Winter blues for textile makers(2)

He, the Party chief, acknowledges that textile industry modernization is something that cannot be achieved in a day, but rather is a long-term challenge.

"What Shaoxing's textile industry should essentially be heading for is strong innovative design and branding, but those things cannot relieve the industry of the burden of intensive labor, and that may be a hurdle to further modernization."

Another challenge is how to maintain output while at the same time making an effort to protect the environment. For example, Yang says that some of the textile industry's production processes inevitably produce waste water.

The local government has stringent environmental protection rules, but it would be too expensive and complex for his company to shoulder the burden of solving this problem, which exists in just one or two links of the whole chain, he says. "So what we came up with was to outsource our dyeing process, which holds the biggest environmental challenges, to other companies that can handle these problems."

Even as small factories battle to survive faced with shrinking external demand, and the large ones wrestle with the task of modernization, Shao-xing appears confident about the future of its pillar industry.

The autumn edition of the China Ke-qiao International Textile Expo is being held in the city from Oct 26 to Oct 29, and Shou from China Textile City says local companies' interest in the event is unprecedented. "By the end of last month 1,309 stalls had been booked, the first time that the number has exceeded 1,300."

Shou says she feels that in her contact with the companies their eagerness to reach out for customers has been increasingly strong.

"In China Textile City, companies are used to getting orders as they sit and read the paper, but this year they cannot just sit there. They want to do something."

Yu says her company has already booked a 10-square-meter stall for the expo. "Customers from around the world will be there, and it's a great opportunity to show off our wares. We don't necessarily expect to sign big deals; with the failing European market, our priority is to expand our customer base."

As Shaoxing's textile companies continue to be hit by the slump in orders from the West, there are other markets with great potential, Shou says.

From January to July, 465 Shaoxing textile companies exported products worth $136 million to Russia, a rise of 25.9 percent year-on-year.

"Russia coming to the fore as the traditional European markets fail us comes as a surprise," Shou says. "With Russia entering the World Trade Organization, that growth will accelerate."

Wei Changjun, president of Shaoxing Mina Textile, voices similar optimism, saying Russia holds great potential for Chinese textile companies. The company registered a branch in Russia this year, and exports to the country totaled $3 million in the first half of the year.

"In the past, most textile products in the Russian markets were from South Korea or Turkey, which they think are of better quality. But most of the Korean and Turkish products themselves come from Shaoxing, so we are connecting with the Russian market directly," Wei says.

Shou says China Textile City plans to set up a marketplace in Russia for companies in Shaoxing to do business there.

"The marketplace will be in the Greenwood business area of Moscow, and we will have a whole building of our own. Five companies are already there, and more should follow over the coming year."

Shou says that as Western recovery continues to be elusive, it is time to turn to emerging markets, with better products and services.

To encourage companies to innovate and be more creative in developing fabrics, Shaoxing county has set up a special fund that will reward enterprises and individuals. Preferential rent and tax policies are also being offered to attract companies to focus on creativity.

"Product innovation is the key to survival for companies in this industry, and it is our duty to lead them on that path," says He, Shaoxing county's Party chief.

Seventy-nine textile and garment design research and development institutions and designers' studios have already joined Shaoxing's Creative Industry Base of China Textile City, which aims to promote innovation, he says, voicing confidence about the future.

"Shaoxing's textile products will one day be famous for their innovation and creativity. Many world-class brands will be born here."