October 2025 marked two milestones for our Southeast Asia operations: Dongtian exhibited at the first WOF ASEAN International Eyewear Show in Bangkok, and one week of the same month saw a major industry delegation from China’s lens capital — Danyang — walk through our Thailand factory in person.
WOF ASEAN Bangkok: Southeast Asia’s First Dedicated Eyewear Show
From October 9–11, 2025, the WOF ASEAN International Eyewear Show ran at the IMPACT Exhibition Center in Bangkok — the largest and only professional eyewear expo in the ASEAN region that year, drawing independent retailers, distributors, wholesalers and cross-border e-commerce sellers from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Australia.
Dongtian joined 35 eyewear companies from Wenzhou’s Ouhai district in the region’s first collective showcase of “Ouhai Eyewear.” Our booth presented new seasonal collections across acetate, metal, PC and TR90 frames, plus functional lens options from our own lens workshop.
The timing was deliberate. Southeast Asia is no longer just a production alternative — it is a consumption market with fast-growing optical retail chains. For our wholesale customers in Europe and the Americas, the same show doubled as a sourcing hub: many programs shown in Bangkok can be produced at our Thailand plant with ASEAN origin.
Why ASEAN Buyers Matter for Our Customers
The trade data explains our push into the region. In the first eight months of 2025, exports from our home district to RCEP member countries grew 37.7%, with RCEP-bound shipments now exceeding 18% of the district’s total exports. RCEP tariff reduction has made ASEAN-origin frames increasingly competitive across the region.
For Dongtian’s existing B2B customers, this matters in two ways:
- Regional distribution rights. Buyers who qualify our Thailand-made programs can distribute across ASEAN with preferential RCEP documentation.
- Supply chain resilience. Dual-base production in China and Thailand protects delivery schedules against policy shocks — the subject of our 2026 lead time and supply planning guide.
The Danyang Delegation Visit: Third-Party Validation of Our Thailand Base
On October 11, 2025, a delegation from the Danyang Glasses Association — Danyang produces 75% of China’s and roughly 45% of the world’s lenses — visited the ASEAN (Thailand) eyewear industrial park, accompanied by the president of the Zhejiang Glasses Association.
The delegation toured the park’s completed facilities and reported publicly that Dongtian’s Thailand plant had completed infrastructure construction and entered trial production. For us, the visit served as an external audit of exactly the things buyers care about: workshop layout, cleanliness, equipment condition and production management.
The delegation’s conclusion matched our own thesis: Southeast Asia manufacturing works best as “local production + home-country R&D” — keep design, development and high-value processes at the home base, and build scale production where market access demands it. That is precisely how our Wenzhou headquarters and Thailand plant divide their work.
What This Means for Wholesale Buyers
Three practical takeaways for brands and distributors sourcing from us:
- ASEAN-origin options are real and in production, not announced. Mid-to-high-end programs for brand customers are already running in Thailand.
- Trade show calendar: you can meet us at Canton Fair, MIDO Milan, and ASEAN regional shows — or visit either factory directly.
- Certification and compliance travel with the factory: ISO 9001, CE, FDA and BSCI/SEDEX standards are applied across both bases, as detailed in our eyewear certifications guide.
Plan a Visit or a Quote
If Southeast Asia sourcing is on your 2026 agenda, our team can arrange a Thailand plant tour — with a Wenzhou headquarters visit as a comparison audit. Or skip the flights and start with a quote: MOQ from 300 pairs per order (OEM/ODM, 75–90 days) or 100 pairs ready stock (10–15 days). Contact us through the quote request page.
