Domestic apparel firms encouraged to go greener

Vietnamese businesses are facing more challenges due to the competition in foreign markets and technical barriers, especially green standards in manufacturing.

The country's textile and garment exports experienced a 20 per cent on-year decline in the first nine months of 2023, and new regulations and standards around the world will need to be considered for Vietnamese apparel groups to prosper.

For example, while not mandatory, the OEKO-TEX certification is highly regarded in the EU, said Pham Van Viet, deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Garments, Textiles, Embroidery, and Knitwear.

"It guarantees that the textile product is free from harmful substances and produced in an environmentally friendly manner. Therefore, if businesses pursue sustainable development, they need to take into consideration environmentally friendly production processes to meet market demand," he added.

Meanwhile, under its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the EU has started to levy a carbon tax on imports of products made from processes that are not environmentally sustainable or non-green.

"If Vietnamese textile and garment businesses fail to meet the EU's green standards in 2024, they will be subject to an environmental protection tax. At present, only 5-10 per cent of such firms in Ho Chi Minh City fulfill the EU's green standards, which is far too low," Viet said.

In this context, Vietnamese textile and garment firms are actively seeking new technology and machinery at an international exhibition on apparel machinery and industrial equipment (VTG 2023) to meet green requirements. The exhibition is took place over October 25-28, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, and gathered over 830 booths with more than 500 exhibitors from 12 countries and regions.

In addition to showcasing cutting-edge technology, many international exhibitors also presented environmentally friendly chemical dyeing products. Over 20 companies like Insilico, Yorkshire, Vast, and Super Dry hope to bolster the process integrity of Vietnam's textile industry through environmentally friendly dyeing strategies, simplifying compliance with EU standards.

Alongside VTG 2023, other similar events have been held in recent times, including the 21^st International Exhibition of Textile and Garment Accessories and the International Exhibition of Dyeing and Chemicals for the Textile Industry.

Vietnam's garment and textile companies eye sustainable products Companies seek to diversify supply chains to tap into opportunities from a wide range of new-generation free trade agreements and an increasing flow of investments into the local market.

Positives signs for garments and textiles Figures from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that Vietnam’s export value of garments and textiles rose 9.15 per cent to $392 million and 3.2 per cent to $3.2 billion respectively in July.

Garments and textiles sector hoping to exploit 'green' recovery Many garments and textiles firms are focussing their investment on 'greening' their production processes to position themselves for the upcoming recovery period.