Clothing industry is the first industry to develop in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province at the beginning of reform and opening up. Having gone through four stages: the initial stage in the 1980s, the rapid development period in the 1990s, the domestic capacity transfer period after 2000, and the overseas capacity distribution period after 2010, Nantong garment industry has gradually formed a development model characterized by foreign trade quality manufacturing, integration of industry and trade, and export processing, of which about 80% are exported to the Japanese market, It has become one of Nantong's traditional competitive industries and important livelihood industries with sustainable and stable development, playing an important role in the high-quality economic and social development of the city.
With the changes in the consumer market and circulation channels, Nantong garment people have realized that there are pain points in the development of the industry in terms of intelligent application level, brand construction, labor shortage, etc. A single thread does not form a thread, and a single tree does not form a forest. On December 28, 2019, Nantong Garment Association was officially established, and Nantong garment people finally had their "family".
Old industry and new association
In 2019, after Nantong Garment People re established their own "big family" of their own industry, the number of members of the Association increased from about 120 at the beginning to about 150. While expanding its size, the potential and momentum of the Association itself are also growing. "A number of leading enterprises with an output value of more than 1 billion yuan have become the backbone of the Association," Cai Jianhua, vice president of Jiangsu Garment Association and president of Nantong Garment Association, said.
In August 2022, the Clothing Supply Chain Special Committee and the Clothing Designer Special Committee of Nantong Garment Association were established to drive the brand building of Nantong garment enterprises and the development of the industry chain.
The data is the most convincing evidence: the clothing industry in Chongchuan District accounts for 11.1% of the GDP of the whole district; The total export volume of clothing in the city is about 30 billion yuan, and the output value and total export volume of clothing have long been among the top three in the province; Among the "Top 50 Garment Enterprises in Jiangsu", Nantong has 12 enterprises on the list; Nine enterprises, including Nantong Xinyuan Silk, Jiangsu Sanrun, and Jiangsu Tamus, were listed in the "Top 100 Garment Industry in China". After more than 40 years, Nantong garment industry has developed steadily, the scale of the industry has continued to expand, and the international competitiveness has continued to improve.
Be brave, innovate and do well
In recent years, Nantong garment enterprises have been brave in innovation, showing a good development trend. "More and more garment enterprises integrate innovation factors into production, design, marketing and other fields," Cai Jianhua said.
On January 11, 2022, Jiangsu Tamus Knitting Technology Co., Ltd. was listed on the Shenzhen Main Board, becoming a new benchmark in Nantong's clothing industry. In recent years, the company has focused on intelligent knitting, constantly improving the gold content, intelligent content and green content of its products, and has established the Jiangsu Province (Tamus) Engineering Technology Research Center for Knitted High grade Fabrics. Jiangsu Huayi Clothing Co., Ltd. took the lead in exploring the cross-border practice of arts and crafts, textile and dyeing technology and fashion creative industries, and has blazed a path of high-tech integration and innovation that integrates tie dyeing, crocheting, embroidery and other Chinese textile intangible heritage with digital printing and embroidery technology, digital design software application, fabric 3D memory material innovation and other high-tech integration and innovation.
The modernization process of the industrial system is also the process of industrial gradient transfer, productivity distribution and optimization. In recent years, Nantong garment industry has set up about 50 enterprises in Anhui, Shaanxi, Henan, Yunnan and other places, and invested more than 50 factories in Southeast Asian countries, employing nearly 100000 workers. "We have basically built a whole industry chain system with Nantong local headquarters as the main part, production capacity and markets all over the country and abroad, and are good at foreign trade clothing production, brand processing, trade operation and basic matching of clothing accessories," Cai Jianhua said.
Nantong Garment Association focuses on the brand construction of Nantong garment enterprises, carries out in-depth cooperation in garment production, education and research, and creates a regional brand of Nantong garment quality manufacturing at a high level. Today, Nantong garment industry presents a gratifying situation of actively integrating resources, gathering strength and developing together. "This summer, the Association will hold fashion shows and design competitions, and Nantong garment industry will usher in another wonderful event," Cai Jianhua said.
Strive for the best and the future
Since the new century, Nantong garment people have been based in Nantong, facing the whole country and going global, carrying forward the trade spirit of "strong will and reach the world", and writing moving chapters of innovation, excellence and enterprise development.
Alben Group, the honorary president unit of the Association, has established several garment industrial parks in Henan, Jilin and other places, with more than 10000 employees. Wu Lixia, the general manager, was elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress; Jiangsu Xinlin International Trade Co., Ltd., the executive chairman unit of the Association, has set up nearly ten factories in Anhui and overseas. Zhou Xin, the chairman of the board, was rated as an outstanding entrepreneur in Anhui Province.
Many garment entrepreneurs in Nantong do good deeds and send warmth, making the warm background of Nantong Charity City brighter. Since the establishment of Nantong Five dimensional Space Love Foundation, it has helped vulnerable groups such as left behind children, lost families, the disabled, and the elderly; Tamus "Caring Mother" has become a well-known brand in Nantong, and was rated as "the best volunteer service organization to learn from Lei Feng in China"; Nantong Tianyi Garment Co., Ltd. adheres to the people-oriented principle and provides donations for sick employees.
