The textile industry's internal evaluation and commendation activities are facing a top-to-bottom compliance overhaul. The "Measures for the Administration of Evaluation and Commendation Activities of Social Organizations," jointly issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Central Social Work Department, took effect in July 2026. Its core is to place all such activities under a project list management system with strict total volume control. This means that the past practice of industry associations and chambers of commerce establishing multiple awards and frequently conducting evaluations will be strictly constrained.
Project List and Total Volume Control The new regulations clearly state that evaluation and commendation activities of social organizations must follow the principles of "scientific setup, strict approval, total volume control, and practical effectiveness." National-level social organizations must submit their project applications to the Ministry of Civil Affairs by the end of March each year, after review by their business supervisory unit, with centralized approval occurring annually. Local projects must be incorporated into the total volume management of provincial-level work departments' evaluation activities.
A key change is that, in principle, each social organization can only establish one evaluation project, and it should generally be conducted once every five years. For some industry associations in the textile field, this means a significant reduction in existing awards, focusing resources on a single, most representative project. For example, organizations that previously had multiple sub-awards like "Technology Innovation Award," "Brand Contribution Award," and "Green Factory Award" must now integrate them into one comprehensive project.
Application Thresholds and Procedural Standards The new regulations set hard conditions for social organizations applying to establish evaluation projects. Organizations must have passed annual inspections for the last two years, have an evaluation rating of 4A or above, and not have been listed in the abnormal activity list or serious dishonesty list in the last three years. For smaller associations or local chambers of commerce in the textile industry, this threshold poses a challenge—those with poor management records or inspection histories will be directly disqualified from applying.
The review process is also more rigorous. Social organizations must develop work plans, issue notices, organize recommendation reviews, and conduct credit checks on candidates. For candidates involving enterprises and their responsible persons, opinions must be sought from departments such as ecology and environment, taxation, and market supervision. This increases transparency and fairness but significantly raises operational costs and time cycles. Textile companies seeking to participate in such awards must ensure they have no negative records in taxation, environmental protection, and credit.
Prohibitions and Industry Impact The new regulations explicitly prohibit conducting evaluation activities targeting Party committees, governments, or Party and government organs, and cannot select Party and government leading cadres as candidates. Activities outside the project list are strictly forbidden, and organizations cannot arbitrarily change project names, activity cycles, evaluation scopes, or set up sub-projects.
For the textile industry, this means that some "regional brand evaluations" or "industry cluster commendations" previously jointly organized by industry associations and local governments may face suspension if not formally approved and listed. The number of "official-backed" awards will significantly decrease, potentially improving the credibility and value of remaining awards, but in the short term, some enterprises may lose important channels for brand endorsement.