Green practices recommended to secure sustainable garment export to Canada

A garment factory in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – An official has advised businessesto adopt green practices to secure sustainable growth in textile and garmentexport to Canada, where Vietnam ranks second among the exporters of such products.

Data of Canada show that Vietnam exported about 1.2 billionUSD worth of textile and garments to the North American market in 2021. The exportgrowth stood at 40.8% during 2018 - 2022. By optimising the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to which bothsides are signatories, the revenue could reach 1.5 billion USD this year.

However, Tran Thu Quynh, Commercial Counsellor and head ofVietnam’s trade office in Canada, said to obtain sustainable export growth,businesses should devise a carbon emission reduction strategy, adopt a circularproduction model, use recyclable materials and clean energy, and practiceenergy efficiency.

They also need to stay updated with new certificate systemsin the industry and comply with buyers’ report requirements, she told theVietnam News Agency.

Tran Thu Quynh, Commercial Counsellor and head of Vietnam’s trade office in Canada, talks to a visitor to Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada. (Photo: VNA)

The official noted the trade office is working to advertise Vietnamesecompanies’ capabilities of sustainable and circular production and introducethe firms with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certificatesto Canadian partners.

Quynh said “greening” is an inevitable trend in the textileand garment industry, forcing businesses in Vietnam to strive for sustainabledevelopment.

Notably, in response to Canada’s demand for supply sourcediversification, India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka have been emerging as strongrivals thanks to their capabilities to manufacture sophisticated products. Thisis another challenge for Vietnamese businesses, she added.

At Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada held at the Toronto Congress Centre onNovember 7 - 9, the pavilion of Vietnam is giving international partners anoverview of the country’s textile and garment industry, which is working toapply environmentally friendly technology. It is also encouraging major brandsof North America to pay attention to CPTPP-created chances for boosting connectivityin production and supply chains with Vietnam.

Alsoat this event, the largest of its kind in North America, the trade office ofVietnam had a meeting with the head of the Canadian Apparel Federation todiscuss cooperation orientations in the industry.

Thanks to complete reopening, Canada’s demand for textile andgarment imports has strongly bounced back. Insiders held that there remainsrelatively much room for Vietnam to increase exports to this market despiteconsiderable competition pressure./.

VNA