Chinese textile industry seeks to operate more sustainably and reduce its environmental footprint over the next decade according to Mr Sun Ruizhe, president of the China National Textile & Apparel Council (CNTAC).

The sector using innovation to move towards the production of higher added value products and technical textiles and it will drive environmental improvement in the textile industry.

Mr Ruizhe said that the biggest step forward for environmental progress in China's textile sector is the innovation-driven sustainable development. Innovation-driven sustainable development includes three aspects.

Firstly is energy conservation, emission reduction and environmental compliance as the basic duties for enterprises in the manufacturing process. Secondly, green manufacturing and green products have been the main trends in the transformation and upgrading of the Chinese textile industry. Finally, China has now adopted a key role in promoting the environmental progress of the global textile supply chain.

According to state laws and policies, local governments have taken many effective steps to promote local textile industries transformation and upgrading. Many industries were ordered to stop production for consolidation and industrial parks were built to enhance the concentrated manufacturing, energy conservation, emission reduction and pollution control.

In addition to the State laws, many local governments have established provincial laws and industrial standards for green manufacturing. The local governments have been paying more and more attention to environmental management and help to create better-performing, sustainable textiles that are gentler on the planet.

In recent years, the China textile industry is shifting domestically from being not only the leading manufacturing center, but a large consumption market as well.