The Value Leap of Cashmere Industry: From Raw Material Monopoly to Brand Pricing Power

While global luxury giants still compete for top-grade cashmere raw materials, Ordos has quietly shifted from 'selling raw materials' to 'selling brands'. At the 2026 PH Value China International Knitting (Autumn/Winter) Expo, the Ordos Council for the Promotion of International Trade led 15 local enterprises to showcase collectively, backed by processing capacity accounting for nearly half of China and nearly 40% globally. These figures reveal not only capacity advantages but also a typical sample of how a resource-based industry breaks the low-end lock-in of the value chain.

Resource Endowment as Industrial Moat

Ordos's competitiveness is rooted in non-replicable natural endowments. Arbas cashmere is renowned for fineness, luster, and whiteness, protected by national geographical indication, and hailed as 'diamond fiber'. The local cashmere goat population and raw cashmere output rank among the top globally, and due to specific latitude, humidity, and grassland conditions, attempts to introduce breeding elsewhere have failed. This germplasm scarcity forms a natural barrier, positioning Ordos as a dominant force in global cashmere raw material supply.

More crucially, Ordos has formed a complete 'pastoral-industrial-trade integrated' loop, from raw cashmere collection, combing, spinning, weaving to garment manufacturing, aggregating over a hundred supporting enterprises led by the Erdos Group. This full-chain control means international buyers can source everything from raw materials to garments in one place, significantly reducing transaction costs while ensuring stable quality. Compared with industrial belts like Hebei Qinghe, Ordos's source advantage is irreplaceable—Qinghe, though strong in processing, relies on Ordos for raw materials.

Leap from Manufacturing to Creation

However, raw material advantages do not automatically translate into brand premium. Ordos clearly recognizes that compared with world-class industrial clusters like Italy, it still lags in design soft power and brand premium. To address this, the local government is implementing a 'Brand Value Breakthrough Action', introducing well-known designers from France, Germany, and Italy to integrate prairie totems, felt embroidery techniques, and nomadic aesthetics into modern knitwear design. Meanwhile, smart manufacturing is reshaping traditional production: digital technologies enable flexible production and rapid response to meet personalized global demand.

During Paris Fashion Week 2024, the Ordos CCPIT led over 20 enterprises to host 'Ordos Fashion Day' at the Palais Brongniart, marking a shift from mere exhibition participation to proactive cultural export. Concurrently, distinctive brands like Dongfeiyan and Palanti leverage cross-border e-commerce to reach overseas consumers directly, forming a brand matrix led by leaders with echelon follow-ups. This combination of 'design + technology + culture' is reshaping the value-added structure of the traditional cashmere industry.

Exhibition Economy and Deep Global Market Cultivation

Exhibition platforms serve as touchstones for Ordos to test the effectiveness of industrial upgrading. Since 2018, the local government has been nurturing the China (Ordos) International Cashmere and Wool Exhibition, with the 8th edition in July 2025 attracting enterprises from France, Italy, the UK, and Japan. This third participation in PH Value Knitting Expo brought not only orders but also international market feedback and updated business concepts. Currently, enterprises like Shuangqi, Dongfeiyan, Palanti, and Abulodi have established overseas channels in the US, France, Italy, and the UK.

The next step, the 'Global Market Deep Cultivation Action', will shift from a broad-brush exhibition model to deep incubation in global fashion hubs like Paris and Milan, and leverage platforms like the Japan Osaka World Expo to promote integration of industry with culture and tourism. This strategic shift from 'volume' to 'depth' reflects Ordos's pursuit of international discourse power—no longer content to be a supplier, but aiming to be a rule-setter and cultural communicator.

Practical Recommendations

For Buyers - Prioritize Ordos suppliers with full-chain certification to ensure raw material traceability and quality consistency, avoiding quality risks from intermediate links. - Pay attention to design investment; ask about designer backgrounds and craftsmanship details to assess alignment with target market fashion trends. - Utilize Ordos exhibition platforms (e.g., International Cashmere and Wool Exhibition) for centralized procurement, reducing sourcing costs and gaining more customization options.

For Exporters - Learn from Ordos's 'brand going global matrix' model, combine your strengths, and expand markets through cross-border e-commerce and overseas exhibitions to avoid over-reliance on traditional orders. - Emphasize design empowerment; consider hiring international designers or collaborating with local design agencies to enhance product value and brand recognition. - Focus on cultural integration in target markets, such as participating in top events like Paris Fashion Week, to embed brand stories into local contexts and strengthen consumer resonance.