One out of every five sweaters globally comes from Dalang, Dongguan. In this industrial town with an annual transaction volume exceeding 72 billion yuan and garment output of over 900 million pieces, the 95th International Wool Textile Conference opened on June 24. The theme 'Intelligent Weaving Future: Wool Health and Digital Life' precisely captures the deep transformation facing the wool industry—technological dividends and consumption upgrades are reshaping the industrial foundation.
Resilience Behind the Data
Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, disclosed key data in his keynote speech: from January to April 2025, profits of large-scale textile enterprises rose 19.3% year-on-year, while revenue fell slightly by 0.3%. Profits growing much faster than revenue indicates a shift from scale competition to efficiency competition. During the same period, retail sales of apparel, footwear, hats, and textiles above designated size grew 8.1%, showing a resilient domestic market.
However, divergence in investment deserves attention. From January to May, fixed asset investment in the textile industry grew 10.8%, while the apparel and chemical fiber sectors fell 10.3% and 14.5% respectively. This suggests capital is accelerating toward upstream spinning and weaving, while downstream garment manufacturing and chemical fiber capacity expansion are cautious. For the wool industry, technological transformation and capacity upgrades at the raw material end will be the main battlefield in coming years.
Intelligent Economy: A Paradigm Shift from Tool to Ecosystem
The strongest signal from the conference is that artificial intelligence is no longer an auxiliary tool but is restructuring the entire value chain. Sun Ruizhe cited multiple cases: Yueda Textile's 'Lighthouse Factory' reduced labor per 10,000 spindles by about 70% through smart manufacturing, and increased total labor productivity by more than four times; Semir's AI-assisted design system boosted R&D efficiency by 35% and pattern design efficiency by over 200%. These figures reflect a fundamental change in production logic—from 'people finding machines' to 'machines finding people,' from experience-driven to data-driven.
More notably, the intelligent economy is spawning new industrial forms. Sun noted that the number of newly registered single-person companies in China surged 47% year-on-year in the first half of 2025. The global 'handcraft economy' is rising, meaning small-batch, personalized, quick-response production models now have technological support. For the wool industry, the stable model relying on large-volume orders will be disrupted, and flexible manufacturing capability will become a core competitive edge.
Experience Economy: A Deep Shift in Consumption Logic
Another core topic was the experience economy. Sun Ruizhe pointed out that the global consumer market is experiencing ecological reconstruction, human-centric return, and structural differentiation. Consumers no longer settle for basic functions but pursue health, emotional connection, and self-expression. This has a structural impact on the wool industry—wool, as a natural fiber, perfectly aligns with the 'health' and 'sustainability' trend, but turning this attribute into perceivable brand value remains a common challenge.
Brand building in China's textile industry is accelerating. Anta and SHEIN have entered the world's top 500 brands, while Erdos and Shenzhou International deeply engage in global competition through cross-border M&A and global layout. For the wool industry, brand value is no longer just logo premium but a comprehensive narrative covering design, supply chain transparency, and environmental responsibility.