A model (right) wearing a facekini swimsuit featuring blue-and-white porcelain and embroidery is pictured at a beach resort in Qingdao city, East China's Shandong Province on Wednesday. Photo: IC
With rising temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere, merchants in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, are seeing a surge in bulk domestic and export orders for sun protection products, ranging from "facekinis" to clothes, the Global Times learned, underscoring the country's manufacturing prowess.
Several merchants in Yiwu told the Global Times on Wednesday that Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia are the sources of many orders, while orders from the US and Europe are falling. Cooling sleeves and sun hats are favored by customers in Europe and the US, while facekinis and sun protection masks are popular in Japan and South Korea.
In China, buyers from coastal regions are placing more orders, with growing requirements for both the appearances and technological content of sun protection products.
In the Yiwu International Trade City in Zhejiang, the number of vendors selling sun protection products has increased by nearly 40 percent this year, news website Cailian Press reported on Wednesday.
Sales of sun-protective clothing, the top-selling item, is up 36 percent in terms of orders and 115 percent in search volumes.
Sales of "facekinis," or full-face masks with holes for the wearer's eyes and nose, have surged, with the number of shops and orders up 26 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
The sun protection market is growing at an annual rate of 9.4 percent, expanding from billions of yuan toward hundreds of billions of yuan, largely thanks to the innovation ability and cost advantage of factories in Yiwu, which is known as China's manufacturing showroom.
For example, the latest version of the hit product "facekini" equips with supportive boning to protect makeup and hyaluronic acid, which is beneficial for skincare, thus making it more attractive for women consumers.
While prices have remained the same, this year's sun protection products have better functions and more stylish designs, merchants from Yiwu told the Global Times. For example, cooling sleeves have evolved into dozens of styles, including versions with exposed fingers for smartphone use and wrist openings for wearing fitness watches during outdoor activities.
Manufacturers in Yiwu also excel in mass production. For example, a merchant in Yiwu told China Central Television that the company's four production lines are able to produce 40,000 to 50,000 facekinis per day, and its sales have jumped nearly 30 percent from last year.
The surge in sun protection products is also due to changing lifestyles, where more Chinese youngsters are embracing outdoor activities.
"In recent years, enthusiasm for travel during holiday periods has surged. For instance, during the May Day and Dragon Boat Festival holidays, many people engaged in outdoor activities, making sun protection a priority," Wang Jinwei, a professor at the School of Tourism Sciences at Beijing International Studies University, told the Global Times onWednesday.
Awareness of sun protection and skincare is rising, and UV protection is now seen as a year-round necessity rather than just a summer concern, according to Wang.
China's sun protection clothing market was valued at 45.9 billion yuan ($6.33 billion) in 2016, increasing to 61.1 billion yuan in 2021, and it is projected to hit 95.8 billion yuan by 2026.
《环球时报》获悉，随着北半球气温上升，中国东部浙江省义乌市的商人看到国内和出口防晒产品的大宗订单激增，从“facekinis”到衣服，突显了该国的制造实力。
义乌的几位商家周三告诉《环球时报》，日本、韩国和东南亚是许多订单的来源，而来自美国和欧洲的订单正在下降。降温袖和遮阳帽在欧美受到顾客的青睐，而面罩和防晒面膜在日本和韩国很受欢迎。
在中国，来自沿海地区的买家下订单越来越多，对防晒产品的外观和技术含量的要求越来越高。
据新闻网站财联新闻周三报道，在浙江义乌国际商贸城，今年销售防晒产品的供应商数量增加了近40%。
最畅销的防晒服的销售额在订单方面增长了36%，在搜索量方面增长了115%。
“facekinis”或带有佩戴者眼睛和鼻子孔的全面罩的销量激增，商店数量和订单数量分别增长了26%和33%。
防晒市场正以每年9.4%的速度增长，从数十亿元扩大到数千亿元，这在很大程度上要归功于义乌工厂的创新能力和成本优势，义乌被称为中国制造业展厅。
例如，最新版的热门产品“facekini”配备了支撑骨架以保护化妆品和透明质酸，这对护肤有益，从而使其对女性消费者更具吸引力。
义乌的商家告诉《环球时报》，虽然价格保持不变，但今年的防晒产品功能更好，设计更时尚。例如，凉爽的袖子已经演变成几十种款式，包括用于智能手机的裸露手指的版本，以及用于在户外活动期间佩戴健身手表的手腕开口版本。
义乌的制造商在大规模生产方面也表现出色。例如，义乌的一位商人告诉中国中央电视台，该公司的四条生产线每天能够生产40,000至50,000个面子，其销售额比去年增长了近30%。
防晒产品的激增也是由于生活方式的改变，越来越多的中国年轻人开始接受户外活动。
“近年来，人们对假期旅行的热情激增。例如，在五一劳动节和端午节假期期间，许多人从事户外活动，将防晒作为优先事项，“北京外国语大学旅游科学学院教授王金伟周三告诉《环球时报》。
Wang表示，人们对防晒和护肤的意识正在提高，紫外线防护现在被视为全年的必需品，而不仅仅是夏季的问题。
2016 年中国防晒服装市场价值 459 亿元人民币（63.3 亿美元），2021 年增至 611 亿元人民币，预计到 2026 年将达到 958 亿元人民币。
