February 8, 2025

VIETNAM, August 27 – HÀ NỘI — Sustainability and circularity is an inevitable path that Vietnamese textiles must follow, according to Trương Văn Cẩm, general secretary of the Việt Nam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

Cẩm spoke at the seminar “Promoting circularity in Vietnamese textiles” on Friday.

He said that a booming textile industry has become a thing of the past. The industry has shifted its focus from rapid growth to sustainable growth. It is expected to grow about 6 percent from 2022 to 2030 and achieve circularity between 2030 to 2045.

He also emphasized the PPP (Profit-People-Planet) of VITAS as a suitable model for textile companies to go green. Under the model, companies must operate profitably and, at the same time, improve the living conditions of workers and embrace green production.

The general secretary urged textile companies to keep themselves informed about circularity so as not to lag behind the global green path. He also called on companies to weigh the costs and benefits of the green transition to develop the best strategies for themselves, avoiding stories that are green at all costs.

Saskia Anders, director of the GIZ Fabric Asia Programme, revealed that the European Commission passed its strategy for sustainable and circular fabrics this year.

Up to 16 regulations and other policy measures are planned to make textile products entering the European market more sustainable, renewable, reusable and recyclable by 2030.

“There is a great dependence between the first stages of product development and the end of its life. Therefore, the effort must be collaborative and the responsibility must be shared,” he said.

Nguyễn Thế Chinh, former head of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, defines the circular economy as an economic model that allows efficient use of materials, longer product life, lower production waste and less impact on the environment.

He said that the Government has always put circularity high on its agenda and aims to encourage the reuse and recycling of production waste. He also said that Vietnamese companies can learn from German companies in this regard to operate more circularly.

“In Germany, many companies reclaim CO2 from their factory emissions to sell it as input to other companies,” he said.

Cao Minh Ngọc, director of RTS Việt Nam Technology Solutions and Resources, emphasized four factors that pose a serious threat to Việt Nam’s water security, namely climate change, increasing sea ​​level, drought and flooding.

An average of 30,000 cubic meters of used water goes through a treatment plant and is released into the environment every day in industrial parks. However, he said the practice of pumping treated water into the environment is a waste of resources.

“The treated water can be pumped to other factories for reuse as long as the water meets the 01/2018/BYT standard issued by the Ministry of Health,” he said.

He also stated that companies involved in the reuse of treated water will be given Green Certificates, which will help them enter international markets more quickly.

Trần Hoàng Phú Xuân, director of the fashion firm Faslink, stated that two million cups of coffee are drunk every day and the decay of untreated coffee grounds releases a large amount of methane, a greenhouse gas.

His company embraces circularity by recycling coffee grounds into coffee-derived threads, which are later used to make T-shirts. The fibers provide five times the UV protection and three times the odor control of cotton. — VNS

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