While the national revenue growth for large home textile enterprises was only 0.96%, Haining's home textile industry achieved a striking 9.2% growth in the first half of the year—a contrast that underpins the 22.1% year-on-year increase in first-day visitor traffic at the 35th Haining Home Textile Fair. On August 15, within 250,000 square meters of exhibition space, over 2,500 source factories demonstrated their confidence through doubled new product rates, signaling that this traditional industrial cluster is redefining itself from a fabric distribution hub to a trendsetter.
Industry Foundation: Four Decades of Accumulation and Policy Dividends
Xucun, the birthplace of Haining's home textile industry, has evolved over forty years from a single thread to a comprehensive industrial pattern of "north home textiles, south garments, central digital." The 9.2% growth is driven by four engines: digital technical renovation, original design cultivation, high-end fabric R&D, and brand system construction. This year, Haining home textiles were included in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "China Consumer Famous Products" list, and the home textile city was designated as a provincial professional market transformation pilot—policy support and market momentum are resonating, keeping Haining ahead among national key industrial clusters.
Notably, Haining's home textile products maintain a national market share of over 35%. This means one in every three home textile fabrics in China originates here. For buyers, such cluster density offers not only supply chain efficiency but also advantages in style iteration speed and cost control. When industry growth slows, the siphon effect of leading clusters amplifies, squeezing smaller enterprises that fail to integrate into such ecosystems.
Fair Evolution: From Transaction Venue to Trendsetter
The special significance of this fair lies in it being the first major showcase after Haining China Home Textile City was selected as one of the province's first batch of professional market high-quality development pilots. The fair featured six exhibition zones: home textile fabrics, smart shading and window accessories, intangible cultural heritage original designs, brand fabrics, historical classic industries, and fashion color trends, along with the first national sofa fabric exclusive design week. This structure sends a clear signal: the fair is no longer just an order-matching platform but a concentrated release of industrial service capabilities.
Among them, the 2026/27 Home Textile Fashion Color Trend Zone, themed "Natural and Artistic Fabric Chromatography," presented four major trend themes: "Earth's Native Rhythm," "Gilded Weave: Symphony of Light and Shadow," "Cross-Domain Art: Canvas of Poetry," and "East-West Harmony: Woven Chronicles." From healing relaxation to minimalist restraint, from dramatic brushstrokes to reimagined classics, these trends directly respond to young consumers' desire for "objects with stories." For factories, this means product development can no longer rely on copying samples and low-price competition; they must establish their own color systems and design languages—exemplified by Hong Kong Bense's goal to become the "Pantone of fabric."
The fair also hosted the awards ceremony for the "Haining Home Textile Cup" 2026 Home Textile Creative Design Competition, the first domestic professional design event of its kind, now in its 24th consecutive year. Since 2003, the competition has cultivated numerous design talents, injecting sustained innovation into the industry. Additionally, the Haining China Home Textile City·International Silk Creative R&D Center was inaugurated, promoting the integration of silk culture with modern home textiles and opening new avenues in high-end fabrics.
Ecosystem Reconstruction: Market, University, Association Tripartite Collaboration
Haining's transformation is not a single-point breakthrough but a composite ecosystem of "market + trade fair + research + talent." Zhejiang Sci-Tech University's collaboration with Haining has deepened over the years, co-building fashion fabric innovation centers and textile intangible cultural heritage creative venues, and signing the Haining Fashion Industry Technology Innovation R&D Center project, bridging the gap from university laboratories to industrial production lines. This industry-academia integration provides SMEs with research resources they could hardly access otherwise.
Vice President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, Yang Zhaohua, noted at the fair that Haining's 9.2% growth in the first half underscores its resilience in digital renovation, original design, and other areas. The association will continue to refine and promote the "Haining model," meaning Haining's experience may be replicated in other clusters. However, Haining's first-mover advantages—including its goal to become a national-level creative design cluster and its plans for an international fashion center—will keep it at the forefront of the next competitive round.
For buyers, the changes at the Haining fair mean procurement logic must update: instead of comparing prices per meter, focus on design added value and trend alignment. For factories, the 22.1% increase in first-day traffic indicates market confidence remains strong, but only those willing to invest in R&D and branding will share in the 9.2% growth dividend.