Workers prepare textile products for export to Japan. (Photo: VNA) According to experts in the textile industry, many companies rightnow are facing great difficulty with the high demand for traceabilityof raw materials in multiple parts.
If companies want to trade in markets with whom Vietnamhas signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), they have to ensure that the materialsthat are used to make their products are in line with the FTA environmentalregulations in the importing countries.
Officials of the textile industry are currently working with theMinistry of Industry and Trade to build industrial compounds with wastewatertreatment systems to ensure environmental protection.
Textile companies, especially those who are original designmanufacturers (ODM), should carefully research Vietnam and theimporting countries' traceability rules and standards.
ODMs are those that will be responsible for the directdevelopment of the goods, purchasing raw materials, manufacturing the products,and then selling the products to other brands.
Vo Manh Hung, head representative of Cotton Council International(CCI) in Vietnam, said that cotton traceability is something that every companymust account for when bringing their product to the world.
Currently, there are a lot of brands requesting that all theirproducts have to be produced with sustainable cotton materials by 2030.
Truong Van Cam, Deputy Director of Vietnam Textile and ApparelAssociation (VITAS), said that if the industry wants to sustainably develop,companies will have to invest in sustainable development themselves and bringback economic benefits to the industry.
The industry has significantly contributed to Vietnam’s economicgrowth and exports.
In particular, in the first half of 2022, the industry's exportrevenue reached 22 billion USD, up 23% compared to the same period lastyear.
The textile industry is one of the key manufacturing industries ofVietnam’s economy, accounting for 12-16% of the country’s total exportturnover. This industry also helps to create many jobs forlabourers.
Digital transformation
Digital transformation plays an important role in improving thecompetitiveness of textile and apparel businesses, and businesses need to adoptit, a conference heard in HCM City late last week.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Deputy General Secretary of the VietnamTextile and Apparel Association, said more and more international textile andapparel companies are pursuing green production, which is posing a greatchallenge to Vietnam’s textile industry.
Vietnamese businesses also need to satisfy transparencyrequirements related to origin, domestic material use, labour, and environmentcommitments, she said.
Other experts told the conference that digital transformation isessential for improving businesses’ competitiveness, allowing them to meetcustomers’ demands related to quality and transparency.
Businesses should look at investing in technologies such as artificialintelligence and automation to improve production capability, and in trainingtheir workforce to use them, they said.
However, Mai said: “80% of businesses in the field are small-to medium-sized, and so they have limited access to capital needed for digitaltransformation and green production.”
The conference was held as part of the International Exhibition ofTextile and Garments and Fabric and Garment Accessories (SaigonTex &SaigonFabric) being held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District7 until August 6./.
VNA
