China'S First "Silver Economy" Policy Document Was Issued, And Textile And Clothing Became One Of The Focus

On January 15, according to the Chinese government website, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Developing the Silver Hair Economy to Improve the Welfare of the Elderly (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions). This is the first special document issued by the state to support the economic development of silver hair.

The Opinions put forward 26 measures in 4 aspects, including developing livelihood undertakings and solving difficulties and anxieties; Expand product supply and improve quality level; Focus on diversified needs and cultivate potential industries; Strengthen factor guarantee and optimize development environment.

The Opinions proposed that in terms of promoting the development of industrial clusters, about 10 high-level Yinfa economic industrial parks should be planned in Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, Chengdu Chongqing and other regions in the future. At the same time, relying on such platforms as free trade pilot zones, various development zones, national service industry expansion and opening up comprehensive demonstration zones, and national service trade innovation and development demonstration zones, the Bank will promote cross regional and international cooperation in the economic field.

The Opinions put forward that in terms of strengthening the innovation of elderly products, we should strengthen the research and design of clothing fabrics, style structures, auxiliary devices and other aging appropriate products, and develop functional elderly clothing, shoes and hats. Implement the action of promoting the high-quality development of the household industry, and focus on the development and application of daily products suitable for aging and leisure care products for the elderly. Improve the promotion catalogue of products for the elderly, make timely evaluation and dynamic adjustment.

According to the Research on the Development of China's Aging Industry and Indicator System issued by the China Aging Science Research Center, by 2030, the total consumption of China's elderly population will be about 12 trillion yuan - 15.5 trillion yuan, accounting for 8.3% - 10.8% of the country's GDP. This consumer market needs to be fully explored, which can not only meet the consumption needs of the elderly and improve their well-being, but also promote the development of related industries, and even become a new growth point to stimulate the economy.

In recent years, the aging population has brought about changes in the consumption structure, and the market of clothing, shoes and hats for the elderly has also ushered in a window period. In the past two years, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has successively released the Catalogue of Products Promotion for the Elderly in 2022 and the Catalogue of Products Promotion for the Elderly in 2023. Its product range includes dozens of categories in many fields, such as clothing for the elderly and daily auxiliary products. The products of many textile enterprises have been included in the catalog, among which home textiles, functional clothing for the elderly and other products are the majority, such as Boyang, Luolai, Hengyuanxiang, Joyful Home Textiles, Violet Home Textiles and other products have been included.

Yuan Xin, professor of the School of Economics of Nankai University and director of the Research Center for Aging Development Strategy, said that China's silver economy has broad development space. On the one hand, from now until the middle of this century, China has the world's largest elderly consumer group. In the middle of this century and beyond, China's aging level will always remain above 40%, ranking among the world's highly aging countries. The demand and consumption of the elderly have become the mainstream of social demand and consumption, forming a huge potential silver hair consumer market; On the other hand, with the intergenerational change of the elderly population, consumption upgrading is the general trend.

"The post-50s, post-60s and post-70s newly rich groups who benefit from the dividend of reform and opening up, compared with the post-30s and post-40s who were born in the war years and the era of material scarcity, have undergone great changes in consumption concepts, consumption capacity, consumption patterns and other aspects, which will generate new consumption demand, promote the development of effective silver hair consumption market, and build a new business model for the aging industry." Yuanxin said.