HCMCity (VNA) - The VietnamTextile and Apparel Association (VITAS) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launcheda water risk report for Vietnam’s textile and garment industry and a tool forassessing water risks in the Mekong region in Ho Chi Minh City on November 28.
According to Van Ngoc Thinh, Country Director of WWF, as Vietnam’s textile andgarment industry depends significantly on water and energy for production, it needsto have initiatives to promote its sustainable development, thus contributing tothe national economy and ensuring goals on environment.
The two report and tool are expected to support garment and textile enterprises’development in the future.
The report “Textile and Garment Sector in Vietnam: Water Risks and Solutions”features 12 recommendations of the WWF to boost links among relevant agenciesof the sector while promoting the management and improvement of water resourcesand sustainable energy use.
The textile and garment industry is one of theimportant sectors of Vietnam’s economy and it is also an industry that has highdemand of water, especially for fabric processing and dyeing.
In order to improve the water management and use of the sector, some researchresults indicate that it is necessary to increase investment in wastewatertreatment, and remove difficulties for factories and industrial parks, which donot have enough financial sources for wastewater treatment equipment andtechnologies.
According to VITAS, Vietnam ranks the 4th among textile exporting countries inthe world, after China, India and Bangladesh.
In the first half of 2018, the total export turnover of Vietnam’s textile andgarment industry reached 16.5 billion, up 17 percent over the same period lastyear.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) poured into thesector hit 2.8 billion USD, lifting the accumulated FDI in the industry to 17.5billion USD, with the Republic of Korea; Japan, and China being the biggest investors.-VNA