A group of Vietnamese textile suppliers to VF Corp and Target Corporation have achieved $15 million savings in water, energy and chemical operating costs over the past 18 months. There are 28 such suppliers, with cut-and-sew, dyeing-and-printing, and garment-washing operations. They collectively invested $9.9 million in resource efficiency measures, achieving a significant return in the process. The suppliers implemented a combination of low cost and more complex factory projects, achieving average water and energy savings of more than 20 per cent, with the highest-achieving factories attaining more than double these average savings.

VF has been working on its supplier improvement program for nearly four years. Target actively works with its suppliers to develop programs that reduce the water and energy use across the supply chain. Vietnam’s textile and apparel sector has set a target of seven per cent growth over 2016.

Currently, Vietnamese garment and textile products are available in 40 countries and territories around the world, with major markets including the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China and the EU.

Vietnam is one of the five largest textile and garment exporters in the world. However, the country is also one of the world’s leading importers of fabrics and materials. The shortage of high-quality materials for production is the biggest barrier to Vietnam’s textile and garment industry, hindering the country from taking advantage of free trade agreements.