HCMC – The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) has proposed a sustainable development program for the textile and garment industry with a proposed budget of VND435.6 billion.

The proposal aims to help the textile and garment industry overcome problems, such as the lack of linkage in the value chain, bottlenecks in dyeing, low-quality human resources, heavy reliance on intermediaries for export, and low efficiency.

Truong Van Cam, vice chairman and general secretary of VITAS, presented this proposal with eight main tasks at the Vietnam Textile Industry’s Traditional Day conference held on March 24 in HCMC.

The first was to closely update information about the Vietnamese textile and garment industry to accurately understand its situation and demands.

The second was researching and applying innovation in green and renewable production technology and materials.

Third, supporting green transformation projects, wastewater and chemical treatment, and renewable energy. Fourth, supporting fashion and eco-design, brand building, and promotion activities.

Fifth, collaborating with foreign partners to train human resources for the production process of raw materials, particularly weaving, dyeing, finishing and sample designing.

Sixth, providing appropriate training sessions for businesses on production management, value chain management and customer management.

Seventh, accelerating the application of new technologies to improve efficiency, productivity and quality.

Eight, enhancing the capacity of training at vocational schools, universities and colleges.

Vu Duc Giang, chairman of VITAS, stated that textile and apparel export turnover in the first two months of 2023 reached only US$5.53 billion, down nearly 20% year-on-year.

Currently, the demand has fallen, while the inventory levels in importing countries have remained high.

Political conflicts, increasing interest rates by the U.S. Fed, inflation, decreasing demand and tighter consumer budgets continue to be significant challenges for the textile and garment industry.