One in every four swimwear pieces worldwide is made in Xingcheng, a county-level city in Liaoning Province. With over 5,700 registered entities and 160,000 workers, the local industry generates an annual output value of 15 billion RMB. In July 2026, the collective trademark held by the local industry association was officially approved, becoming the first such trademark in Liaoning's textile and apparel sector. This marks a pivotal shift from OEM manufacturing to regional branding.
Background
The collective trademark, registration number 88537191, is owned by the Xingcheng Swimwear Industry Association and covers categories including swimsuits, trunks, caps, bikinis, and beachwear. The logo features a mermaid combined with waves and wings, using warm pink and cool blue tones to highlight the marine industry heritage and international ambitions. The application was filed in November 2025 and approved after about eight months, including public review and compliance checks.
Xingcheng's production scale is substantial: 200 million pieces annually, representing a quarter of global output. However, many enterprises have long operated on an OEM/ODM basis, yielding limited brand premium. The collective trademark injects a public brand asset into the industrial cluster, available to compliant enterprises at low or no cost, provided they meet the Xingcheng Swimwear Collective Standard.
Industrial Impact
The collective trademark's value lies not in the logo itself but in reshaping the cluster's competitive logic. Previously, enterprises engaged in price wars, squeezing profit margins. Now, the unified mark signals consistent quality to buyers, reducing screening costs—especially for cross-border e-commerce and emerging markets where brand endorsement outweighs price alone.
For factories, the trademark acts as a threshold. Non-compliant producers will be excluded, compelling SMEs to upgrade equipment and standardize processes. Short-term compliance costs may arise, but long-term product quality and reputation will improve, helping shed the "cheap and low-quality" label. The association plans to focus on production standards and unified promotion, aiming for "selling well with the Xingcheng mark."
From an export perspective, the trademark registration coincides with a global supply chain realignment. Southeast Asia's cost advantages are pressuring Chinese swimwear exports. Xingcheng's strategy is to counter cost competition with branding, offering a replicable model for other textile clusters—using regional public brands to consolidate resources and enhance bargaining power. For markets like the EU and North America that prioritize compliance and traceability, the collective mark serves as both origin and quality certification.