Organized by China Home Textile Association, The Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd., Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles, one of Asia's most popular home textiles trade shows, returns for its 14th year, 26 -28 August 2008, at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, with 100,000 sqm of exhibition space.

Overseas exhibitors have doubled in number this year. They are coming from 24 countries and regions, such as Italy, France, Germany, UK, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Danmark, U.S., Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Portugal, Israel, HK(China )and Taiwan (China) .

Growth in China's home textile industry - imports and exports - is gaining momentum, creating an enormous opportunity for home textile suppliers. Residential living space in China reached 170 million sqm last year - roughly equal to the entire size of Greece. With all that space to fill, home textile consumption is skyrocketing along with demand for top quality, imported products. Trade buyers in China are eager to find products to match the growing demand for sophisticated and quality furnishings. In 2007, home textile imports to China rose 25%, earning USD 80 million. 

More than 1,000 suppliers will present home textiles from floor to ceiling at Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles 2008. To showcase products more effectively, the show is organised with international suppliers in the main hall divided by product group. Profile for exhibit include bed linen, blankets & bedding, terry & toweling products & bath mat, table and kitchen linen, curtains, curtain accessories, upholstery fabrics & leather textile, wall coverings, carpets & rugs accessories, textile for contract market, fibres/yarns, printing & CAD/CAM/CIM systems, design & styling, trade publications, e-commerce.

A new feature for 2008 will be a special Bedding and Towelling Zone in Hall W1, dedicated to international bedding manufacturers targeting Chinese buyers. So it is fair to say, Home Textiles was defined in a broad sense by Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles

Yang Donghui, president of the China Association of Home Textiles said textile firms, once an export engine of China, are fighting for their survival in 2008 with yuan appreciation, rising costs and dismal overseas market hit by the subprime crisis. Due to what some here call a "global recession in home textiles," the home textile sector has been facing problems of downturn in demand and prices for the last year, even as raw material prices are maintaining their rising trend. Some small mills have shut down, but the bigger players are resisting the situation. So, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles will be especially significant from the manufacture's point of view.

Yang Zhaohua, vice president of The Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT also said China's home textile industry had entered a crucial phase of upgrading instead of simple expansion in quantity. They need to transform the business model, optimize the export product mix, build brands, increase added value, diversify varieties and designs and improve packaging and marketing. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles, as a vane of industrial development, reflect the progress and the orientation of home textile industry, and play an active role in promoting the development of the industry.