In a bid to make textile and garment industry in Vietnam ‘greener’, World Wide Fund for Nature, an international non-governmental organisation, has partnered with Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). Both the associations will work in a collaborative manner to introduce environment-friendly methodologies to the industry.
Markedly, the initiative is the part of the ‘Driving Impact Reduction through the Textiles Value Chain” project sponsored by HSBC, which is already lending support to China, Bangladesh and India to make their respective industries sustainable. The project in Vietnam will be executed from 2018 to 2020.
The apparel trade association, VITAS, believes that making the Vietnam garment sector greener by improving water management and energy sustainability aspects will help engage manifold players to endorse enhanced river basin management.
It is pertinent to mention here that there are around 6,000 garment manufacturing units in Vietnam, and the sector solely contributes 15 percent of the country’s exports.
However, water extraction, use and discharge of wastewater and high energy consumption for water heating and steam generation has started to impact the industry.
“Vietnam is the fifth largest exporter of apparel in the world, but our industry is more famous for low-cost production with limited environmental standards and we must change now. That is why this project is so important and timely,” said Vũ Đức Giang, Chairman, VITAS.
The ultimate aim is to bring social, economic and conservation benefits to the country by improving water and energy sustainability in the garment and textile sector, besides influencing Vietnamese manufacturer to implement more sustainable production practices.
