Ingenuity, each with its own strengths. The 2024 China International Fabric Design Competition and the 51st (Spring and Summer 2025) China Popular Fabrics shortlisted judges recently announced the list of winners. How to gain a firm foothold and win favor in this "competition for beauty"? Green innovation is the firm answer given by the award-winning enterprises.
Powered by low-carbon technology
The reporter of "China Textile News" found that with the blessing of low-carbon technology, the "green" content of award-winning fabrics has been continuously improved, and the "gold content" has risen.
In this competition, the fabric product "The Wizard of Oz" developed by Lutai Textile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lutai Textile") won the gold medal. This fabric is made of 100% certified organic hemp, and the innovative hemp super soft velvet finishing production process solves the difficulty of fluffy fluffing of hemp products, and significantly improves the delicate feel of pure hemp fabrics, which is suitable for shirts, coats and other casual clothing. It is worth noting that this fabric is also combined with the dazzling dyeing, salt-free and water-free environmental protection dyeing process that won the China Patent Silver Award, and dyes a single pure hemp yarn in multi-color segments, saving energy and reducing wastewater discharge.
"In the production process, the company pursues the 'water footprint' and promotes emission reduction technologies to significantly reduce the amount of water used in production. According to the relevant person in charge of the company, Lutai Textile has continuously strengthened resource conservation management, deepened environmental governance, implemented green production, actively built a green factory and textile economic green ecosystem, and contributed to energy conservation, carbon reduction and environmental governance.
At present, Luthai Textile has established strategic cooperative relations with well-known brands at home and abroad, such as Burberry, Calvin Crain, Hugo Boss, Armani, Lilang, Heilan House, etc., and the export market share of high-end yarn-dyed fabrics accounts for more than 18% of the global market.
Shandong Nanshan Zhishang Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Nanshan Zhishang") also tasted the sweetness brought by environmental protection technology. The fabric product "Silk Road Tide" selected by the company won the best market application award in this competition. The fabric is made of mulberry silk and ultra-fine mercerized wool yarn, which realizes the combination of two natural protein fibers. The fabric is smooth, lightweight, soft and delicate, and machine washable, making it suitable for high-end women's clothing and business shirts.
Dyeing is an important part of fabric production, and in this link, Nanshan Zhishang also has a clever way to turn waste into treasure. "Fabric dyeing needs to be heated layer by layer to assist in coloring, in this process, the water can be raised from room temperature to 98 degrees, and then cooled again, we recover the heat energy generated by the near boiling water, and then reheat the production water to achieve heat energy recycling. Xing Fusheng, the relevant person in charge of the company, said, "On the other hand, we recycle and reuse all the condensate produced by steam, which can use nearly 30,000 tons of steam every year, saving water resources." ”
Application of eco-friendly fibers
The green production of fabrics is not only reflected in the advanced production technology, but also the selection of materials.
Changzhou New Wide Knitting Printing and Dyeing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Changzhou New Wide") is well versed in this. The company focused on the application of green fibers, and the developed fabric "Colorful Xiangyun" won the best color application award in this competition. It is understood that the product uses viscose fiber and recycled polyester to create a green and environmentally friendly product. The textile process is adjusted through the design of the basic structure to form a colorful auspicious cloud digital printing that imitates the visual effect of jacquard and superimposes the blending effect. In terms of color, the pink wax tones that are popular this year are used to integrate the bright and playful color collision into the virtual future style, which is fresh and smart. The cloth is light and dry, with excellent pilling resistance, suitable for the design of spring and summer styles.
"The product has a green 'gene' throughout its life cycle. Materials are renewable, manufacturing processes are greener, and products are recyclable, reducing the 'carbon footprint' of the supply chain to downstream weaving. The relevant person in charge of the company said, "In the future, New Wide will actively improve the awareness of scientific and technological innovation, continuously improve the ability of independent innovation, improve brand value, and jointly promote the green and sustainable development of the industry." ”
The winner of the best ecological and environmental protection award in this competition is the fabric "Deep Sea" developed by Zhejiang Sanchuan Textile Technology Co., Ltd. The product is made of jacquard weaving technology, inspired by the rippling seaweed and the reef crashed by the waves, and the stylish design gives the fabric a unique natural and ecological atmosphere. What's more, in the choice of materials, the fabric combines a variety of fibers such as Yacel fiber and Solona fiber.
It is understood that both Yacel fiber and Solona fiber are degradable green fibers with superior material properties. "Compared with traditional petroleum-based synthetic fibers, eco-friendly Solona fibers have excellent elasticity and will not bulge after being washed many times after being made into garments, and have a variety of characteristics such as comfort and breathability, delicate hand feel, drape and easy care. Jiang Yiwei, chairman of the company, introduced.
"In the face of the current industrial environment, what should the next road for fabric companies go? We have been exploring this problem, hoping to create a successful development model. Jiang Yiwei said that the innovative application of green fiber is the path chosen by enterprises, which is in line with the trend of high-quality development of the industry.
It's not just green
It is not difficult to find that these seemingly simple fabrics not only have green "genes", but also have remarkable comfort and appearance.
Shandong Ruyi Woolen Garment Group Co., Ltd. has been focusing on research and development, and the fabric product "climbing" won the silver medal in this competition. The fabric is mainly made of natural and recyclable materials such as organic wool and mulberry silk, and is designed through the process of hetero-branched strong twisting, combined with post-finishing processes such as wrinkles, to strengthen the appearance of wrinkles, improve visual effects, increase comfort and antistatic properties, and can be applied in leisure, business, light sports and other categories.
Hangzhou Fuen Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fuen Textile") developed and produced the "Rustic Chenyun" fabric won the Best Material Application Award. The warp yarn of the product is made of environmentally friendly linen, combined with the wet spinning process, to inject the natural beauty of the original roughness into the fabric, the weft is made of recycled polyester fiber and sustainable and environmentally friendly viscose raw material combination, combined with the ring double-layer structure of the masterbatch core spun yarn process, which can improve the stability of the fabric. The fabric also uses the AIRO finishing process to create a natural wrinkle effect, and the clever use of nostalgic tones makes the overall design more rustic and comfortable, showing the elegant natural beauty.
Since 2006, Fuen Textile began to lay out overseas markets, and has set up design teams in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries, and its products are exported to all over the world, and have established cooperative relations with well-known brands at home and abroad. Ye Yu, vice president of the company, said that fabrics with high comfort, fashion and environmental protection are increasingly favored by consumers. To this end, the company actively develops new products using recycled fibers, waste materials and innovative fabrics, which are marketed to thousands of customers around the world every year.
"In recent years, the product development capabilities of fabric companies have been greatly improved, but there is still room for improvement. Li Binhong, director of the National Textile Product Development Center, pointed out that to build the long-term competitiveness of the textile and garment industry, it is necessary to give full play to the advantages of the fiber material supply chain and the textile manufacturing supply chain, formulate a sound brand plan and product planning, and promote industrial upgrading with high-quality innovative products. She called on apparel brands to pass on the needs and experience of product research and development to upstream enterprises, rely on industry-leading innovative fabric companies, and support the differentiated development of brands with high-quality supply chains.
Written by reporter Jia Rong
Editor / Wang Danyang