Sponsored by Taiwan Textile Federation
Ad. by TITA
Taiwan is striving to position itself as a global hub for sustainable textiles.
To enhance international visibility and competitiveness, the International Trade Administration (TITA) – under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) – has a Textile Export Promotion Project (TEPP) executed by the Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF). The initiative highlights Taiwan's commitment to becoming a preferred sourcing hub for sustainable and innovative textile solutions.
This year, the project set up a Taiwan Textile Select Booth at Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show (TITAS) ran from 14-16 October 2025. There, three key trends emerged from the exhibition: innovation in outdoor protective wear, innovation in sustainability, and, importantly, innovation in urban casual and sportswear.
It comes as no surprise that innovation in urban casual wear, athleisurewear and sportswear featured heavily at TITAS 2025, since innovation in the sector continues to surge due to shifting lifestyle patterns and consumer priorities. Consumers increasingly value comfort, versatility and performance in everyday clothing, driven by hybrid work cultures, popularising health-consciousness and active lifestyles, and the blurring of boundaries between activewear and casualwear – and Taiwan stands at the forefront of these material advancements thanks to its deeply established technical textile ecosystem and decades of R&D investment. Consumers also value customisation, which companies such as Ta Cherng Embroidery – at the Taiwan Textile Select booth – helped to address by showcasing its sustainable custom embroidery offerings, which tap into the promotional gifts and customised sportswear niche of the sector.
Ta Cherng Embroidery highlights the value in customisation among consumers
For many years, the island’s manufacturers – many long-time suppliers to global sportswear giants – have leveraged expertise in polymer engineering, knitting and finishing to pioneer advanced performance fabrics. In essence, the popularity of functional urban athleisurewear reflects broader cultural and technological shifts toward comfort, performance and responsibility, and Taiwan’s blend of technical mastery, integrated supply chains and sustainability leadership ensures it remains a central engine driving the evolution of this market.
At the Taiwan Textile Select booth were several Taiwanese companies exemplifying Taiwan’s leading position in urban material innovation. Da Fon International Development for example, offers functional fabrics such as high-performance nylon knits and skin-friendly natural fabrics. Its functionalities range from wicking and stretch to antimicrobial and odour control, allowing wearers to reap the benefits of Taiwan’s material technologies in various scenarios from casual movement to athletic applications. Elsewhere, Wisher Industrial showcased its Wi-elastic fabrics, which provide ‘eco-friendly stretch without Spandex’ also highlighting the importance of sustainability in new urban casual and sportswear products.
As brands face pressure to reduce environmental impact, prompting innovation in materials, functionality now extends beyond performance to encompass longevity, recyclability and lower carbon footprints, reinforcing innovation as both a technological and ethical imperative. The solutions on display at TITAS 2025 expertly met this market demand: today’s consumers expect apparel that delivers both aesthetic appeal and technical functionality, such as moisture management, temperature regulation, stretch and durability, all while remaining lightweight, tapping into sustainability and appealing aesthetically. In recent years, these demands have accelerated the development of multifunctional textiles that merge fashion with high-performance attributes once limited to elite sportswear – and TITAS’ Taiwanese innovators tapped into this lucrative market.
Sabrina Fashion Industrial Corp, for example, focused on Olympic and professional sportswear applications. The company produces and exports high performance sportswear for men, women and children, including but not limited to running, golfing, tennis, training, yoga, swimming and cycling. By continuing to focus on discovering, developing and delivering innovative apparel solutions, Sabrina seeks to reinforce its position as a leader in the sector.
The presence of the company’s peers further solidified growing consumer interest in sustainable and functional urban sportswear. Wu Luen Knitting, for example, which offers functional knitted fabrics for garments, swimming wear, underwear, biking wear, sportswear and footwear, paid particular focus to its low-carbon innovations. In response to increasing environmental awareness, Wu Luen has ‘actively integrated eco-friendly materials’ such as recycled PET fibres, biodegradable yarns and natural fibres into ‘every layer of its product offerings’, which includes activewear, casualwear and other textiles, company press material says.
Elsewhere, New Wide Group, a global knitting enterprise that provides functional, sustainable sports tech fabrics, further cemented the importance of sustainability and urban wear going hand-in-hand: “Sustainability is central to New Wide’s design. Over 80% of our fabrics now use eco-friendly materials and methods. By optimising fabric structure, material composition and production techniques, we deliver high-performance textiles that balance environmental responsibility with technical excellence.”
Ultimately, TEPP Project underscored how, within the niche of urban casual and sportswear, Taiwan continues to shape and reflect the global trajectory of performance and sustainable textiles. The fusion of functionality, sustainability and style itself most certainly defines the next chapter of urban athleisure and sportswear, and Taiwanese innovators demonstrated how technical expertise, responsible sourcing and design innovation can converge to meet evolving consumer expectations for comfort, versatility and environmental integrity.
As lifestyle shifts continue to blur the boundary es between fashion and function, Taiwan’s integrated textile ecosystem and commitment to continuous R&D position it not only as a manufacturing hub but as a driving force behind the future of functional, sustainable apparel.
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