China is uniquely positioned to accelerate the apparel sector’s goal to slash emissions by 50% by 2030, says a new report, Landscape and Opportunities for the Decarbonization of China’s Textile and Apparel Manufacturing Sector.
Published by Apparel Impact Institute (AII), in collaboration with Development Finance International Inc. (DFI), the report builds upon the work of Chinese apparel sector stakeholders to explore the financing, implementation, and policy landscape and offer practical pathways for scaling decarbonization across China’s textile and apparel sector.
The country’s renewable energy leadership and significant apparel footprint drive its decarbonization opportunity, finds the new research, with over 40,000 suppliers in the country having the operational scale and data to take immediate action. Additionally, the country’s vast industrial park infrastructure, in which more than 11,000 enterprises operate within over 1,300 textile industrial parks, can be leveraged to develop shared governance platforms and bundle project options that lower transition costs.
To realize the country’s potential in the apparel sector, the report calls for collaboration across and beyond the value chain to develop awareness, planning tools, technical expertise, and accessible capital vehicles.
US$40.8 billion will be required to achieve a 50% emissions reduction across China’s apparel and textile sector by 2030, and while international finance institutions offer both financing and technical support, uptake remains limited due to complex requirements and higher interest rates. To best support suppliers, the report recommends the development of additional financing mechanisms, including blended models and deployment-linked grants, expanded local technical assistance, and the integration of low-carbon planning into core business strategies. It also highlights the importance of sector-wide coordination and leveraging industrial parks as platforms for coordinated decarbonization, shared infrastructure, and replication of pilot projects.
“China’s textile industry has the scale, capability, and growing alignment to lead fashion’s next climate chapter. The building blocks are already here,” said Dave de la Questa, Head of Asia Operations at Development Finance International, Inc. “The next step is connecting them — linking finance, policy, and industry so that every facility, no matter its size, can participate in the transition.”
“While financing and policy frameworks are essential, they only work when paired with practical, scalable, and inclusive on-the-ground conditions that give manufacturers confidence and clarity,” said Lewis Perkins, President and CEO at Apparel Impact Institute. “The report offers a clear call to action: scale local financing, support supplier readiness, and develop an infrastructure of collaboration that will deliver tangible results.”
