The 2nd China Eco-friendly Fabric Design Competition Media Conference (hereinafter referred to as “the competition”) was held in Beijing on June 12, 2017. The competition is sponsored by China National Textile and Apparel Council, and co-organized by China Textile Information Center, National Textiles Development Center, Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, and China Eastern Silk Market Management Committee.
Launched in 2015, the competition aims to advocate eco-textile design concept, promote market-oriented eco-textile development, and guide the green development of the industry. “The competition requires that the participating enterprises should focus on sustainable development. The products with eco-friendly design will have the least impact on the environment or human from the selection of raw materials to the production, sale, use and disposal. Participating products must conform to one or more standards in terms of eco-friendly materials, eco-friendly technology, as well as eco-friendly dyes and additives. Any product that has passed eco-environmental certification needs to provide testing and certification proof.” Liu Zhaoxiang from National Textiles Development Center introduced at the conference.
The first competition enjoyed a perfect start in 2015 when a number of green enterprises and green products of high-end technology stood out in the competition, bringing excellent models in the aspects of product development, manufacturing and management for both Chinese textile industry and Shengze industrial clusters.
Shengze has sent an example for the industrial clusters in environmental-protection fabrics and energy conservation and emission reduction. The competition not only promoted the eco-transformation of the textile industry and product structures in Shengze, but also gradually established a resource-saving and environment-friendly textile industry system, leading more industrial clusters to establish a green development concept and implement green development strategy. This year, the competition will return to Shengze once again, together with the support from the local government, expected to enjoy more achievements in guiding and promoting green design, green production, green consumption, upgrading and so on.
According to the organizers, the second edition will eventually compete for such individual awards as “The Best Eco-friendly Materials Application Award”, “The Best Eco-friendly Technology Application Award”, and “The Best Eco-friendly Products Market Application Award”. The winning list and award-winning products will be featured on the www.fabricschina.com.cn and www.wgsn.com. During the Award Ceremony in October, the competition will also take advantage of the Fourth Jiangsu Shengze Textile Expo to launch a series of professional activities, including static show, award-winning products displaying, China Eco-friendly Fabric Creative Development Seminar and business negotiation between garment brands and fabric enterprises, in order to promote the eco-textile innovation and green manufacturing enterprises, while strengthening professional exchanges. It is particularly worth mentioning that there will be a fashion show of the award-winning products from the competition in the following China International Fashion Week in Beijing, so that the audience from all over the world are able to witness the style and strength of the award-winning enterprises in Shengze, as well as its strong innovation capability in fashion, ecology, and technology.
Chen Dapeng, Vice President of China National Textile and Apparel Council
Competition is an efficient practice of the green industry ecological construction and green development goals, seizing the key part of the green industrial chain and playing a connecting role to guide the industry to focus on the new environmentally friendly materials and new technology applications. At present, attaching great importance to social responsibility, human responsibility, market responsibility, fiduciary duties, and environmental responsibility has become the focus of global industrial development trends. Meanwhile, they are also the focus of this competition, which is is of great significance in promoting the international competition of China’s textile industry, leading the new consumption concept, and expanding the market space. Shengze, as an important textile industrial cluster, has set an example for the industry in the construction of green product development system, green supply chain building, and sustainable transformation and upgrading.
Qiao Yanjin, Director of China Textile Information Center
The competition to be held in Shengze once again is mainly to achieve the following purposes: continue to promote China’s textile industry green development strategy; boost Shengze international fashion advantages; enhance the ecological innovation, and build a new image of Shengze textile industry.
Li Binhong, Director of National Textiles Development Center
A combination of technology, fashion, and responsibility is the concept of product development that Fabrics China has always been advocating. In the operation of Technology Innovation Union, effective combination of scientific analysis, fashion forecast, and reasonable match as well as the collaborative innovation of upstream and downstream enterprises will help to transform the green development concept and technical value of ecological environmental protection materials and technology to the value of goods that can create a better way of life of the people.
Fan Jianlong, Secretary of Party Working Committee of China Eastern Silk Market
In recent years, Shengze has been making efforts to promote the construction of textile recycling economy industrial park, with eco-environmental protection as an important means of sustainable development. Taking traditional silk textile industry as the leading industry, Shengze is building new industrial development modes to advance development through innovation and boost upgrading through development, focusing on the following aspects: to speed up the promotion and upgrading of traditional industries and the optimization of emerging industries; to strengthen leading role of science and technology in the textile industry for innovative entrepreneurship and excellent ecosystems; to vigorously carry forward the silk culture, paying attention to finding the ancient silk culture and contemporary textile culture.
Zhao Juguang, Director of China Eastern Silk Market Management Committee
Taking this opportunity, Shengze strives to become a model for green development in the textile industry in the aspects of environmental-protection fabrics and energy conservation and emission reduction. The benefits from the Belt and Road Initiative to Shengze have not only promoted business trade between Shengze enterprises and the surrounding countries along the Belt and Road and strengthened the connection between those countries and such platforms as the Oriental Textile City, etex360.com, and 168tex.com, but also have vigorously advanced the silk culture tourism in Shengze.