New Regulations Reshape Textile Industry Awards: Total Control and List Management

The textile industry's myriad appraisal and commendation activities are about to face systematic regulation. The "Measures for the Management of Social Organizations' Commendation Activities" (Minfa [2026] No. 31), jointly issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Central Social Work Department, stipulates that from 2026, all commendation activities organized by social organizations, including the China National Textile and Apparel Council and various provincial textile associations, must be included in a project list management system, with total control and a maximum frequency of once every five years. This means the previous situation where an association held multiple awards like "Fabric Innovation Award," "Green Pioneer Award," and "Design Competition" in a single year will cease to exist.

Background

The core logic of the new regulation is "scientific setting, strict approval, total control, and emphasis on practical results." According to the measures, national-level social organizations (e.g., China National Textile and Apparel Council) must have their appraisal projects reviewed by their business supervisory unit and apply to the Ministry of Civil Affairs before the end of March each year, with centralized review once a year. Local-level social organizations (e.g., provincial textile associations) must have their projects included in the total management of provincial-level departmental appraisal projects.

The application threshold has been significantly raised: social organizations must have an evaluation grade of 4A or above, pass annual inspections for the last two years, not be listed in the abnormal activity list or serious untrustworthy subject list in the last three years, and have not been punished for illegally carrying out appraisals in the last five years. Additionally, they must listen to the opinions of the Party organization when applying for projects. These conditions will eliminate a number of associations with irregular operations and low credibility.

Industry Impact

For the textile industry, the direct impact is a sharp reduction in the various awards that upstream and downstream companies participate in. In the past, some associations set up appraisal projects such as "Top 100 in the Industry" and "Recommended Brands" to collect participation fees, and even engaged in the chaos of "buying awards with money," which seriously interfered with fair market competition. The new regulation clearly states that appraisal activities must follow the principle of non-profit, and must not be carried out for party committees, governments, or party and government organs at all levels, generally not selecting party and government leading cadres as the evaluation objects. This institutionally cuts off the space for power rent-seeking.

From an industry orientation perspective, total control will force associations to enhance the value of their appraisal projects. For example, national-level projects like the "China National Textile and Apparel Council Science and Technology Award" will need to more strictly implement procedures such as public announcement and solicitation of opinions, ensuring that the selection results truly reflect the level of industry innovation. For enterprises, the industry honors they receive in the future will be scarcer and more credible. When selecting suppliers, purchasers can more trust these awards that have undergone strict approval.

Practical Suggestions

For Purchasers - Verify whether the industry awards obtained by suppliers are within the project list published by the Ministry of Civil Affairs to avoid being misled by "fake" appraisals. - Prioritize awards approved by national-level social organizations (e.g., China National Textile and Apparel Council), as these projects must undergo centralized review by the Ministry of Civil Affairs every five years, with more standardized procedures. - Pay attention to the public announcement of selection results by the association, and require suppliers to provide supporting materials such as selection notices and public announcement screenshots to prevent false claims of "pay to win."

For Foreign Trade Enterprises - When responding to overseas customer inquiries, proactively explain that domestic industry awards have been included in the government list management, enhancing the international trade credit value of the awards. - Before choosing to participate in an appraisal, confirm whether the organizing association's evaluation grade has reached 4A or above, to avoid the award not being recognized by overseas customers due to the association's qualification issues. - Utilize the public announcement process of the new regulations to supervise the fairness of the appraisal process, and report any irregularities found to the civil affairs department.