Viet Nam

Although apparel and footwear exports account for approximately 15% of Viet Nam’s GDP, this sector faces critical sustainability challenges, particularly in energy consumption, carbon emissions, and resource efficiency, says a new report.

The lesson of the current US tariffs crisis roiling the trade world is this: you cannot keep relying on one country as your export destination. From now on it has to be ‘US Plus One’.

Perspectives are varied, and it is not an open-and-shut case against US Prez Donald Trump as his political opponents would have us believe. The tariff calculations could be questionable and the unilateral announcement should be decried, but what’s amply clear is this: trade will never be the same again.

The textile-apparel industry in Vietnam requires concerted efforts to develop the necessary workforce skills and capabilities as it aims for sustainable development, green practices, technological innovations and sustained excellence in global exports, says a new report.

A report by the Global Labor Institute warns that if 4 key hubs of garment production fail to make climate adaptation investments, nearly one million new apparel and footwear jobs will be foregone by 2030.

Researchers mapping the supply chain footprint across four production hubs in Global South  reveal that workers and manufacturers face productivity impacts from extreme heat and flooding, and risk foregoing $65 billion in export earnings by 2030—equivalent to a 22% decline.

The Governments of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Viet Nam have joined forces to fight chemical pollution, launching a joint $43-million programme to manage and reduce hazardous chemicals in their textile industries.

The apparel sourcing experience in India is entirely a function of the kind of product one is procuring, and knowing where to get it from. A mismatch can lead to a total washout of the order, while knowledge and experience could totally alter that exercise.

Vietnamese manufacturer Fashion Enterprise could do well during the COVID-19 pandemic—its main buyer Cue not only did not cancel orders, but even paid deposits in advance. Chief Executive Officer Rodney Thanh tells the story of a company where 98% of the workers returned after lockdown.