As global climate governance enters a more challenging phase, China is assuming greater responsibility as a major economy in addressing climate change. According to Sun Ruizhe, President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), China remains firmly committed to the principle that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” and continues to pursue a development path that prioritizes ecological protection and green growth. He emphasized that China is not only an active participant in global ecological civilization but also an important contributor and leader.

Sun noted that, as a global industry closely linked to people’s livelihoods and guided by a strong sense of social responsibility, China’s textile sector has consistently promoted the integrated development of carbon reduction, pollution control, ecological improvement, and economic growth. The industry has strengthened the application of green technologies, steadily improved resource utilization efficiency, continuously enhanced pollution control, and further refined its green manufacturing system.

Today, green and low-carbon development has moved beyond a conceptual aspiration to become a core capability for reshaping industrial competitiveness and creating new growth opportunities. With greater transparency, stronger systems, and improved economic viability, sustainable development has entered a new stage of commercial validation. Sun explained that this transformation is being driven by three major trends. First, value systems are being fundamentally reshaped. Second, technological innovation has become the primary engine of change. Third, ecological collaboration is evolving toward a model of shared governance. Green design now extends throughout the entire lifecycle of textile products, from source reduction and process optimization to end-of-life value creation, enabling the industry to build a comprehensive, value-chain-wide approach to decarbonization and sustainable transformation.

The year 2026 marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) and ushers in the textile industry’s decisive five-year period to achieve its carbon peaking target. Green transformation has therefore evolved from an optional strategy into a mandatory task, and the actions taken during the coming years will largely determine the industry’s long-term future.

At the 2026 Climate Stewardship Fashion Conference, held in Beijing on June 29–30, Sun stated that China’s textile industry is embarking on a new chapter as a pillar of the national economy, an industry that promotes common prosperity, a globally competitive sector integrating domestic and international markets, and a traditional industry driven by continuous innovation. Throughout this transformation, he stressed, green development will remain the defining strategic direction.

2026 Represents a Critical Window for China’s Textile Industry to Achieve Peak Carbon Emissions

According to the World Meteorological Organization’s “State of the Global Climate 2025” report, the period from 2015 to 2025 has been the hottest eleven-year span on record. Extreme weather events have become increasingly frequent, climate tipping points are drawing closer, and climate-related risks have become long-term structural factors affecting economic and social development. Speaking at the London Climate Action event on June 23, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that the world is confronting both a climate crisis and an energy crisis simultaneously. He called for stronger climate resilience, greater climate justice, and more decisive, practical action to address increasingly severe global challenges. Liu Jiashun, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Green Carbon Foundation, observed that climate change has become an increasingly urgent global issue and that achieving China’s Dual Carbon Goals has become both an international consensus and an urgent priority. He noted that 2026, as the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, also represents the textile industry’s most important window of opportunity for achieving carbon peaking.

China’s textile supply chain plays a central role in global fashion manufacturing; meaningful reductions in global fashion supply-chain emissions cannot be achieved without China’s participation. Accordingly, the pace of China’s climate transition has remained closely aligned with evolving international climate rules. Sun pointed out that the proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan clearly identify green development as a defining feature of Chinese modernization and set strategic priorities to accelerate the comprehensive green transformation and build a “Beautiful China”. Furthermore, the Environmental and Ecological Code of the People’s Republic of China, which will take effect on August 15, establishes a dedicated chapter on green and low-carbon development for the first time, signaling that China’s green economy has entered a new stage characterized by more intelligent and systematic implementation.

Climate change is profoundly affecting every stage of the textile and apparel value chain, from raw material sourcing and manufacturing to consumer demand, creating unprecedented sustainability challenges. As the world’s largest textile exporter, China’s textile industry occupies a strategic position as both a pillar of the national economy and one of the country’s most internationally competitive industries. Consequently, its green and low-carbon transformation is essential for achieving China’s national climate objectives.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan, China’s textile industry reduced energy consumption per unit of output in dyeing and finishing by 8%, lowered water consumption by more than 11%, and increased the number of nationally certified green factories to 155. Particularly in decarbonization, the industry has taken a series of proactive initiatives. In 2017, CNTAC proposed the long-term vision of building a net-zero textile industry by 2050 and launched the Carbon Management Innovation 2020 Initiative. Beginning in 2021, it further introduced the Fashion Climate Innovation 30·60 Carbon Neutrality Acceleration Program, making sustainability an increasingly important prerequisite for market participation.

Supported by favorable national policies, China’s textile industry is entering a strategic period characterized by technological empowerment, green transformation, and fashion innovation. Sun explained that the forthcoming “15th Five-Year Development Plan for China’s Textile Industry” will prioritize technological innovation, fashion, sustainability, and health while accelerating the construction of a modern textile industrial system. The plan calls for strengthening advanced manufacturing capabilities, reinforcing innovation-driven development, cultivating new quality productive forces, promoting industrial integration, improving supply-demand circulation, accelerating digital and intelligent transformation, upgrading industrial structures, and fostering coordinated regional development alongside greater international integration.

Green and Low-carbon Transformation Requires Strong Foundations and a Systematic Roadmap

As climate action increasingly becomes a key driver of high-quality economic development and industrial upgrading worldwide, carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are becoming embedded across every aspect of economic and social activity. This trend is especially evident within the textile industry. According to Chen Zhihua, Deputy Director-General of China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, the textile industry accounts for approximately 2% of China’s total carbon emissions. Upstream, the industry encompasses the complete value chain from fiber cultivation and textile manufacturing to dyeing and finishing and is therefore highly resource- and energy-intensive. Downstream, rapidly growing consumer demand for sustainable fashion is compelling companies to accelerate their green transition. In this context, China’s textile industry is not only an important contributor to climate action but also one of the primary beneficiaries of sustainable development.

Chen emphasized that responding to climate change is a long-term endeavor, while industrial green transformation represents a comprehensive systemic transition requiring both strong institutional foundations and coordinated implementation. He identified three priorities for achieving green, low-carbon, high-quality development in the textile industry.

First, China’s new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the 15th Five-Year Plan should guide industrial upgrading. Future growth in production and output can no longer come at the expense of rising emissions; instead, improving quality, efficiency, and industrial structure must become binding requirements.

Second, the textile industry’s successful low-carbon practices have created valuable models for China’s broader climate strategy. The industry has established an integrated framework covering long-term vision, strategic planning, technical standards, implementation tools, and climate disclosure.

Third, stronger foundational capabilities are needed to deepen climate innovation. The textile industry has already begun baseline assessments of product carbon footprints, while China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment continues to improve the national carbon-footprint policy framework through standard development and related initiatives, providing important support for industrial decarbonization.

Source: CHINA TEXTILE LEADER Express