The application of CMC in the textile industry primarily involves its use as a textile sizing and printing paste.

1. When used as a textile sizing agent, CMC, due to its stable properties and excellent film-forming ability, exhibits high affinity for cellulose yarns and imparts high strength to the film, reducing "skipping" and "end breakage" phenomena on high-speed looms. The sizing film formed by CMC is water-soluble and biodegradable. As a fabric finishing agent, it can replace traditional starch-based sizing agents, significantly reducing environmental pollution caused by re-sizing and desizing of fabrics.

2. When used as a printing paste, CMC primarily functions as a thickener, emulsifier, and suspending agent. CMC for printing and dyeing does not easily react with reactive dyes; it has good paste formation and storage stability; it exhibits high structural viscosity and excellent water retention, making it suitable for rotary screen, flat screen, and manual printing. Refined CMC has high water solubility, minimal gel formation, high transparency, excellent screen penetration and filtration performance, and stable viscosity. It enhances the hydrophilicity and permeability of dyes, thereby improving the clarity of prints and the adhesion of pigments. With its good rheological properties, CMC is more suitable than sodium alginate for fine pattern printing on hydrophilic fiber textiles. Its actual printing effect is comparable to that of sodium alginate, and it can be used as a substitute or in combination with sodium alginate in printing pastes, also yielding good economic benefits.