One out of every three home textile fabrics in China comes from Haining—this is not an exaggeration but a reflection of public industry data: Haining's home textile products have held the nation's top market share for years, exceeding 35%. After more than four decades of development, starting from 'a piece of cloth,' expanding to cover 'a home' with soft furnishing solutions, and becoming the industry card of 'a city,' the cluster's transformation path is now being tested by a trade fair.
Resilience Behind the Numbers
In the first half of this year, revenue of China's home textile industry above designated size grew only 0.96% year-on-year, with exports up 3.79%—a clear slowdown. However, Haining's home textile industry achieved a growth rate of 9.2% in the same period, nearly ten times the industry average. This contrast indicates that Haining, through digital transformation, original design cultivation, and high-end fabric R&D, has developed stronger anti-cyclical capabilities amid insufficient domestic and foreign demand.
Notably, Haining Home Textile City has been selected as one of the first pilot zones for high-quality development of professional markets in Zhejiang Province, and this year it was included in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's 'China Consumer Famous Products' list. This means Haining's transformation is no longer scattered corporate behavior but is incorporated into provincial and national industrial upgrading frameworks, with its experience potentially distilled into a replicable 'Haining Model.'
Fair Upgrade: From Trading Venue to Trendsetter
The 35th Haining Home Textile Fair opened on August 15, featuring 250,000 square meters of exhibition space, over 2,500 source factories, four halls, six special exhibition zones, and thirteen thematic activities. Beyond scale, first-day visitor traffic increased by 22.1% year-on-year, reflecting strong demand from buyers for trend insights and direction.
The structural changes of the fair are more telling. In the past, the fair was like a 'fabric bazaar.' Now, the newly launched 2026/27 Color Trend Zone, Intangible Cultural Heritage Original Design Zone, and Smart Shading & Window Accessories Zone all signal the same message: Haining is shifting from 'product trading' to 'defining trends.' For example, the curtain section no longer merely displays fabrics but presents system solutions including electric tracks and eco-friendly shading coatings. Silk, celadon, screens, and other Oriental aesthetic elements are introduced into home scenarios, extending the fabric narrative to the entire lifestyle.
What does this shift mean for buyers? Simply put, procurement used to be 'follow the sample, compare prices.' Now, it requires understanding color themes, material mixing, and functional integration; otherwise, you risk lagging in next season's inventory competition.
University-Industry Collaboration and Design Empowerment
Haining's transformation relies heavily on design support. Zhejiang Sci-Tech University has cooperated with Haining for years, jointly building platforms such as the Fashion Fabric Innovation Center and Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Creative Hall. Last year, they signed a project for the Haining Fashion Industry Technology Innovation R&D Center, bridging the gap from 'university labs' to 'production lines.' This industry-education integration model is continuously supplying original design power to Haining.
The 'Haining Home Textile Cup' Creative Design Competition has been held for 24 consecutive sessions, making it the first professional home textile design contest in China. This year's theme, 'Weaving the Present, Striding to the Future,' features dual tracks, attracting young designers. For factories, this means Haining's original design supply is increasing, potentially squeezing OEM profit margins, but also providing a springboard from 'sample processing' to 'design-driven' production.
Ecosystem Reinvention: From Single Manufacturing to Composite Platform
Haining Home Textile City is implementing the 'One Center, Four Markets' layout, building an International Fashion Center and creating distinctive markets for national style, digital, and original design, with the goal of becoming a national-level creative design cluster. Meanwhile, deepening the 'Hundred Enterprises Striving' initiative, seizing the AI opportunity, and promoting home textiles integrated with aesthetics, technology, and green elements. These moves indicate that Haining is no longer content to be a fabric distribution hub but aims to become a composite industrial ecosystem platform covering R&D, design, exhibition, trade, and brand incubation.
During the fair, the Haining Home Textile City International Silk Creative R&D Center was inaugurated, aiming to promote the integration of silk and home textiles. This initiative reflects the modern commercial exploration of traditional silk culture. For foreign trade enterprises, this means Haining can offer differentiated products with higher cultural added value, but it also requires the ability to transform intangible cultural heritage elements into marketable goods.