A sourcing event in Xiamen has lifted the curtain on the 2026 Keqiao Textile Expo's recruitment drive. On August 7, 11 leading Fujian footwear and apparel brands met face-to-face with 27 fabric enterprises, with demand concentrated on functional sportswear fabrics for jackets, yoga wear, and sun-protection clothing. Behind these numbers lies a clear signal: the two major textile industrial belts of Fujian and Zhejiang are shifting from 'going it alone' to 'coordinated action.'
Event Background
Now in its 27th edition, the Keqiao Textile Expo ranks among China's top three textile exhibitions, alongside the Canton Fair and Shanghai Intertextile. Its confidence stems from China Textile City, the world's largest and most comprehensive professional textile market, with annual transactions exceeding RMB 100 billion and a reputation as the 'first stop for fabric procurement.' By moving its recruitment frontline to Fujian, the expo is no longer waiting for buyers to come—it is proactively tapping into industrial hinterlands for incremental demand.
At the event, Pan Jianrong, deputy director of Keqiao District Convention and Exhibition Development Center, emphasized that Keqiao is leveraging its 'market + industry + innovation' strengths to build five major centers: global textile distribution, exhibitions, innovation, fashion brands, and headquarters. Qi Jintong, deputy director of China Textile City Construction Management Committee, stressed the 'digital intelligence + fashion' dual-drive strategy for building an 'International Textile Capital.' These statements are not empty slogans—for buyers, they signal more efficient trade matching and cutting-edge trend information; for exhibitors, they mean access to a more globally oriented platform.
Industry Impact
Notably, the event brought the 'trend barometer' directly to the venue. WGSN's trend director Men Shuping, in a session on '2027SS Functional Fabric Innovation for Sportswear,' pointed out that lightweight, protective, and skin-friendly properties have become core R&D and sourcing directions. This aligns closely with Fujian brands' needs—Anta, Erke, 361°, and others sought functional fabrics for jackets, yoga wear, and sun-protection clothing.
Fabric suppliers responded with equal specificity. Shaoxing Zhenhui Textile showcased three innovations: titanium dioxide fabrics embedding function into the fiber, Yasal washed fabrics offering premium skin-feel through green substrates, and liquid ammonia antibacterial fabrics balancing cotton feel with sports stability. Shaoxing Biaodian Textile used green fibers like Lyocell, silk, and cotton, applying integrated knitting technology across fashion, denim, and home textiles. These cases illustrate that sportswear fabrics are moving from single-performance stacking to composite, green solutions. Keqiao enterprises already possess full-chain control from yarn to finished fabric, which is critical for brands' delivery cycles and quality consistency.
From an industrial landscape perspective, Fujian boasts a nationally leading footwear manufacturing scale and a complete apparel chain, sprinting toward a trillion-yuan industrial cluster. Keqiao commands the world's largest fabric trading market and full-chain capacity. The value of their collaboration: Fujian brands gain access to high-cost-performance, fast-response innovative fabrics nearby, while Keqiao enterprises lock onto end-market demand and reduce development blindness. This 'market + manufacturing' cross-regional synergy could reshape the response speed of China's fabric supply chain.