Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-12-20 Origin: Site
The fingertip sensation of sliding over a piece of精密丝绒 (precision silk velvet) polyester single-sided plush fabric, described by a Suzhou-based Gen-Z woman as "being gently brushed by moonlight," convinced her to forgo ready-to-wear and head to the fabric market to tailor a unique winter coat.
This is not an isolated case. Tailoring studios in cities like Beijing are reporting a noticeable increase in customers, particularly young women, opting for DIY clothing projects.
Behind this shift lies a tangible market movement. Data from traditional markets in major Chinese textile hubs indicates increased activity for woolen and plush fabrics as the usual off-season winds down, with polyester plush fabrics seeing a clear uptick in transactions.
Contrary to typical seasonal expectations, China's fabric markets are experiencing a "busy off-season." Specifically, the China Light Textile City in Keqiao, Shaoxing—a central fabric market in Zhejiang province—reports growing transactions for autumn/winter fabrics like coarse woolen, semi-worsted, and worsted woolens.
Key products driving this increase include various polyester-wool blend fabrics such as wool-polyester Obei, wool-polyester double-faced plush, and herringbone. Small to medium batch shipments for these items have been particularly active.
The market's vitality is reflected in official indices. According to the "China · Keqiao Textile Index" monitored by the Ministry of Commerce:
On June 30, 2025, the textile price index closed at 105.51 points, up 0.64% month-on-month.
The raw material price index rose more sharply, closing at 86.95 points, up 1.07% month-on-month.
By July 14, these figures climbed further, with the textile price index reaching 107.22 points, indicating sustained upward pressure.
This supply-side warmth is fundamentally fueled by a profound change in consumer behavior in China's retail market. Young consumers are redefining value—not as the lowest price, but as the best combination of quality, uniqueness, and emotional satisfaction.
A reaction against homogeneous fast fashion and "9.9 yuan free shipping" deals is underway. Moving beyond overt brand logos, Gen Z shoppers are increasingly focused on intrinsic product attributes, becoming "ingredient-conscious" about their clothing purchases.
Platforms like Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) and Douyin (TikTok) are pivotal in this shift. Hashtags related to #fabricknowledge and #DIYclothing have garnered billions of views, fostering a community where users share their fabric sourcing journeys, tailoring projects, and educate each other on material qualities like gram weight, drape, and breathability.
The act of creating or customizing a garment offers unmatched personalization and a sense of achievement, making it more valuable than mass-produced items.
This consumer pull towards quality aligns perfectly with macro trends identified by industry leaders. The "China Fiber Trends 2025/2026" report, themed "Quality & Sustainability", highlights two core future directions: extreme functionality and full lifecycle greenification.
Multi-functional Fibers: Trends like "Fiber · Realm" focus on composites offering enhanced comfort, soft stretch, thermal-moisture regulation, and antibacterial properties—directly catering to the demand for "ultimate comfort."
Green & Sustainable Fibers: The "Fiber · Boundless" trend anchors on low-carbon goals. It promotes innovations like bio-based materials, circular recycling technologies, and low-temperature dyeing to minimize environmental impact. The industry is advancing towards a sustainable future through carbon capture and efficient textile waste recycling.
The "fabric revolution" is moving upstream, transforming traditional supply chains. High-quality fabrics, once hidden within B2B transactions, are now becoming visible and accessible directly to end-users through e-commerce and social media.
In textile industrial clusters in Zhejiang province, such as Ningbo and Shaoxing, creativity and innovation are becoming key growth engines. Markets like the China Light Textile City report strong sales for innovative winter/spring woolens featuring novel colors and patterns.
This has altered the business landscape for upstream suppliers. Take Hanyo Textile (https://www.hanyotextile.com), a manufacturer specializing in polyester plush fabric development and production. They observe that while their core business remains with B2B garment factories, a growing segment of end-consumers—including young DIY enthusiasts, indie designers, and small startups—are now proactively seeking out source factories for custom projects and smaller batches, adding a new dimension to the market.
This trend presents both a challenge and a clear direction for the apparel industry: adapting to respond swiftly to small-batch, personalized demand and leveraging supply chain strengths to build more direct consumer-facing communication and branding capabilities.
When consumers check care labels, feel fabric weight, and compare breathability, they are voting for personal comfort, individual expression, and sustainable values.
This shift in consumer mindset is transforming traditional materials like polyester plush from basic functional textiles into complex carriers of technology, environmental ethos, and personal identity.
For the upstream industry in the Yangtze River Delta region and beyond, this "fabric revolution" is more than a consumer trend; it is a compelling force driving the traditional textile sector toward a more flexible, transparent, and sustainable future. The new blueprint for textiles is being woven, thread by innovative thread.
