Textile “old money” keeps pace with the times, Shanghai’s low-carbon fashion consumption industry is booming
“Grandma Huang, Grandma Huang, teach me yarn, teach me cloth, two bobbins, two pieces of cloth…” A few folk songs show that the textile industry has occupied an important position in Shanghai for a long time. For Shanghai, fashion is not only the root of history, but also a bright international business card, demonstrating the soft power of urban development and the confidence of local culture.
To this day, Shanghai’s fashion consumer industry still attracts considerable attention. The “14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Advanced Manufacturing Industry in Shanghai” proposes to build a “3+6” new industrial system, including the fashion consumer industry for the first time among the six key industries that will support future urban development.
However, the booming development of the textile industry has put considerable pressure on the environment. According to Du Huanzheng, director of the Institute of Ecological Civilization and Circular Economy at Tongji University and director of the Yangtze River Delta Circular Economy Technology Research Institute, the textile industry has become the second largest polluting industry in the world after the oil industry. “The carbon emissions of the textile industry have long ranked first. One of the reasons for the high level is that the textile raw materials are mainly petroleum fibers, which consume a lot of energy during the production process. Currently, China produces about 50 million tons of polyester fiber every year to meet the demand for clothing, and the raw material of polyester fiber is petroleum .”
As a fashion capital, Shanghai’s fashion consumption industry has taken urgent action to reduce emissions and reduce carbon emissions. “At present, Shanghai’s sustainable fashion industry can meet the needs of customers at different consumption levels.” Liu Peifang, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Garment Industry Association, told China News Service that in addition to many sustainable designer brands with higher product prices, Shanghai also has There are low-carbon clothing brands for mass consumption, and “there are also some traditional enterprises that are constantly glowing with vitality and constantly innovating under the requirements of the new era.”
Shanghai Garment Group (hereinafter referred to as: Shanghai Garment Group) is one of the first state-owned garment industry companies established after the founding of New China. It has been more than 70 years since its establishment.
There is no need to weave the yarn into fabric and then cut and sew it. Instead, the yarn is directly put into the machine to quickly produce a pair of underwear without side seams. A sub-brand of Shanfu Group focuses on the innovation of production methods. A production process that takes more than four links and takes three to four months is compressed into just a few days. Zhang Chong, chief designer of the Zhishang E-commerce Branch of Shangfu Group, lamented: “The response cycle of this production method is extremely short, and the entire manufacturing process is also very labor-saving and very efficient. A pair of trousers is woven to the end with yarn. There is no need to prepare a large amount of fabrics in the early stage.”
The selection of raw materials is also a common way to reduce carbon emissions. Ju Xin, an assistant designer at the Zhishang E-commerce Branch of Shangfu Group, will abandon chemical fibers when designing and instead choose artificial leather made of cotton, linen, mulberry silk, and pineapple fiber asclothing fabrics , “If it is a chemical fiber material that is not natural enough, first of all, it will consume a lot of resources during the production process, and secondly, it will be difficult to degrade.”
“If it is computer printing, it needs to be colored by inkjet printing. The use of chemicals in this process will also affect the environment.” She pointed to a piece of silk as raw material, using technology to directly imprint the shape of leaves on the The dress on the fabric told reporters that in her opinion, if you want to promote sustainable fashion, it is essential to ensure the beauty of the clothing. “Designers need to think about how to use environmentally friendly materials Maximize function and beauty, and then form a product that everyone loves.”
There are endless means to reduce emissions. Can the results be intuitively felt? Jinba Men’s Wear, which has been in “Shanghai” for 14 years, released China’s first set of carbon footprint assessment of business casual men’s wear in 2021. Consumers can track and check the carbon footprint of the product in real time by scanning the carbon label with a QR code on the clothing tag. Footprint, the carbon footprint of the life cycle from raw material mining and processing to product manufacturing is clear at a glance.
In an interview with China News Service, Hong Boming, CEO and creative director of Jinba Menswear, said that in the field of textile and clothing, carbon footprint is nothing new. However, evaluation involves the mining and processing of raw materials to the manufacturing stage of products, covering multiple fields such as the clothing industry, textile industry, printing and dyeing industry, and agriculture. Obtaining upstream data is a big challenge, and it is difficult to obtain support from suppliers at each stage.
High cost is another major pain point in the development of the sustainable fashion industry. Liu Peifang believes that in the face of “green fashion”, many Chinese consumers are still very price-sensitive and have low tolerance for premiums. “The brand’s early research and development, production, transportation, recycling, and even store lighting and product display all have If you ask for it, the cost will naturally rise.”
Large brands with strong financial resources can still access more resources and have stronger confidence and strength to support the development of low-carbon undertakings. Will there be no way out for small and isolated enterprises? Wang Ying, director of the apparel industry department of Shangfu Group, believes that for small brands and individual designers, choosing to cooperate with large companies to co-brand is an effective solution. “They can provide more advanced ideas for cooperation. Shangfu Group As a platform, we can discuss with factories in the existing supply chain or cooperative universities whether the idea is possible and how to implement it.”
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