China doubles down on textile output

The China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) recently released an aggressive plan to double the country’s textile output from 2010 levels by 2020. Rising demand for fiber products, especially among China’s citizens, will accelerate the transformation of the textile industry through innovation, technology upgrades and branding. In 2011, urban Chinese spent an estimated $265 per year per person on clothing, a 16 percent increase from 2010. Chinese in rural areas increased spending on clothing by 29 percent from 2010 levels. CNTAC proposed more effort on design, research and development of new products and urges a lower carbon, sustainable development pattern, led by proposed energy reductions of 20 percent by 2015.