Recently, a new report titled Current Status and Opportunities for Decarbonization in China's Textile and Apparel Manufacturing has drawn industry attention. The report points out that China possesses unique advantages in achieving the goal of reducing carbon emissions in the apparel industry by 50% by 2030, thanks to its complete industrial chain, mature manufacturing foundation, and policy support system. Against the backdrop of accelerating climate action in the global fashion industry, this report provides a strategic roadmap for the green transformation of China's textile and apparel sector.
As the world's largest producer and exporter of textiles and apparel, China's textile and apparel industry accounts for approximately 2%–3% of the country's total industrial carbon emissions annually. The report indicates that the industry currently faces three major challenges in reducing emissions: the energy structure still relies heavily on fossil fuels, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face significant financial pressure in transitioning, and the monitoring system for carbon emissions data across the supply chain is not yet fully developed. However, China's well-developed industrial clusters (such as those in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong) provide favorable conditions for the large-scale adoption of clean energy alternatives and technological upgrades.
The report highlights three major technological pathways for industry decarbonization:
1. In terms of energy transition, leading companies have begun deploying projects such as rooftop photovoltaics and biomass energy. Industrial clusters in some regions are piloting centralized heating and waste heat recovery systems.
2. The digital transformation of production processes is accelerating. Through IoT devices for real-time energy consumption monitoring and AI algorithms to optimize production scheduling, some smart factories have achieved a 30% reduction in carbon emissions per unit of product.
3. Material innovation has become a new focus. The proportion of recycled fibers is increasing year by year, and green processes such as waterless dyeing and supercritical CO?dyeing are beginning to be applied on a larger scale.
Since 2023, government departments such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have successively issued policies such as the Outline for High-Quality Development of the Textile Industry and the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles. These policies clearly require the establishment of a group of green factories and supply chains by 2025. Measures such as the anticipated expansion of the carbon emission trading market and specialized green finance credit are alleviating the financial pressure on SMEs for technological upgrades. Notably, regions like the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have taken the lead in piloting circular transformation projects for industrial clusters, reducing unit emission reduction costs through infrastructure such as centralized treatment of printing and dyeing wastewater and shared steam pipelines.
The report specifically points out that Chinese suppliers are forming new carbon reduction collaboration mechanisms with international brands. For example:
?Brands like H&M and Nike provide technical and financial support through initiatives like the "Supplier Climate Action Program."
?A textile group in Shandong partnered with French brand Decathlon to establish a carbon emission monitoring platform, enabling order-level carbon footprint traceability.
?A denim industrial cluster in Guangdong collaborated with Levi's to develop laser printing technology, reducing water consumption in the production of a single pair of jeans by 70%.
Despite the optimistic outlook, the report highlights key bottlenecks: the lack of unified carbon accounting standards in the industry, the high cost for SMEs to obtain low-carbon certifications, and the need to cultivate a market for green products. Experts suggest that the next step should be to accelerate the establishment of a carbon labeling system for textile products, using consumer demand to drive transformation across the industrial chain.
With the expansion of the pilot for the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2024, the decarbonization process of China's textile and apparel industry is no longer just an environmental issue but has become a strategic choice for maintaining competitiveness in the global supply chain. Driven by both policy push and technological breakthroughs, this traditional industry is facing a historic opportunity to reshape its green value chain.
