One in every five wool sweaters globally is produced in Dalang, Dongguan. This knitting town hosted the 95th International Wool Conference in late June, themed 'Smart Weaving the Future: Wool's Health and Digital Life.' As natural fibers intersect with digital technology and health consumption, the growth logic of the wool industry is being rewritten.
Factual Foundation: Industry Data and Regional Weight
According to public data from the China National Textile and Apparel Council, China's textile industry processes over 60 million tons of fiber annually and produces more than 70 billion garments, accounting for over 50% of the global share. Exports have exceeded USD 300 billion for six consecutive years, with strong shipments of intermediate products like chemical fibers and fabrics. In the wool sector alone, Dalang produces over 900 million garments annually, with a full-industry-chain turnover exceeding RMB 72 billion. These figures underscore the industry's scale and systemic advantages.
From January to April 2025, revenue of textile enterprises above designated size edged down 0.3% year-on-year, but total profit surged 19.3%, pushing the profit margin to 2.9%. Retail sales of garments, shoes, hats, and textiles by units above designated size reached RMB 512.13 billion, up 8.1%, 5 percentage points faster than the previous year. From January to May, industrial value-added output grew 3.0%, but fixed-asset investment diverged: textile sector investment rose 10.8%, while apparel and chemical fiber fell 10.3% and 14.5%, respectively.
Technology Investment and Green Transition: Sources of Resilience
R&D intensity of textile enterprises above designated size rose from 1% at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan to 1.3% in 2024. The sector has built 2 national manufacturing innovation centers, 5 key laboratories, and 105 enterprise technology centers. High-performance fiber capacity accounts for over one-third of the global total, with applications extending to aerospace and marine engineering. Digitalization rate in key processes reached 63.2%, above the manufacturing average. In 2024, 30 textile firms were listed in the 5G factory directory. Green technologies like water-free dyeing and digital printing are accelerating adoption.
These investments translate directly into resilience. For example, Jiangsu Yueda Textile, a 'Lighthouse Factory,' reduced labor per 10,000 spindles by about 70%, quadrupled labor productivity, cut energy consumption by 15%, and lowered processing costs by 26%. Semir's AI-assisted design system boosted design efficiency by 35%, with pattern design efficiency up over 200%. Bosideng's 'AI Aesthetic Brain' reduced sample development costs by over 60%.
Smart Economy and Experience Economy: New Industry Paradigms
The global AI market reached USD 757.58 billion in 2025, up 18.7%, and is expected to exceed USD 900 billion in 2026. By March 2025, China's daily token calls exceeded 140 trillion, up over 40% from end-2024. The smart economy is reshaping the wool industry in three dimensions:
- Production and organization: AI integrates into design, production, and management. Autonomous robot stacking drives unmanned operations in flexible non-standard processes. China saw a 47% year-on-year increase in new one-person company registrations in H1 2025.
- Factors and models: AI Agents are expected to enter the workforce as billions of digital laborers by 2030. The global humanoid robot market shipments grew about 508% in 2025. 'Token efficiency' is becoming a new metric for organizational performance.
- Systems and ecosystems: Gartner forecasts global full-stack AI spending to reach USD 2.59 trillion in 2026. Anoky's ecosystem—from dyes to inks to digital printing to AI design to IP cultural products—exemplifies industry convergence.
Simultaneously, the experience economy is restructuring consumer markets. Consumers are increasingly segmented, with health, emotional connection, and self-expression as core demands. Social media accelerates information generation and dissemination, making product discovery and decisions more intelligent. Wool enterprises must offer not just quality fabrics but also emotional value and health assurance.