Jiangxi De’an Dyeing and Printing Cluster: Smart Manufacturing Drives Orders Through August, Overseas Markets Become Growth Engine

While China's textile industry generally faces order volatility and cost pressures, the De’an County textile dyeing and printing cluster in Jiangxi has delivered a contrarian performance. In 2025, the cluster's revenue reached 15.013 billion yuan, up 23.85% year-on-year, with overseas orders contributing a significant share. This growth is not driven by simple capacity expansion but by the synergy between smart manufacturing and green infrastructure.

Smart Production Lines: From Labor-Intensive to Data-Driven

At Yisheng Textile Printing & Dyeing Co., Ltd. in Fenglin Industrial New Zone, a smart workshop commissioned in 2025 has transformed traditional dyeing. Automated equipment seamlessly connects weaving to finishing, with minimal on-site workers yet a product first-grade rate exceeding 99%. Assistant General Manager Hu Lejing revealed that by mid-May, the company had completed about 30 million yuan in output value, targeting an annual goal of 100 million yuan, and striving for 130 million yuan. Its main product, woven chemical fiber fabrics, is exported to Europe and America, with orders booked through August.

Meanwhile, Yiyang Textile Group's 5G smart factory demonstrates the power of digital empowerment. Through MES and WMS systems for full-process control, production efficiency has increased by 25%, and labor costs have dropped by 15%. Its functional and knitted fabrics target the domestic market, while garment products are exported to Europe, America, and Southeast Asia, with production lines running at full capacity. These cases show that smart investments are transforming from cost centers into profit centers.

Green Infrastructure: The 'Five Unifications' Model Lowers Barriers

De’an County’s unique advantage lies in the province’s first textile 'Industry Brain' and the park's 'Five Unifications' project—unified heating, water supply, wastewater treatment, reclaimed water, and sludge disposal. Yiyang Textile Vice General Manager Tan Yurong noted that by connecting to this system, the company avoids building its own wastewater treatment and heating facilities, significantly saving construction and operation costs. This intensive green support not only reduces individual companies' environmental compliance risks but also brings the cluster’s overall energy consumption and emission indicators above industry averages. The De’an High-tech Zone has been recognized as a national-level green park, and multiple companies have become national or provincial green factories.

Closed-Loop Industrial Chain: Synergy from Spinning to Garments

After years of cultivation, De’an County has formed a fully closed-loop industrial chain covering spinning, weaving, dyeing and printing, and garment processing. The cluster houses over 400 enterprises, including 68 above-designated-size industrial enterprises. This vertical integration enables faster order response—Yisheng Textile’s integrated line from weaving to dyeing can compress delivery times by over 30%. For overseas brand clients, this means shorter supply chains and more stable quality control.

More notably, companies in the cluster are shifting from OEM to R&D. Yisheng Textile plans to increase R&D investment in new fabrics to enhance value-added; Yiyang Textile continues to optimize functional fabric performance. This evolution from 'manufacturing' to 'smart manufacturing' to 'innovation' is the core of De’an cluster’s long-term competitiveness.

Practical Recommendations

For Buyers - Prioritize dyeing and printing companies within the cluster that are connected to the 'Five Unifications' project; they typically have better environmental compliance and cost stability than independent factories. - Focus on companies with smart scheduling capabilities (e.g., Yisheng, Yiyang), which offer higher on-time delivery accuracy and first-grade rates. - For woven chemical fiber and functional knitted fabric needs, consider connecting with the De’an cluster; its experience with overseas orders helps in understanding international quality standards.

For Foreign Trade Companies - The De’an cluster’s overseas orders already cover Europe, America, and Southeast Asia, making it a stable supply chain alternative, especially when capacity is tight in the Yangtze River Delta or Pearl River Delta. - When cooperating with cluster companies, emphasize the 'green manufacturing' label (national-level green factory) to meet increasingly stringent ESG audits from European and American clients. - It is advisable to lock in production capacity for the second half of 2026 early, as current orders are already booked through August, and subsequent scheduling windows may tighten further.