We hear from artisan partners again and again that when the women see their work in a global setting, with their names or that of their organization attached, it elevates their self-perception and changes the way they consider their ability to impact their families and communities through their craft.
Overall, the textile industry is a truly global supply chain, with a large degree of synergy needed, and China has also demonstrated it can work with these other textile hubs. Many Southeast Asian manufacturers still depend on imported fabrics and materials from China, linking their export strength to this ongoing upstream dependency—at the fair, this was evidenced by 40% of overseas buyer delegations hailing from Southeast Asia.