“If you don’t wear a jacket once, you’ll never know how handsome you can be.” “Jackets are the best cosmetic treatment for men.” “Every time you look up on the subway, there are jackets everywhere.” For more than a year, there have been hot discussions about jackets on the Internet. Under the craze of "outdoor style", almost everyone around me, from adults to young men and women, has one. Jackets have really become "national top-notch".
However, you may not know that more than 60% of this "national top brand" comes from Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, a small county called Sanmen.
The streets are full of them! "The wealth that pours out from the sky" is the turn of the jacket
Jackets are generally made of lightweight fabrics such as synthetic fibers and have windproof, rainproof, breathable and other properties. The earliest jackets were used as functional clothing and were popular among climbers and hikers.
Since last winter, sales of jackets have been booming. During the "Double 11" period in 2023, the sales volume of jackets on a mainstream e-commerce platform increased by 200% year-on-year, and the sales volume of a domestic jacket brand reached 200 million, beating down jackets and becoming the "first choice" for winter clothing.
Source: Sino-Singapore Jingwei
The "out of the circle" of jackets is inseparable from the explosive growth of outdoor sports groups. Data from the "China Outdoor Sports Industry Development Report" show that the market size of China's outdoor products industry will be 197.1 billion yuan in 2022 and is expected to increase to 240 billion yuan in 2025.
Under the understanding that "playing outdoors = buying a jacket first", along with the satisfaction of practicality, jackets have also become popular from the "outdoor circle" to the "daily life circle", becoming the "new arrival" in many people's wardrobes. Top-notch".
A jacket company displays student jackets. Photo by China News Service reporter Fu Feiyang
In fact, not only when participating in outdoor sports, jackets have also become "social currency". On social media, the evaluation of jackets has also expanded from practicality to "good-looking, fashionable, versatile" and so on.
Annual output value 12 billion
6 out of 10 jackets nationwide come from Sanmen, Zhejiang Province
Driven by the craze for outdoor sports, the jacket market has developed rapidly, and "popularity nourishes people" has also come to the jacket industry. At the same time, Sanmen County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, a small county that accounts for "60%" of the national jacket market, has come into people's sight.
At present, there are more than 300 jacket companies in Sanmen County, with more than 20,000 employees and an annual output of more than 20 million jackets. The output of jackets accounts for 60% of the country's total.
Workers are making jacket linings. Photo by China News Service reporter Fu Feiyang
So, why did it happen that Sanmen County received this “overwhelming wealth”? In fact, it is no accident that any industry takes root, sprouts and bears fruit somewhere. As China’s largest jackets industry belt, the relationship between Sanmen County and jackets can be traced back to the last century.
In the 1990s, Xiushui Street and Yabao Road in Beijing welcomed a group of Sanmen people. They bring a batch of silk embroidered clothes specifically to sell to foreigners, but the thin embroidered clothes are a seasonal item. When autumn and winter come, the market for the product disappears. To make a living, they sell silk embroidered clothes in hot weather and winter clothes and cotton-padded clothes in cold weather.
Xiushui Market in Beijing. Source: Sanmen County Media Center
It was also this opportunity that allowed Sanmen people to start dealing with foreigners and smell business opportunities. "They brought the popular overseas jackets, called outdoor jackets at that time, to China and asked us to see if this product could be made." Zhang Yu, deputy general manager of Sanmen County Lantu Outdoor Products Co., Ltd., told China News Newspaper reporter.
Although the Sanmen people who dared to venture had no idea about this imported product, they still took the goods to Jiangsu to find fabrics and tried to make the first batch of goods. Unexpectedly, this batch of goods was a great success in Beijing's foreign trade market. The "jackets" costing 150 yuan were bought by foreigners in Xiushui Street for 1,000 yuan.
The huge business opportunities for jackets have also returned to the hometown of Sanmen people. After building factories and starting businesses, more and more fabric accessories manufacturers and clothing manufacturers came to join the Sanmen market after hearing the news, and gradually established the largest jacket industry belt in China.
Buyers are shopping for jackets. Photo by China News Service reporter Fu Feiyang
Today, with the strong support of the Sanmen County Government, the annual output value of Sanmen's jackets has reached 12 billion. Therefore, there is a saying that "out of ten jackets in the country, six are made in Sanmen". In 2023, Sanmen County was also awarded the "Famous City of Chinese Assault Clothing".
Anti-mosquitoes and trackable? Jackets have new ways to play
If you think that a jacket is just a piece of clothing that can keep out wind and rain, you are totally wrong. In Sanmen County, Taizhou, Zhejiang, with the blessing of "black technology", jackets have been developed to a "new realm."
In the Sanmen County Jacket Industrial Park, colorful and fashionable jackets are arranged in an orderly manner. It looks like an ordinary jacket, but it is actually full of various technological elements.
Source of Jacket Industry Innovation Service Complex in Sanmen County, Zhejiang Province: China News Service
On the basis of "windproof and rainproof, anti-fouling and wear-resistant, warm and easy to clean", the jackets produced in Sanmen County have added many practical functions such as mosquito repellent and graphene heating. Since their launch, they have been deeply loved by consumers. favored by those.
For example, anti-mosquito jackets, manufacturers add safe and non-toxic mosquito repellent to the spun fabrics, which can not only resist mosquito bites, but also achieve cooling and antibacterial effects. They are very popular among outdoor travel enthusiasts.
Jackets in the showcase of a jacket company in Sanmen. Photo by China News Service reporter Fu Feiyang
Heated jackets are divided into outer jackets and inner down jackets. The down jackets are equipped with a graphene heating film that can raise the temperature to a comfortable temperature for the human body within 30 seconds. Depending on the ambient temperature, the "heating" temperature of the clothes can also be adjusted between 22 degrees and 28 degrees to ensure cold resistance and comfort. When it's below zero, it's no problem to stand outside for half an hour.
A women's jacket displayed by a jacket company in Sanmen. Photo by China News Service reporter Fu Feiyang
It is worth mentioning that a jacket company in Sanmen County has also specially developed jackets with GPS positioning function for children. Through related APPs, parents can follow their children's whereabouts in real time. At present, the research and development of this product is nearing completion and will be put into production soon. With the innovative support of "black technology", Sanmen County Jackets have further expanded their influence.
Employees work at home and receive the same salary as white-collar workers in first-tier cities
The development of the jacket industry has also promoted abundant local employment opportunities. Take Sanmen County Senbo Outdoor Products Co., Ltd. as an example. This company has provided jobs for more than 1,000 women in Sanmen County.
At the same time, the relevant person in charge revealed that a skilled worker in the company can earn more than 10,000 yuan a month, which is no lower than the salary of white-collar workers in first-tier cities. In addition, the factory is close to home, so it can also accommodate the needs of female employees to take care of their families.
The production workshop of a jacket company in Sanmen. Photo by China News Service reporter Fu Feiyang
In addition, since the launch of the East-West Poverty Alleviation Cooperation, Sanmen County has also provided counterpart support to Cangxi County, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province, and has developed new ways of poverty alleviation through education and employment.
“We not only run a business, but also fulfill our social responsibilities, help women in Sanmen and Cangxi find jobs, help Cangxi college students aspiring to enter e-commerce, and help them get on track and become bigger and stronger through zero payment for one month. ." said Zheng Yuansen, general manager of Senbo.
A production workshop opened by a Sanmen County enterprise in the western region. Source: China News Service
Under the leadership of the Sanmen County Party Committee and County Government, Sanmen Jacket Enterprises has provided more and more jobs to Cangxi County, helping Cangxi County get rid of poverty and achieve a well-off society in both places.
In the future, we will create a "Fashion Milan" in the domestic jacket industry.
At present, the jacket industry has a certain development space and scale. From the perspective of the domestic consumer market environment, the application scenarios of jackets are changing, and the requirements for it are also changing.
Pan Litai of the Sanmen County Jacket Clothing Industry Association believes that the prosperity of the jacket industry in 2023 is mainly due to the public's enthusiasm for outdoor sports and the update of consumer concepts. As consumer purchasing demands grow, the pursuit of jacket styles and fashion will gradually become the focus of competition among brands. Therefore, it also puts forward higher requirements for the core competitiveness of various jacket companies in Sanmen County.
Jackets produced in Sanmen County with technological functions. Source: China News Service
At present, Sanmen County is also actively responding to the needs of this era. Li Jiping, director of the Sanmen County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, said that Sanmen County has set up a special class for jackets and introduced a number of supporting policies to continue to build strong jackets. industry, and also continued to build the popularity of the three-door jacket by holding national design competitions.
Jackets scene show held in Sanmen County. Source: Sanmen County Media Center
After more than thirty years of development, the jacket industry has grown into an important characteristic industry, an industry that enriches the people, and a pillar industry in Sanmen County. It is also one of the six major industrial clusters that the Sanmen County government focuses on building.
The small story of jackets is actually a big story of China’s consumption transformation and upgrading. It is people’s expectation for clothing to be more practical and fashionable. I believe that the domestic garment industry can further transform and upgrade and find a new development path.
China News Service (CNS1952) is integrated from China News Service, Sanmen County Media Center, China News Weekly, People's Daily Online, Tianxia Online Business, etc.