Sportswear, or activewear, encompasses clothing and footwear tailored for sports and physical activities.
China stands as a dominant force in this field, producing and distributing approximately 65% of global sportswear to international markets.
This blog post delves into the vibrant sportswear industry, highlighting its complexities and worldwide influence.
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China 7 key sportswear production bases & strong product categories.
Sportswear manufacturing in China is extensively developed, particularly in Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang provinces, known for their robust clothing manufacturing ecosystems.
These regions offer complete supply chains, covering textile raw material sourcing, accessory production, and apparel component manufacturing.
They are also proficient in specialized tasks like printing and dyeing and have the infrastructure for final garment assembly and logistics.
This integrated production environment in these provinces enables the streamlined and efficient creation of sportswear.
Shishi in Fujian — China’s hub for sportswear and casual apparel.
Shishi city, located in Fujian Province, China, is a renowned center for clothing manufacturing, especially known for producing sportswear and casual attire. The city’s garment industry has a long-standing history, recognized both domestically and internationally for its high-quality products and innovative designs.
These manufacturers typically offer a wide range of products, from traditional casual wear to various types of sportswear, including custom jerseys, sports pants, and jackets. Many of Shishi’s garment factories provide Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) services, producing apparel for well-known brands both in China and abroad. The manufacturers continuously adopt new technologies and innovative designs to enhance the quality and comfort of the apparel
Jinjiang — China’s hometown of sportswear brands and sports shoe capital.
Jinjiang in Fujian, China, is a key center for clothing and footwear manufacturing, known for its extensive range of products, especially shoes.
The city hosts a variety of apparel production, including sportswear and technical garments, and is a significant global exporter.
Jinjiang emphasizes innovation in materials and production, housing large industrial parks for textiles and footwear.
It serves both renowned Chinese and international brands, supported by advanced manufacturing and a skilled workforce, making it a prominent player in the global textile and footwear market.
Xiamen — China’s key export hub for sports clothing, footwear, and outdoor goods.
Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian Province, China, is renowned for its diverse and thriving industries, including manufacturing.
Though less dominant than in Jinjiang or Shishi, Xiamen does have a sector dedicated to producing footwear and garments. These manufacturers typically cater to both domestic and international markets.
Guangzhou — China sportswear key production and sales hub.
Guangzhou, a crucial center for sportswear in China, hosts numerous manufacturers producing ranges from budget to premium.
Known for advanced production and innovative design, it attracts both domestic and global brands.
The city’s wholesale markets, like Guangzhou International Textile City, serve as major sourcing hubs.
With its strategic port, Guangzhou is a key export gateway for sportswear, influencing the global market and showcasing its industry leadership through regular trade exhibitions.
Yiwu — wholesale hub for seamless sports bra and activewear production.
Yiwu in Zhejiang, China, is a key wholesale hub, especially known for its Yiwu International Trade City, one of the world’s largest wholesale markets.
It specializes in seamless sports bras and activewear, offering quality, variety, and competitive prices.
Yiwu’s manufacturers are trend-conscious, blending style and functionality in their products, making it a prime spot for bulk activewear purchases.
The city’s comprehensive supply chain and global export capabilities, combined with customization options and e-commerce integration, solidify its status as a significant player in the global apparel market.
Haining city in Zhejiang — China’s sportswear fabric capital.
Haining, in Zhejiang Province, China, stands out in the textile industry for its high-quality sportswear fabrics, known for durability and comfort.
The city’s manufacturers focus on innovative fabric technologies suitable for various sports, making it a key player both domestically and internationally.
With a strong production capacity and a mix of traditional and modern methods, Haining supplies diverse fabrics to global sportswear brands, offering customized solutions to meet specific athletic wear needs.
Sanmen town in Zhejiang — China’s largest production base for shell jackets.
Sanmen in Zhejiang, China, is renowned as a major producer of shell jackets, essential for outdoor wear.
Specializing in waterproof, windproof, and breathable jackets, it meets diverse outdoor needs.
Sanmen’s manufacturers use advanced technologies for weather-resistant fabrics, supporting both local and international markets.
They offer a variety of jacket designs for different climates and activities, with a strong focus on innovation, quality control, and global supply chain integration, ensuring their products meet high standards for functionality and durability.
Zingsourcing smooths your private label activewear in China.
At ZingSourcing, a premier sourcing company in China, we pride ourselves on our curated network of high-quality activewear suppliers. Each of these suppliers has undergone rigorous factory audits and has established a history of consistent collaboration with us.
When it comes to sourcing sportswear, we are committed to providing you with competitive, precise quotes that are typically at least 10% more affordable than those found on platforms like Alibaba. Additionally, we place a strong emphasis on quality assurance, ensuring that the products you receive meet your expectations and standards.
We support sportswear wholesale and customization in diverse fabrics.
Sportswear typically prioritizes comfort, breathability, moisture-wicking, and elasticity, focusing on functionality.
Sportswear is typically crafted from a range of fabrics known for their comfort and performance-enhancing qualities. These commonly include cotton, known for its breathability and softness; nylon, valued for its strength and durability; spandex, favored for its exceptional elasticity; and polyester, widely chosen for its moisture-wicking properties and lightweight nature.
Typically, pure cotton sportswear is for corporate uniforms and casual wear.
For activities with low to medium intensity like jogging, yoga, and pilates, fabrics with a high cotton content are often preferred. A popular blend is ‘Lycra cotton,’ which typically consists of 95% cotton combined with 5% Lycra. This fabric is a common choice for various fitness and gym wear items such as leggings, sports pants, shorts, and yoga suits due to its comfort and slight stretch. Sports bras frequently utilize a blend of 90% nylon or polyester with 10% Lycra. The addition of Lycra in these compositions is crucial for providing enhanced elasticity, ensuring both comfort and support during physical activities.
For high-intensity sports like running, basketball, soccer, and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), polyester is the preferred fabric for sportswear. This choice is due to polyester’s functional qualities, which include quick-drying, cooling effects, and efficient heat dispersion. These features are essential in sportswear such as basketball jerseys, sports socks, and the linings of athletic sneakers and footwear, where managing moisture and temperature is crucial for athlete comfort and performance.
Recyclable, biodegradable, and high-tech fabrics are trending in the sportswear market.
Silicone Resin is frequently used in advanced sportswear, notably in “sharkskin” swimsuits and “quick skin” garments, renowned for their hydrodynamic properties. Another innovative material in this domain is Coolmax Fiber, known for its exceptional ability to wick away sweat and facilitate rapid evaporation, making it ideal for high-intensity sports. This was exemplified by the Chinese table tennis team at the Sydney Olympics, who achieved gold wearing Coolmax fiber garments.
Graphene, celebrated for its superior thermal conductivity, is increasingly popular in winter sportswear. This includes items like graphene-infused jackets, cycling apparel, and shell jackets, which offer enhanced warmth and comfort. Contrary to a common misconception, graphene fabrics are not limited to black or gray; they are available in a broader color spectrum, expanding their appeal in the sportswear market.
In the realm of sportswear manufacturing, an additional step often involves applying specialized coatings to fabrics to augment their functional properties. Materials like Polyurethane (PU) and acrylic (AC/PA) coatings are commonly used to enhance waterproof, windproof, breathable, and UV-resistant qualities of the fabric. For example, the inclusion of a PU coating is a standard practice in crafting custom softshell jackets. This not only significantly boosts their waterproof capabilities but also contributes to greater durability and flexibility, making them more suitable for various outdoor activities.
Ask ZingSourcing for premium sportswear
We can realize your unique pattern designs with the best printing techniques.
Share your custom design ideas or a basic sketch with us. Our skilled design team is on hand to transform these into detailed design drawings. Once you approve the design, our expert agents will suggest the most suitable and cost-efficient printing techniques for your custom patterns on fabric and textiles.
For orders exceeding 500 pieces per item, screen printing is an economical option, particularly for designs with fewer colors and simpler patterns. For instance, the cost of screen printing a two-color, 5 cm logo on 1000 athletic wear pieces is approximately $400. However, note that screen-printed designs often have a noticeable, glue-like texture.
For intricate, multi-color designs, Direct to Garment (DTG) printing and sublimation are excellent choices, ideal for all-over-print sportswear. These methods produce prints that seamlessly blend with the fabric, are durable, and resist fading. DTG printing excels on 100% cotton fabrics, while sublimation is highly effective on polyester, typically used on fabrics with at least 80% polyester content. This makes it perfect for quick-drying T-shirts, shorts, sports towels, and more.
Both DTG and sublimation have no minimum order requirements, making them ideal for small-scale orders and print-on-demand businesses. These methods charge based on the printed area, with the number of colors and pattern complexity not affecting the price.
Embroidery offers a distinct 3D effect and high quality. The cost is influenced by the design’s complexity, size, thread count, and order quantity, among other factors. For example, we helped a client embroider a simple three-color, 5cm diameter letter pattern on 200 sweatshirts, costing $1.50 per piece. If the pattern were one color, the cost would be about $1.20 per piece. This case can serve as a reference for similar requirements.
Keep in mind that embroidery and screen printing are less suited for highly detailed, colorful designs. If your designs are complex and multicolored and you seek elegance and quality, consider a combination of embroidery and DTG printing solutions.
Finally
For your bespoke sportswear orders, our process includes creating and dispatching garment samples for your review. We’ll continue refining these samples until you confirm they meet your specifications. During mass production, our team diligently monitors the entire process to adhere to the production timeline.
Once the sportswear is complete, we conduct thorough quality inspections in our warehouse. Our quality control (QC) process is both adaptable and efficient, focusing on areas you specify as critical. To keep you informed and involved, we provide real-time updates through videos and pictures, ensuring open and effective communication. Additionally, we offer optimized shipping solutions, arranging for the most cost-effective transportation either to a designated port or directly to your doorstep.
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