Antai Textile: Driven by Green and Innovation, a 30-Year Acrylic Expert Weaves a New Industry Benchmark

The afternoon sun shines through the windows of the office building of Zhangjiagang Antai Textile, casting mottled light and shadows on the long conference table. Li Xiong, the marketing manager, swipes his finger across a newly printed industry report and looks up at Huang Wei, the production department director sitting opposite: "Lao Huang, look at the full - process fluorine - free solution just launched by Shenghong Dyeing and Printing, and the actions of Shanghai Jieyikang in functional textiles. We have to keep up with this trend of 'green + innovation'." Huang Wei puts down the acrylic tow sample in his hand and rubs the uniform indigo color with his fingertips: "You're right. The workshop just finished debugging the third set of low - salt dyeing equipment last week. Now, the COD emissions of this batch of colored acrylic tow have decreased by 18% compared with last year, while the color fastness has increased to over 4.5 levels. A Zhejiang outdoor brand called yesterday, saying that our environmentally friendly acrylic tow costs 12% less than the imported products they used before, but its light resistance is no worse." Behind this conversation lies the confidence of Antai Textile after more than 30 years of in - depth development in the textile industry. When it was established in Zhangjiagang, a hotbed of the textile industry, in 1993, the enterprise started with acrylic yarns. From a single product line at the beginning, it has gradually developed into a comprehensive supplier covering acrylic yarns, acrylic tows, colored acrylic tows, and fancy yarns. Now, when you enter its 80 - mu production base, intelligent winding machines coexist harmoniously with traditional twisting processes in the workshop. The production line with an annual output of over 8,000 tons has long become an important supply hub for acrylic products in East China. "We should not only focus on environmental protection but also keep a close eye on the international market trends," Li Xiong flips to the page of the exhibition information for the second half of the year in the report. "We've participated in the New York Fabric Show in July and the São Paulo Textile Show in August for five consecutive years. This year, our focus should be on'sustainable fancy yarns'." He picks up a ball of loop yarn embedded with recycled fibers. "Last year, European and American customers reported that consumers are increasingly concerned about the'story' of the yarn, such as whether it uses environmentally friendly dyes and has an innovative structure. The 'Cloud Floss Yarn' just developed by our R & D department is a blend of acrylic and recycled polyester. It has the fluffiness and warmth - retention of acrylic and can create three - dimensional textures through a special twist. Samples have been sent to our partners in New York." Huang Wei takes the yarn and kneads it, with the rigor of a production professional in his eyes: "When it comes to innovation, our 'Rainbow Strip' technology is really remarkable. Traditional acrylic tow dyeing requires spinning first and then dyeing, which has a high loss rate and is prone to color differences. We've changed to the dope dyeing process, injecting color masterbatches at the melt stage. We can create gradient and sectional color effects in one - step molding. The 'Aurora Strip' we made for a Shenzhen designer brand last month was directly used as the main fabric for their 2026 spring - summer collection, and the order volume doubled compared with the previous season." Such technological breakthroughs stem from Antai Textile's continuous investment in R & D. In the company's technology center, more than a dozen textile engineers have been collaborating with the Textile Research Institute of Jiangnan University all year round, tackling issues such as the modification of acrylic materials and functional post - finishing. The antibacterial acrylic yarn launched last year has a continuous antibacterial effect on the finished fabric by implanting nano - silver ions into the fibers, and it has now become the designated material for many infant clothing brands. "From supplying basic acrylic yarns to local woolen mills in 1993 to making customized fancy yarns for international brands now, we've only done one thing in these 30 years - master acrylic thoroughly," Li Xiong looks out of the window at the factory flag fluttering in the factory area, with pride in his tone. "At the New York show next month, we'll not only bring our products but also make a VR display of the production process of 'dope - dyed acrylic tow' so that customers can see with their own eyes how Chinese textile enterprises combine 'green' and 'fashion' through technological innovation." The clock in the conference room points to three o'clock. Huang Wei stands up and prepares to return to the workshop: "Then I'll ask the quality control department to conduct another random inspection of the anti - pilling acrylic yarn batch to be sent to Brazil. There can be no mistakes with the samples for the São Paulo show." Li Xiong nods with a smile, and his eyes fall back on the industry report. He gently draws a circle next to the words 'green transformation' - there lies the answer for Antai Textile's next 30 years.