finished garments.
Intelligent Economy: Reshaping from Workshop to Consumer
AI is reshaping the comparative advantages of the wool industry. Sun cited several cases: Jiangsu Yueda Textile's 'lighthouse factory' reduced labor per 10,000 spindles by about 70%, increased total labor productivity by over four times, lowered unit energy consumption by 15%, and cut processing costs by 26%. Semir's AI-assisted design system improved overall design efficiency by 35% and pattern design efficiency by over 200%. Bosideng's 'AI Aesthetic Brain' reduced sample development costs by over 60%. These numbers show that intelligent manufacturing is no longer a concept but a quantifiable cost and efficiency advantage.
More profound changes are occurring in the industrial ecosystem. Anuoqi deployed AI computing power to build a closed loop from 'dyes to ink to digital printing to AI design to IP cultural creativity.' Gartner expects global full-stack AI procurement spending to reach $2.59 trillion by 2026, up 47% year-on-year. For wool enterprises, this means that failing to turn process parameters, production data, and market feedback into governable data assets could lead to falling behind in the next round of competition.
Experience Economy: Brand Opportunities Under Consumer Fragmentation
The global consumer market is undergoing ecological reconstruction, a return to human-centric values, and structural fragmentation. Consumers are increasingly stratified, with health, emotional connection, and self-expression becoming core demands. Social media accelerates information generation and dissemination, and product discovery, comparison, and decision-making are becoming more intelligent. Sun noted that the industry needs to develop a paradigm fit for the experience economy, meaning brand building must go beyond price and scale to cultural narratives and emotional connections.
Chinese-style trends are boosting the recognition of Chinese brands globally. Anta and SHEIN have entered the GYBrand World's Top 500 Brands. Hengli, Weiqiao, Erdos, and Shenzhou International are deepening global cooperation through cross-border M&A and global capacity layout. For the wool industry, wool as a natural, sustainable fiber naturally aligns with health consumption and green responsibility, but converting this attribute into brand premium is the next critical step.