Seeking sustainable development solutions for footwear, garment and textile industries

In the first 6 months of 2025, Vietnam's footwear, garment and textile industries recorded impressive growth of 10.6% for textile and garment and 12% for leather and footwear. However, these economic sectors are still seeking a sustainable direction from raw materials and production accessories to market output.

According to economic experts, despite impressive growth, the textile, garment, and leather-footwear industries are facing difficulties and challenges as tax policies and requirements related to origin and sourcing are becoming increasingly stringent in major markets such as the United States and the European Union (EU), particularly for imports from Vietnam.

Garment production at Dong Tien Joint Stock Company (Amata Industrial Park, Long Binh Ward), one of the famous domestic garment companies nationwide. Illustration photo: Nguyen Hoa

Key industry seeks sustainable direction

According to statistics from the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, in the first 6 months of 2025, the export turnover of the textile and garment industry reached nearly 22 billion USD, an increase of 10.6% compared to the same period in 2024.

Recently, over 40% of Vietnam's textile and garment products have been exported to the US market. Therefore, US tax policies will directly affect textile and garment enterprises. Proactively responding to market fluctuations, the textile and garment industry has focused on human resource training, applying high technology (AI, robots...) in design, and developing new products...

At the Conference between the Prime Minister and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad on the economic diplomacy situation in the first 6 months of 2025 on July 22, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association Truong Van Cam said that Vietnam's textile and garment industry currently exports products to 130 markets worldwide. However, products are still concentrated in a few main markets such as the US, EU, Japan (over 10%), South Korea and China (over 8%), and have not yet exploited many other potential markets.

According to Cam, the "bottleneck" of the textile and garment industry currently is the production of fabric and accessories. The textile and garment industry is striving to attract domestic and foreign investment in this field to proactively supply raw materials and accessories, as well as meet origin standards as stipulated by the free trade agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam has signed and benefited from in terms of tariffs.

For the leather and footwear industry, according to statistics from the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO), in the first 6 months of 2025, the export turnover of the leather and footwear industry reached 14 billion USD, an increase of 12% compared to the same period in 2024. The main export markets are the US and EU.

Sharing about the difficulties of the leather and footwear industry, Vice Chairwoman of LEFASO Phan Thi Thanh Xuan said that the "bottleneck" of Vietnam's leather and footwear industry currently is the issue of raw materials and accessories. Vietnam is still dependent on imported raw materials and accessories or the designation of customers with the model of processing production for foreign partners. To solve this problem, the leather and footwear industry is seeking to self-produce raw materials and accessories in Vietnam. At that time, Vietnamese enterprises will attract orders, creating good momentum for development in the coming period.

Encouraging sustainable development solutions

Currently, LEFASO, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, and the Vietnam Wood Association have the idea of proposing the establishment of an Innovation Center, to build and develop raw materials and accessories for Vietnam's fashion industry (referred to as the Innovation Center). Accordingly, the Innovation Center will solve many problems, diversify supply; develop and innovate in product design, business models...

According to Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, Vietnam's raw material sources currently come not only from China, but also from many other countries around the world (Uzbekistan (leather raw materials), but they do not yet know how to approach Vietnam). Therefore, the Innovation Center will serve as a bridge to various departments.

In Dong Nai, textiles and footwear are key industrial production sectors of the province. In the first 6 months of 2025, the economic growth of the garment and footwear sectors is projected to reach 8-10% compared to the same period in 2024. Most garment and footwear enterprises in Dong Nai operate as subcontractors for foreign partners and are heavily dependent on raw material sources and product consumption markets.

Tran Van Hung, CFO of Bowker Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Ho Chi Minh City), and Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial Accounting Association, shared that Dong Nai has many enterprises in the textile and garment sector. Most garment enterprises operate as subcontractors, producing according to orders from foreign partners and still having to import raw materials. If they could proactively secure domestic raw material sources, enterprises would significantly reduce many types of costs.

Hung believes that to build a sustainable textile and garment industry, it requires the involvement of the Government and relevant ministries and sectors. There must be mechanisms and policies to support and promote garment enterprises in market development, supply sources, and communication strategies to promote brands.

Regarding the proposal from the footwear and textile industries to establish an Innovation Center, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested that the footwear and textile industries, as well as some other economic sectors with large export proportions nationwide, need a strategy for researching and developing designs, packaging, and raw materials. They should limit purchasing and fully utilize domestic raw material supply capacity.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the Government fully agrees with and supports key economic sectors in developing research centers to have a sustainable development strategy, aiming for product diversification and market diversification.

By Ngoc Lien/Translated by V.N-H.T