Representatives reach a consensus at the 12th Global Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Conference. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The 12th Global Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Conference focusing on smart supply chains and intelligent industry was held on July 30 in Haishu district, Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province.

Over 600 leaders and experts from domestic and foreign textile and apparel enterprises attended the conference and agreed to establish an intelligent, efficient, and responsible supply chain for the textile and apparel industry, hoping to drive the high-quality and sustainable development of the industry in both China and around the world.

The conference was initiated in Shanghai in 2008. After more than 10 years of development, it has become an annual international conference that focuses on cooperation in and development of the textile and apparel industries around the world.

With a series of activities such as keynote speeches, the conference aims to share successful practices in supply chain management and explore pragmatic cooperation in supply chains.

Haishu, which has a long history in the textile and apparel industry, is the birth place of “Hongbang tailors”, the first group of Chinese garment makers to specialize in western-style suits. The district currently has more than 4800 textile and apparel enterprises, six of which were selected among China’s top 100 clothing enterprises, said Chu Mengxing, head of the district government.

In addition, the district issued a three-year plan earlier this year to enhance the competitiveness of the local textile and apparel industry. According to the plan, the district will concentrate on intelligent design, manufacturing and service as it strives to increase the output value of the industry to 120 billion yuan ($17.06 billion) within the next three years.