China’s textile-material calendar is easier to use when the buyer starts with the material’s next application. A spinner looking for fibre inputs, an apparel brand developing a seasonal collection, an outdoor company qualifying a breathable laminate, a home-furnishing importer and an industrial buyer sourcing filtration media may all use the word “textile”. They will not find the same suppliers—or ask the same technical questions—at the same fair.
For broad apparel-fabric sourcing, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics is the clearest first reference in this guide. Yarn Expo moves one stage upstream to fibres and yarns. Intertextile Home Textiles serves bedding, curtain, upholstery, contract and other interior applications. Functional Textiles Shanghai offers a smaller, selected performance-material format, while Cinte Techtextil China covers technical textiles and nonwovens across industrial applications. ACLE belongs in this map because leather is an upstream material for footwear, bags, upholstery and other products, but it is a separate supply chain rather than another fabric hall.
The nine event records below represent six fair systems and five practical Shanghai sourcing windows between August 2026 and March 2027. Spring and autumn editions of Intertextile and Yarn Expo are repeat buying opportunities, not different types of fair. Choosing between them is mainly a collection-development and travel-calendar decision.
Nine editions, six distinct material missions
| Fair | Verified dates and city | Distinct role |
|---|---|---|
| Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn 2026 | 18–20 August, Shanghai | Bedding, towels, curtains, sun-protection textiles, upholstery, wall coverings, rugs, contract fabrics and interior-textile accessories |
| Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn 2026 | 25–27 August, Shanghai | Broad apparel fabrics, linings, lace, embroidery, trims, design services and fashion-oriented textile development |
| Yarn Expo Autumn 2026 | 25–27 August, Shanghai | Natural, man-made, functional and lower-impact fibres and yarns before they become finished fabric |
| ACLE 2026 | 1–3 September, Shanghai | Raw and semi-finished hides, finished leather, tanning chemicals and leather-making machinery |
| Cinte Techtextil China 2026 | 1–3 September, Shanghai | Technical textiles, nonwovens, coated materials, composites and textile technologies for industrial applications |
| Functional Textiles Shanghai 2026 | 22–23 September, Shanghai | Selected functional fabrics, yarns, trims and materials for sports, outdoor and athleisure product development |
| Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Spring 2027 | 10–12 March, Shanghai | A spring sourcing window for apparel fabrics and accessories, following the same broad product logic as the autumn edition |
| Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Spring 2027 | 10–12 March, Shanghai | A spring home-textile and interior-material window at the same venue |
| Yarn Expo Spring 2027 | 10–12 March, Shanghai | A spring fibre-and-yarn sourcing window co-located with the two Intertextile editions |
Choose by the point where the material enters the product
The most useful distinction is not “large fair versus small fair”. It is the stage at which the buyer takes responsibility for the material.
| Buyer’s immediate task | Best first candidate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Compare fibres, filament, spun yarn or specialist yarn before fabric construction | Yarn Expo | The fair starts upstream, where composition, count, spinning system and yarn performance can still be specified |
| Develop woven, knitted, coated or decorative fabric for apparel | Intertextile Apparel Fabrics | It offers the broadest apparel-material and accessories reference in this selection |
| Source bedding, curtain, upholstery, contract or other interior textiles | Intertextile Home Textiles | The product structure follows rooms, furnishing applications and interior channels rather than garment collections |
| Find performance materials for sports, outdoor or athleisure development | Functional Textiles Shanghai | Its selected format and Performance Forum support focused work on functional materials and seasonal innovation |
| Source nonwovens or technical textiles for filtration, mobility, construction, healthcare or other industrial uses | Cinte Techtextil China | Suppliers and product groups are organised around technical processes and application areas |
| Source leather, tanning inputs or leather-production technology | ACLE | Leather grades, tannage, hide origin and finishing create a separate qualification process from textile fabric |
These routes can meet at the finished product, but they are not interchangeable upstream. A polyester filament may become a sports fabric; a coated textile may be used in mobility or construction; leather can enter footwear or upholstery. That shared application does not make the underlying supplier checks identical.
Intertextile Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo: one venue, two purchasing levels
The autumn editions of Intertextile Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo share the National Exhibition and Convention Center from 25 to 27 August 2026. The same arrangement returns on 10–12 March 2027 alongside the spring home-textile fair.
This is a genuine complementary route when a product team controls both yarn selection and fabric development. Yarn Expo can help compare fibre origin, blend, count, spinning route, dyeing stage and yarn-level functions. Intertextile takes the discussion into fabric construction, weight, hand feel, colour, finish, trim compatibility and garment application.
An apparel importer buying ready-developed fabric may spend almost all its time at Intertextile. A mill, vertically integrated brand or technical product team may need both. The practical benefit of co-location is not simply seeing more booths; it is tracing whether a claimed fabric property comes from the fibre, yarn construction, fabric structure or finishing process.
For a detailed two-show workflow, see Intertextile Shanghai and Yarn Expo 2026: How to Plan One Textile Sourcing Trip.
Intertextile Home Textiles follows a different product brief
Intertextile Home Textiles deals with a different product environment: bedding, towels, curtains, window systems, upholstery, wall coverings, rugs and contract furnishing. Performance depends on the intended room and channel. Wash durability for hospitality linen, light control for curtains, abrasion for upholstery and flammability requirements for contract interiors create different specifications.
Its autumn 2026 edition runs one week before Intertextile Apparel Fabrics. The spring 2027 editions are more convenient for a mixed team because home textiles, apparel fabrics and yarns all run at the same venue on the same dates. That combination is worthwhile when the company genuinely buys across apparel and interiors, or when a textile group needs shared material work across divisions. Apparel-only teams will usually gain more by using that time for fabric meetings and supplier follow-up.
Functional Textiles Shanghai and Cinte: performance is not one market
The names can appear close, but Functional Textiles Shanghai and Cinte Techtextil China solve different development problems.
Functional Textiles Shanghai is built around selected functional fabrics, yarns, trims and innovation for sports, outdoor and athleisure brands. Its Performance Forum and expert programme make sense for teams comparing next-season materials, comfort, weather protection, stretch, thermal behaviour, moisture management or lower-impact options in a wearable product.
Cinte is broader across technical textile processes and industrial applications. Its scope includes nonwovens, coated textiles, composites, fibres and yarns, textile chemicals and machinery, with applications ranging from mobility and construction to filtration, protection and healthcare. Here the key brief usually starts with an engineering function, operating environment and test method rather than a fashion season.
A workwear or protective-clothing project may have reason to inspect both. An outdoor jacket developer will usually find Functional Textiles the more concentrated first stop; a filtration-media or automotive-interior engineer will find Cinte more direct. Their dates are three weeks apart, so combining them means two Shanghai trips rather than one continuous fair week.
The Cinte Techtextil 2026 Shanghai materials-week guide explains the limited but useful connections between Cinte, ACLE and nearby material events without treating them as substitutes.
ACLE: a separate material chain with selective textile crossover
All China Leather Exhibition runs on the same dates and at the same Shanghai venue as Cinte. Its official scope covers raw hides and skins, semi-finished and finished leather, tanning chemicals, tannery machinery and related services.
The co-location is useful for a footwear, bag, automotive-interior or furniture team comparing leather with coated textiles or other engineered surfaces. The team still needs separate specifications. Leather sourcing may require species and origin, hide selection, tannage, thickness tolerance, usable cutting area, colour consistency and chemical compliance. A textile substitution study may instead compare coating chemistry, backing, lamination, abrasion, hydrolysis and ageing.
The two halls therefore support a material-choice project, not a generic “visit both” recommendation. A nonwoven filtration buyer gains little from the leather route; a tannery or leather-goods manufacturer may spend the full visit at ACLE.
Use the calendar as a development tool
The five practical windows suit different stages of product work:
- 18–20 August 2026: home-textile and interior-material sourcing at Intertextile Home Textiles.
- 25–27 August 2026: the strongest same-venue route for apparel fabrics plus fibres and yarns.
- 1–3 September 2026: technical textiles and leather at one venue, useful only where the material brief genuinely crosses those chains.
- 22–23 September 2026: a concentrated functional-material visit for sports, outdoor and athleisure development.
- 10–12 March 2027: the most efficient multi-division window, with apparel fabrics, home textiles and yarns at the National Exhibition and Convention Center.
Autumn versus spring should follow the company’s design, sampling and order calendar. The later date is not automatically safer: a collection team may miss its development window, while a factory with a mature specification may prefer the next edition to allow more supplier pre-screening. Before booking, check the current exhibitor and hall information because the balance between fibres, fabrics, accessories and international pavilions can change by edition.
Prepare one evidence sheet for each material family
A general supplier form is too weak for this market. The shortlist should record the variables that determine whether a material can enter the product.
- Yarn: fibre composition and source; count, twist and spinning route; dyeing stage; lot consistency; minimum order; and relevant certifications.
- Apparel or home fabric: construction, weight and usable width; the test methods that matter to the application; finish and shade control; and sampling lead time.
- Functional or technical material: named test standards and conditions, representative reports, and the exact layer or treatment responsible for each claim.
- Leather: grading, tannage, thickness tolerance, cutting yield and restricted-substance requirements.
Ask suppliers to send representative data before the meeting. The fair can then be used to compare samples, clarify manufacturing routes and identify what must be tested after the show. A certificate covering one article, colour or production site should not be assumed to cover the proposed order.
Official sources
- Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Autumn — dates, venue and fair profile
- Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Autumn — official planning information
- Yarn Expo Autumn — official facts and figures
- ACLE — official fair scope and 2026 schedule
- Cinte Techtextil China — official facts, product groups and application areas
- Functional Textiles Shanghai — official 2026 event information
- Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Spring — 2027 facts and figures
- Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Spring — 2027 facts and figures
- Yarn Expo Spring — official 2027 information
Information checked on 31 July 2026. Organisers may change halls, admission arrangements, programmes or exhibitor coverage; confirm the current official page before booking travel.