HANGZHOU — As the winter chill spreads across the Northern Hemisphere, demand for down jackets surges. Unknown to many consumers, the cozy coats they zip up likely trace their origins to Pinghu, a temperate county-level city in East China that experiences little snowfall.

Situated in Zhejiang province, Pinghu is home to a modest population of just over 700,000, yet annually it produces more than 200 million down jackets. The city dominates China's women's down jacket market, accounting for 80 percent of the country's production.

With over 2,000 merchants and a supply chain that employs more than 100,000 people in production, design and logistics, Pinghu has evolved from a garment processing base into a thriving hub for the "down economy".

In the 1980s, leveraging its proximity to the economic powerhouses of Shanghai and Hangzhou, Pinghu became a hub for garment processing. For decades, it served domestic and international brands, earning a global reputation where "one in every 100 garments worldwide was made in Pinghu".

However, the traditional original equipment manufacturer model eventually hit a bottleneck. Rising labor costs and escalating raw material prices began to squeeze profit margins, leading to a noticeable decline in orders.

The turning point arrived in 2014, when local merchants noticed that down jackets were outperforming other garment categories in both sales and profitability. Guided by local government support and market forces, over 1,000 manufacturers pivoted their operations. They integrated production lines and focused exclusively on the high-value down jacket segment, cementing a specialized industrial cluster.

Today, logistics fees for the market alone exceed 1 billion yuan ($142.6 million) annually, underscoring the immense volume of goods flowing through the city.

For years, Pinghu attracted buyers with "extreme cost-performance". However, local entrepreneurs soon recognized that price wars were not a sustainable long-term strategy. To ascend the value chain, the city had to transition from pure "manufacturing" to fostering "creation".

"Original design directly affects market competitiveness," said a local industry representative.

To facilitate this transformation, Pinghu has made substantial investments in branding and design. The city has engaged over 1,400 designers to establish a high-end fashion ecosystem that protects intellectual property rights and encourages innovative styles, positioning design as a key growth driver.

As the industry expanded rapidly, concerns emerged regarding product quality consistency. To safeguard the sector's health and maintain consumer trust, Pinghu has pioneered a transparent quality control system.

Collaborating with 17 organizations across seven provinces and municipalities, Pinghu has released a white paper on the quality grading of down jackets, classifying products based on five core indicators including down content and fluffiness.

"We have filled the gap in national standards for fine grading," said Hu Guohua, head of the city's down jacket industry quality promotion center.

Now, premium jackets feature tags with QR codes that enable consumers to verify the "invisible engineering" inside their coats.

Looking ahead, Pinghu is intensifying its focus on the "Fashion Pinghu" regional brand initiative. By establishing intellectual property protection centers and launching industry revitalization plans, the city is committed to upgrading its pillar industry to ensure it remains a strong force in the global down jacket market.

Xinhua