Antai Textile Rides the 'Sports and Outdoor Boom' Tailwind, Functional Yarns Gain Brand Favor

In the scorching July of midsummer, the textile industry has also ushered in the traditional peak production season. In Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, inside the production workshop of Antai Textile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as 'Antai Textile'), which has a development history of over 30 years, machines are roaring, presenting a busy scene. Li Xiong, Marketing Manager, had just finished a video conference with a southern sportswear brand, with a trace of relief on his face. 'The other party showed strong interest in our newly developed functional acrylic yarns and colorful fancy yarns, especially for the needs of high-end outdoor clothing and fashionable sports items. Our product parameters and sample feedback are very good,' Li Xiong said. 'This is inseparable from our recent close attention to industry trends and timely adjustment of product strategies.' The industry trends mentioned by Li Xiong are precisely the structural changes recently emerging in the textile and apparel market. According to public data, in the second quarter of this year, domestic sports brands performed brilliantly; in particular, the turnover of Anta's outdoor brand increased by as much as 50-55%, the turnover of Xtep's high-end running shoe brand Saucony also increased by over 20%, and brands like 361° maintained steady growth. This 'sports and outdoor boom' has directly spurred strong demand for high-quality, functional, and differentiated yarns. Antai Textile's main products, including acrylic yarns, acrylic tops, colored acrylic tops, and various fancy yarns, with their excellent warmth retention, lightness, color saturation, and rich appearance expressiveness, exactly meet the current requirements of outdoor clothing for lightweight warmth, fashionable design, and durability. 'We have noticed that not only the domestic market but also the export of textile yarn products as a whole has maintained resilience,' Li Xiong said while looking through the latest industry report. 'From January to June, China exported 70.52 billion US dollars of textile yarns, fabrics, and products, a year-on-year increase of 1.8%. This indicates that the international market's demand for high-quality textile raw materials still exists. Our acrylic products, especially colored acrylic tops and fancy yarns, have always been popular in overseas markets, especially in regions with high fashion sensitivity.' He further explained, 'Traditional yarn products have serious homogeneity and limited profit margins. However, since its establishment, Antai Textile has regarded 'differentiation' and 'customization' as core competitiveness. For example, our colored acrylic tops can provide multiple color numbers according to customer needs, eliminating the dyeing process for downstream enterprises, which not only shortens the production cycle but is also more environmentally friendly. In the current context of emphasizing sustainable development, this is undoubtedly a major advantage.' This敏锐洞察 into the market is inseparable from Antai Textile's 30 years of industry accumulation. Since establishing the factory in Zhangjiagang in 1993, the company has witnessed the magnificent development of China's textile industry and has also honed strong technological R&D capabilities and production management capabilities. Director Huang of the Production Department deeply understands this: 'Market demand changes rapidly. For example, the sports and outdoor brands mentioned by Manager Li have increasingly high functional requirements for yarns, such as moisture absorption and perspiration, antibacterial properties, anti-pilling, etc., and the delivery cycle is also very tight. This requires our production end to have the ability of rapid response and flexible production.' Director Huang introduced that to meet these high-end demands, Antai Textile has continuously invested in technological transformation in recent years, introduced advanced spinning equipment and testing instruments, and established a special R&D team to closely cooperate with downstream brands and fabric factories to participate in product design from the source. 'We recently optimized an acrylic yarn production line, specifically for small-batch, multi-variety production of functional fancy yarns, to quickly meet the demand for special yarns from high-end brands like Saucony.' When talking about raw materials, Director Huang added: 'Although we mainly focus on acrylic, we also pay close attention to the market dynamics of other fibers such as cotton. For example, the National Development and Reform Commission recently issued cotton import quotas, which helps stabilize cotton prices and is beneficial to the healthy development of the entire textile industry chain. As an important synthetic fiber, acrylic can complement the advantages of natural fibers such as cotton and wool in certain application fields, and even has more characteristics in light weight, warmth retention, and color brightness. We will provide customers with optimized yarn solutions based on the characteristics of different fibers.' From 1993 to 2025, on the fertile land of Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, Antai Textile has developed from an initial single product line to a comprehensive textile enterprise now covering acrylic yarns, acrylic tops, colored acrylic tops, and various fancy yarns. This is precisely due to its accurate grasp of the market, ultimate pursuit of product quality, and unremitting investment in technological innovation. Facing the complex and changing domestic and international economic environment and increasingly upgraded market demands, Antai Textile is steadily moving forward in the wave of the textile industry with its profound industry accumulation and flexible market strategies, weaving a new chapter of enterprise development with high-quality yarns and contributing its own strength to the transformation and upgrading of China's textile industry. As Li Xiong said: 'The growth in textile yarn exports from January to June and the good performance of sports brands have given us great confidence. Antai Textile will continue to focus on deep cultivation in the acrylic field, providing more high-quality and high-value-added products to meet the diversified needs of the market and grow together with industry partners.'