Zhejiang Province's textile and apparel enterprises above designated size achieved revenue of 1.12 trillion yuan in 2025, accounting for over a quarter of China's total. Textile exports reached $95.33 billion, representing 32.4% of the national share. These figures were disclosed at the 2026 Apparel Technology Innovation Conference held in Hangzhou Linping from July 28 to 29, directly outlining Zhejiang's core position in the national textile landscape.
Industry Clustering and Transformation Signals
Linping, as the core cluster of Hangzhou's apparel industry, produces 80% of Hangzhou-style women's wear. The district now hosts over 6,200 supply chain enterprises and more than 100 brand headquarters, with output value exceeding 20 billion yuan. Local authorities have explicitly targeted a 100-billion fashion industry cluster, using a "1+4+N" investment mechanism to strengthen the women's wear main business and expand into multiple categories. Behind this expansion lies the intention to extend the industrial belt from pure manufacturing to design, commerce, and online business formats.
Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, systematically elaborated on the four high-quality development dimensions of "technology, fashion, green, and health," pointing out that the industry is at a critical window period for structural upgrading, kinetic energy conversion, and value leapfrogging. This means the era of pure scale expansion has passed, and technological innovation and brand building have become the focal points of next-stage competition.
AI and Smart Manufacturing as Core Levers
Among the "15th Five-Year Plan" technology innovation directions released at the conference, nine core tasks cover AI and data intelligence, smart R&D innovation, iterative upgrading of smart manufacturing equipment, and comprehensive leapfrogging of smart factories. 2026 is defined as the first year for large-scale application of AI agents, and the apparel industry is undergoing a triple paradigm shift in design, production, and marketing.
Li Xia, Chief Architect of the Manufacturing Digital Transformation Promotion Center, pointed out that data silos and non-uniform standards are the core bottlenecks for industry transformation. To address this, the national-level textile and apparel digital promotion center can provide free digital diagnostics and customized solution services to enterprises. The involvement of this public service platform means that small and medium-sized apparel enterprises can also access digital transformation pathways at a lower cost.
Qingdao Coolte Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. demonstrated its KTOS enterprise-level intelligent operating system. The unique feature of this system is that it does not require replacing existing equipment to unlock enterprise-wide data. According to measured data, management costs decreased by 81%, and order process automation rates reached up to 81%. This case proves that smart manufacturing is not only affordable for leading enterprises; inclusive solutions are lowering the barrier.
Breakthroughs in Fabrics and Equipment
Wang Dong, Vice President of Wuhan Textile University, stated that consumer demand for comfort, aesthetics, intelligence, and safety in apparel has fully exploded. The three comfort dimensions—heat and moisture, touch, and pressure—have become core product competitiveness. The application of photochromic, thermochromic, and mechanochromic fibers, as well as smart sensing fabrics, is driving traditional fabrics toward multifunctional, perceptible, and adaptive smart materials. This means that for fabric buyers, demand for functional fabrics will continue to grow, and suppliers with technological barriers will gain higher bargaining power.
Shanghai Fushan Precision Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. launched multiple AI-driven next-generation sewing machines, including smart lockstitch, overlock, and interlock machines. These devices have already been deployed in supply chains for leading brands such as Anta, Nike, and Lululemon. From the equipment perspective, the integration of AI and IoT is moving unmanned workshops from concept to large-scale application, directly impacting production capacity planning and equipment investment decisions for apparel factories.
Pathways Under the Brand Power Goal
Chen Dapeng, President of the China National Garment Association, clarified the two-step goal during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period: achieving brand power by 2035 as a phased goal and building a fashion power by the mid-century as a long-term vision. The industry must complete three core transformations—from homogeneous product competition to differentiated brand competition, from an industrial manufacturing model to a fusion of cultural creativity and technological innovation, and from a complete manufacturing system to a diversified brand value system.
This means that the competitive logic for apparel enterprises will fundamentally change over the next five years. Pure price wars and capacity competition will give way to brand value and technological content. For foreign trade enterprises, the dividends of the OEM model are diminishing, and independent brand building and supply chain digitalization capabilities will become new survival thresholds.