Socks: Small Commodities Make A Big Market

Datang Town, Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province, is now Datang Street, which is truly the "International Socks City". Seventy percent of the national production and sales of socks and three percent of the global production and sales come from here.

At present, this street has more than 10000 sock making enterprises, with an annual output value of more than 70 billion yuan and an annual output of more than 25 billion pairs of socks. Calculated by the global population of 8.2 billion, it is equivalent to making three pairs of socks for every human every year.

Speaking of Datang sock industry, it is impossible to avoid a seemingly casual accidental attempt. At the end of the 1970s, the Chengshan Township production team under Datang Street tried to buy three second-hand hand sock machines after working.

This is a great try! At that time, the production team was paid according to work points. Each farmer's annual income was less than 100 yuan, and a hand sock machine could produce 50 to 60 pairs of socks every day, with a profit of 1 yuan per pair. Two days' income exceeds that of the production team for one year.

Once the account is clear, no one can resist the "temptation" of making socks. Since then, every quiet night, the creaking of the hand hosiery machine has become a unique nocturne in Datang Town. The production and sales of socks are like a surging tide. At that time, there were piles of socks piled up in the high and low houses; In the busy cars on the street, there are boxes of socks stacked one by one; People talk about socks when chatting.

The villagers who tasted the benefits of sock making were out of control. By the end of 1980s, Datang Town had initially constructed the embryonic form of modern sock industry and began to radiate to surrounding towns. Since 1989, Datang sock industry has continued to upgrade iteratively and rapidly become the largest sock trading center in China.

In the digital workshop of Zhejiang Yiheng Knitting Technology Co., Ltd., the all-in-one hosiery machine is working. Photographed by Zheng Keyi, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

Some people concentrate on making socks, while others begin to think about the upstream field of socks - raw materials and machinery. Diligent Datang people, from Zhejiang to Jiangsu, Shanghai; From China to India and Pakistan, select the lowest price to purchase raw materials in batches, and start to establish raw material processing enterprises.

Starting from the traditional slicing and melt spinning process, after more than 40 years, Datang Street now has the world's top chemical fiber technology, realizing the magnificent turn from "following" to "leading".

Today's sock industry has not relied on hand shaking for a long time, and its "technical content" is far beyond ordinary people's imagination. In the digital workshop of Zhuji Yanaisi Knitting Textile Co., Ltd., more than 400 sewing, weaving and turning hosiery machines operate at a high speed under precise control. Under the command of the intelligent management system, the capacity and machine status are updated in real time. Only a few workers are leisurely patrolling in such a large car

Zhejiang Yiheng Knitting Technology Co., Ltd. also enjoys the benefits of technological upgrading. Wang Yiping, the director of the factory, said: "The all-in-one hosiery machine integrates the three processes of hosiery weaving, seaming and stocking turning, and the socks can be directly shaped and packaged when they are off the machine. The socks produced in this way are of high quality, and the labor cost is greatly reduced." With the support of digital equipment, the foreign trade order cycle of this enterprise has been shortened by about 10 days.

The picture shows the socks designed by Caramela with the help of AI platform. Photographed by Zheng Keyi, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

From the primitive days of the hand hosiery machine to the digital workshop transformation of the digital intelligence factory today, not only has the mass production capacity been expedited, but also allows enterprises to adjust the production pace flexibly according to the changes of the market under the timeliness requirements of e-commerce.

Take the "Double 11" shopping festival as an example: the peak time for consumers to place orders on the platform is often in the evening. Once there is a "big money", they must arrange orders and produce overnight. "How much is in stock, how much is raw material, and how many machines can be loaded... It is clear on the system at a glance. If there are countless intellectualization, it is impossible to respond so quickly." Wang Yiping said.

Today's socks are no longer just necessities to resist cold and protect feet, but also carriers to display clothing culture and reflect individual life. How to meet the needs of multiple markets and blaze a new trail on the new track? Datang sock enterprises started the magnificent transformation from "socks" to "sock art" with the help of numbers and intelligence.

Excellent sock art design works exhibited in Datang sock industry innovation service complex. Photographed by Zheng Keyi, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

In the designer studio of Zhejiang Ada Internet Technology Co., Ltd., a new review meeting is being held. The main role of the review is the company's innovative research and development of artificial intelligence socks design platform.

Hu Leilei, assistant general manager of the company, introduced that, compared with the process of painting design, silk thread matching, finished product sampling and other processes required by traditional design, with the help of AI painting technology, the design department can quickly generate product design plans by inputting elements such as materials, styles, patterns, and styles, and then can be launched to the market after careful modification by designers, It has greatly accelerated product iteration and upgrading.

"In addition to introducing AI aided design, we are also actively co branded with well-known IP, and socks are very popular with young consumers," said Hu.

(Source: Xinhuanet)