The Green Transformation of "China's Silk Capital": A Multi-Dimensional Case Analysis of Low-Carbon Upgrading across Nanchong's Silk Industry Chain

Yuan Yao; Yuan Zhu

doi:10.54691/gcstr826

The Green Transformation of "China's Silk Capital": A Multi-Dimensional Case Analysis of Low-Carbon Upgrading across Nanchong's Silk Industry Chain

Yuan Yao, Yuan Zhu

Frontiers in Humanities and Social Sciences, (2026), Vol.6, No.4, pp.131-147

Published: April 20, 2026

DOI: 10.54691/gcstr826

PDF: Download Full Text PDF

Abstract

Traditional industries face distinctive challenges in achieving low-carbon transformation, yet their upgrading pathways remain underexplored compared with those of high-tech and heavy-emitting sectors. This paper addresses this gap by examining the silk industry of Nanchong, a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province officially designated as "China's Silk Capital" (2005) and the "Origin of Silk" (2016). Nanchong possesses the most complete cocoon-silk-textile industry chain in southwestern China, spanning sericulture, reeling, weaving, dyeing, garment manufacturing, and cultural-tourism integration. Drawing on embedded multi-case study methodology (Yin, 2018) and an industry-chain life cycle analytical framework, we select representative enterprises at each major segment of the value chain — Bubisi Organic Agriculture (upstream sericulture), Yiger Textile and Shuncheng Textile (midstream reeling and weaving), Jiafeng Fashion (downstream garment manufacturing), and the Litai Fung Group's eco-standard industrial park in Yilong County — and analyze their low-carbon upgrading strategies across five dimensions: organic raw material substitution, intelligent equipment-based energy conservation, clean production in dyeing and finishing, comprehensive utilization of sericulture by-products (mulberry tea, mulberry fruit, silk protein extraction), and silk cultural-tourism fusion. Our analysis reveals that the silk industry chain possesses an inherent "green endowment" — silk is a natural protein fiber derived from a renewable biological cycle — but that this endowment is unevenly realized across chain segments. Upstream sericulture can function as a net carbon sink when managed organically, while midstream dyeing and finishing remain the principal emission hotspots. We identify a "green sandwich" pattern in which the industry's upstream and downstream segments are relatively amenable to low-carbon upgrading, while the midstream processing segment faces the greatest technical and financial barriers. We propose an integrated upgrading model — the "Silk Green Chain" framework — that combines organic certification, digital lean manufacturing, circular by-product valorization, and cultural branding to achieve simultaneous decarbonization and value-added enhancement. The findings carry implications for traditional industry clusters in developing regions seeking to reconcile heritage preservation with carbon neutrality imperatives.

Keywords: Silk industry; low-carbon upgrading; traditional industry transformation; Nanchong; embedded multi-case study; industry chain life cycle; green manufacturing; China's Silk Capital.

APA Citation: Yuan Yao, Yuan Zhu (2026). The Green Transformation of "China's Silk Capital": A Multi-Dimensional Case Analysis of Low-Carbon Upgrading across Nanchong's Silk Industry Chain. Frontiers in Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(4), 131-147. https://doi.org/10.54691/gcstr826

References

Boschma, R., & Frenken, K. (2011). The emerging empirics of evolutionary economic geography. Journal of Economic Geography, 11(2), 295–307.
Chen, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2023). Evolutionary stages and paths of innovation networks in industrial clusters: Case study of Nanchong silk-spinning garment industry cluster. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15, 1267–1296.
De Marchi, V., Di Maria, E., & Micelli, S. (2013). Environmental strategies, upgrading and competitive advantage in global value chains. Business Strategy and the Environment, 22(1), 62–72.
De Marchi, V., Di Maria, E., Golini, R., & Perri, A. (2019). Nurturing international business research through global value chains literature: A review and discussion of future research opportunities. International Business Review, 29(5), 101708.
European Commission. (2022). EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. Brussels: European Commission.
Grabher, G. (1993). The weakness of strong ties: The lock-in of regional development in the Ruhr area. In G. Grabher (Ed.), The Embedded Firm (pp. 255–277). London: Routledge.
Humphrey, J., & Schmitz, H. (2002). How does insertion in global value chains affect upgrading in industrial clusters? Regional Studies, 36(9), 1017–1027.
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China. (2016). Green Manufacturing Project Implementation Guide (2016–2020). Beijing.
Mol, A. P. J., & Spaargaren, G. (2000). Ecological modernisation theory in debate: A review. Environmental Politics, 9(1), 17–49.
Nanchong Municipal Government. (2021). 14th Five-Year Plan for the Silk, Textile, and Garment Industry of Nanchong. Nanchong.
Nanchong Municipal Government. (2024). Nanchong Carbon Peaking Implementation Plan. Nanchong.
Porter, M. E. (1998). Clusters and the new economics of competition. Harvard Business Review, 76(6), 77–90.
Sichuan Provincial Government. (2022). Sichuan Silk Industry High-Quality Development Action Plan. Chengdu.
State Council of the People's Republic of China. (2021). Action Plan for Carbon Dioxide Peaking Before 2030. Beijing.
UNCTAD. (2023). Sustainability in the textile and garment sector: Key issues and policy options. Geneva: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.