When lyocell fiber supply and demand have maintained nearly 40% high-speed growth for two consecutive years and nonwovens output has surpassed 9 million tons annually, bio-based materials are no longer just a lab concept—they represent the most certain incremental track in the textile industry's green transformation. The 2026 Bio-based Chemical Fiber and Raw Material Industry Chain Collaborative Innovation Exchange Conference in Changshu, Jiangsu, signaled that the industry is moving from technological breakthroughs to the critical stage of large-scale commercialization.
From Technology Breakthroughs to Chain-Wide Collaboration
The core message from the conference is that competition over the next five years will shift from single-point technology breakthroughs to full-chain collaborative capability. The roadmap outlined by Jin Gaoling, vice president of the China Chemical Fibers Association, clearly points to three tough challenges: localization and large-scale preparation of key monomers such as high-purity lactic acid, lactide, and furandicarboxylic acid; breakthroughs in large-capacity continuous polymerization and melt direct spinning; and domestic substitution of key equipment. This means that segments previously dependent on imported intermediates and equipment will become critical variables determining cost and supply security.
Raw material diversification is another unavoidable topic. The development and utilization of non-grain biomass resources such as straw, corn cobs, juncao, and bamboo directly determine whether bio-based fibers can break free from dependence on food crops and build a truly sustainable supply system. Academician Cheng Bowen's emphasis on a full-chain research system of "mechanism tracing—technology breakthrough—application and standards" essentially aims to integrate basic research, process development, and market verification to avoid disconnect between scientific research and industry.
Market Demand Is Rising, But Standards Remain a Weak Link
On the market side, demand for bio-based fibers has already started to accelerate. Wang Huaping, a researcher at Donghua University, predicts that bio-based chemical fibers and biodegradable fiber materials will maintain relatively high growth in the coming years, with green fibers' share in the overall structure increasing significantly. The nearly 40% high-speed growth in lyocell fiber supply and demand over the past two years, along with nonwovens output surpassing 9 million tons and the rapid expansion of the wiping materials market, provides realistic application scenarios for biodegradable raw materials.
But behind rapid growth lies the lag in standardization. The absence of standards for bio-based content determination, biodegradable fiber evaluation, and carbon footprint accounting is becoming an invisible barrier to international market access. Zhang Qian from the China National Textile and Apparel Council warns that green development has evolved from an environmental issue to a survival issue for market access. For buyers, without unified standards, it is difficult to accurately assess suppliers' green attributes, and opaque carbon footprint data directly weakens end brands' low-carbon narratives.
Divergent Industrialization Paths: Different Breakthroughs
Corporate practices present diversified technical routes. Xinxiang Chemical Fiber's ionic liquid method achieves non-derivatized green dissolution of cellulose, with its "First Cell" thousand-ton production line running stably, demonstrating the industrial feasibility of green solvent systems. Yisheng New Materials optimizes polylactic acid fiber strength through copolymerization, blending, and process control, extending applications to 3D printing and ecological fibers—a differentiated modification route. Jiangsu Sanlian New Materials focuses on bio-based polyester filament with functional matrices such as cooling sensation, attempting to offset green premiums with functional value.
The common logic of these explorations is that merely emphasizing "bio-based" is hard to open markets; environmental attributes must be combined with performance and experience. Sun Mingliang, founder of the COOL-FRESH® brand, mentions "consumer scene emotions and composite functional needs," essentially saying that for green materials to enter mass consumption, they must first meet basic expectations of comfort, aesthetics, and functionality. For factories, this means R&D investment cannot focus only on materials; it must also consider spinning processes, fabric design, and end-use application scenarios simultaneously.