The Development History of Dongguan Garment Industry

I. The Initial Stage: Processing Trade in the Early Days of Reform and Opening Up

Dongguan's garment industry can be traced back to the late 1970s. With the implementation of China's reform and opening-up policy, Dongguan ushered in a period of rapid development. In the early stages of reform and opening up, Dongguan's manufacturing industry mainly relied on foreign investment, especially from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Leveraging low labor costs, these companies quickly established a production base primarily focused on garment processing. By the 1980s, Dongguan had become a major global garment processing center.

During this period, the core models of Dongguan's garment industry were "OEM" (Original Equipment Manufacturing) and "CMT" (Contract Manufacturing with Supplied Materials). Under this model, Dongguan's factories mainly provided contract manufacturing for well-known foreign brands. Product design, brand building, and sales were handled by the clients, while Dongguan was only responsible for production. With increasing global demand for Chinese-made goods, Dongguan's garment industry gradually developed into one of the largest garment production bases in China and even the world.

During this period, although Dongguan's garment industry developed rapidly, it lacked independent brands and designs, relying heavily on external orders and processing tasks. Therefore, it was positioned at the low end of the global garment industry chain, with production primarily relying on cheap labor and large-scale production.

II. Rapid Development and Export Orientation (2000–2010)

Entering the 21st century, Dongguan's garment industry experienced explosive growth. After China's accession to the WTO in 2001, international demand for Chinese goods surged. Dongguan, with its mature production system and convenient export channels, became a crucial link in the global garment supply chain. Especially in developed markets such as Europe and the United States, Chinese garment products flooded the market, with manufacturing enterprises in the Pearl River Delta region, represented by Dongguan, playing a key role.

During this period, Dongguan's garment industry went beyond simple OEM manufacturing; more and more companies began developing their own brands. Some companies, by improving technology, innovating designs, and optimizing production processes, gradually reduced their dependence on foreign brands and began to try opening their own brand stores, moving towards the high-end market. Meanwhile, Dongguan gradually formed its own industrial clusters, with multiple industrial parks and markets emerging, such as the Humen Garment City, the knitting industry in Dalang, and the Dongguan Fashion Design Zone, becoming a nationally and even globally renowned garment production and trade hub.

The product range of Dongguan's garment industry also gradually diversified, encompassing not only traditional men's, women's, and children's wear, but also underwear, sportswear, workwear, and other areas. At this point, Dongguan had evolved from a single garment processing center into a production base with a diversified industrial chain.

III. Industrial Transformation and Upgrading (2010–Present)

However, with changes in the global market and rising labor costs, Dongguan's garment industry also faced new challenges. After 2010, the annual increase in labor costs, especially the rise in the minimum wage, gradually made the traditional labor-intensive garment processing model lose its competitiveness. At the same time, changes in domestic and international market demand required enterprises to develop towards higher value-added directions.

Dongguan's garment industry began to transform and upgrade, gradually shifting from a "processing base" to "design innovation and branding." Many traditional garment manufacturing enterprises have begun to focus on brand building and independent design, with some gradually acquiring their own international brands through mergers and acquisitions and brand licensing. For example, garment companies in Dongguan are increasingly focusing on high-end and personalized products as the core of their development, gradually gaining a foothold in the market by improving product design, enhancing product quality, and increasing technological content.

Simultaneously, Dongguan's garment companies are also emphasizing the application of intelligent manufacturing. Supported by new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and automated production, more and more companies are introducing intelligent technologies into their production processes to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance product quality and production flexibility. For example, some garment companies in Dongguan have begun using robots to replace manual labor in sewing and automatic cutting, thereby reducing reliance on manual labor and improving production efficiency.

Besides intelligent manufacturing, Dongguan is also actively promoting green manufacturing and environmentally friendly production. As domestic and international markets place increasingly higher demands on environmental protection and sustainable development, many garment companies in Dongguan have strengthened the application of environmental protection technologies in their production processes, reducing resource waste and pollution emissions, and gradually embarking on a green development path.

IV. Challenges and Future Prospects of Dongguan's Garment Industry

Although Dongguan's garment industry is constantly transforming and upgrading, it still faces a series of challenges. First, rising labor costs have put significant pressure on many traditional manufacturing industries, forcing some low-end processing to relocate to regions with cheaper labor. Second, with changes in the global economic situation and unstable international market demand, Dongguan's garment enterprises also need to cope with risks such as trade frictions and policy changes.

Furthermore, there is still considerable room for brand building in Dongguan's garment industry. Although some companies have embarked on a branding path, compared to other garment industry clusters in China such as Zhejiang and Jiangsu, Dongguan's investment in cultivating independent brands and technological innovation is still insufficient. In the future, Dongguan's garment enterprises need to focus more on R&D innovation, improve design capabilities, and promote the rise of high-end brands.

Looking ahead, Dongguan's garment industry will place greater emphasis on the integration and coordinated development of the industrial chain. By integrating upstream and downstream resources and improving the efficiency of industrial chain collaboration, Dongguan is expected to maintain its competitive advantage in the global garment industry. At the same time, Dongguan will continue to increase investment in areas such as intelligent manufacturing, green environmental protection, and branding to promote the high-quality development of the garment industry and move towards the global high-end market.