Find the hidden champion of Chinese textile materials

1 History of the global textile industry: transformation to high value-added materials with a deep industrial foundation

Textile material industry chain sorting: top-down from heavy assets to heavy manpower, differentiated textile materials with high added value

The initial product of clothing is yarn, which is twisted from textile fibers. Textile fibers are generally divided into chemical fibers and natural fibers according to the raw materials and processes required for the production process, of which chemical fibers are divided into synthetic fibers and man-made fibers. Natural fiber is directly composed of natural material cotton and hemp hair silk, artificial fiber is first processed by cotton wool, wood, acetic acid and other natural raw materials to form the corresponding cellulose and then synthesized, synthetic fiber is first produced by petroleum refining various chemicals and then synthesized by chemical reaction. Yarn is woven and dyed to form different kinds of fabrics, including synthetic fabrics, human fabrics, natural fibers and blended fabrics made of different kinds of yarns. At the same time, the accessories mainly include zipper buttons, etc., which are produced according to the design needs of the garment, and are matched with accessories in the fabric cutting and sewing to finally form the garment.

From the perspective of all links of the industrial chain, terminal processing such as clothing tends to be labor-intensive industries, with greater demand for manpower and low added value. The differentiated functions of clothing, such as sweat absorption, breathability, warmth, waterproof, etc., are mainly provided by yarn and fabric, so the development of differentiated yarn and fabric requires higher research and development ability of manufacturers, and accessories also have a greater impact on the appearance and functionality of clothing. In general, the industrial chain is bottom-up, the higher the equipment and capital requirements, the less the demand for manpower, and the differentiated yarn, fabric and other textile materials that have a greater impact on the functionality of the end product have higher added value.

Global textile industry recovery: a hundred years of history, five rounds of migration, accompanied by the upgrading of industrial structure

 From the perspective of the migration sequence of various links, industries such as clothing that are biased towards terminal processing and have labor-intensive attributes migrate first, then migrate to low value-added textile production capacity, and finally achieve industrial transformation and upgrading, focusing on high-end manufacturing and technology research and development. From the current situation, China's textile industry continues to dominate the global leadership, to achieve the vertical extension of the industrial chain, high value-added industrial chain links are booming, low value-added terminal processing links are overflowing Southeast Asia.

1) Late 19th century to early 20th century: originated in the United Kingdom, migrated to the United States after the First World War, where labor and resources are rich

The outbreak of the first industrial revolution, the textile industry originated in the United Kingdom, in 1851, 60% of the British cotton textile exports to the world, accounting for 40% of the total domestic exports, in 1890, the British cotton yarn production of 42.4 million ingots (the United States/Japan only 14/280 million ingots), At the end of the 19th century, the raw material cotton of the British cotton industry was mainly imported from the Indian colonies, which had the comparative advantage of low cost. However, with the outbreak of the First World War, British exports fell into a downturn, coupled with the relative lack of labor costs and raw materials, cotton textile industry production gradually by the labor sufficient and resource-rich United States, in the 1920s, the United States cotton yarn production accounted for more than 50% of the world.

At the same time as the booming textile industry, clothing accessories as an accompanying industry came into being, the first clothing accessories to buttons, mainly used for "clothing closure", 1893 American Vitcon Judson applied for "mobile button", the formal prototype of modern zipper, but this invention was not paid attention to at first. It was not commercially available until 1918, when it was modified by the Swede Senbeck. Until the 1920s during the First World War, the United States Goodrich Company bought the patent of the zipper and began large-scale commercial, since the zipper due to its convenience and similar functionality with buttons, quickly replaced the status of buttons.

2) 1930~1975: Europe and the United States pioneered and completed the transformation of synthetic fiber, Japan became an export power, and the garment segment moved to the port of South Korea and Taiwan in the late 60s

In fact, at the end of the 19th century, Japan has begun to develop the textile industry, cotton yarn production reached 38.14 million ingots in 1920 (only 1.14 million ingots in 1900), with the promotion of scientific management model and textile equipment upgrading, Japan's cotton yarn industry labor production efficiency is higher than the United Kingdom and the United States. From 1910 to 1930, Japan undertook a large number of textile manufacturing from Western countries with low labor costs, and in 1925 Japan's textile industry exports accounted for 68.5% of the total domestic volume. During World War II, the Japanese textile industry was severely affected, and spinning and textile production did not get back on track until 1955. In the 1950s, Japan's low labor costs led to the partial transfer of global industry to Japan, and the textile industry in South Korea and Taiwan had just achieved self-sufficiency. The zipper industry also began the first big industrial transfer with this wave, and Japan began to replace the United States as the world's zipper manufacturing center.