A Shenzhen-based company called Freeborders has become the first in China to be honored by Forbes magazine for excellence in outsourcing. The 2006 Outsourcing Excellence Awards will be held in New York on July 26, and Freeborders has won its award in a category for collaboration with European companies.

The company’s trading platform, fastextile.com, allows textile mills to market their fabrics directly to garment vendors, brands and retailers. When it was launched in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, over 700 brand and retail companies registered in the first five weeks. It currently connects over 600 textile manufacturers in 40 countries to over 1,000 brands and retailers worldwide.