As global brands impose increasingly stringent requirements on sustainability, social responsibility and clean energy and traceability, green transition, technological innovation, sustainable materials and supply-chain upgrading are becoming essential for Vietnamese garment and textile businesses to retain orders and move further up global value chains.

Garment and textile exports generated 46 billion USD in 2025, with the sector targeting 48 billion USD in 2026.

Green transition becomes competitive requirement

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, garment and textile exports generated 46 billion USD in 2025, with the sector targeting 48 billion USD in 2026. As of August, exports has reached about 26.9 billion USD, up 1.6% year on year.

The result shows the sector remains competitive, but faces growing pressure from production costs, trade policies and new standards on green transition, emissions and circularity.

The global garment and textile market is also changing how suppliers are selected. Alen Wei, CFO of H&M Production China and Southeast Asia, said fashion brands are no longer looking only for commercially capable supply chains, but also for sustainability, innovation, resilience and long-term value creation.

For H&M, products remain central to business decisions, but competitiveness is increasingly seen as a combination of fashion, quality, price and sustainability. Suppliers are expected to continuously improve efficiency, productivity and innovation.

While production capacity, costs and delivery times were once decisive, businesses must now meet requirements covering materials, environment, energy, chemicals, working conditions and responsibility throughout the supply chain.

Emissions reduction is particularly relevant to garment and textile production, an energy- and resource-intensive industry.

According to Alen Wei, H&M and many other fashion brands are pursuing net-zero emissions across their value chains while promoting recycled materials.

At Vietnam International Sourcing 2026, organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City, international garment and textile buyers said Vietnam has established itself as an important global textile manufacturing hub thanks to its production capacity, workforce, economic integration and adaptability.

The next stage requires the sector to shift from primarily being a manufacturing hub to becoming a destination for green, high-tech, circular and high-value production.

Alongside environmental requirements, Vietnamese garment and textile businesses are also affected by international trade-policy changes.

Do Ngoc Hung, Trade Counsellor and head of the Vietnam Trade Office in the US, said US tariff policies applied to many economies would affect consumer purchasing power and importers, potentially reducing the price competitiveness of Vietnamese exports.

Nevertheless, major US suppliers and distributors have yet to plan changes to their sourcing partners, while Vietnam remains a strategic partner for major groups, including in garment and textile, footwear and other labour-intensive industries.

He said this is a positive signal, but also highlights the urgent need to strengthen the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods through factors beyond price.

Businesses need to improve production capacity and increase the use of domestic materials and technologies to generate greater added value while reducing the risk of trade-remedy investigations or allegations of opaque sourcing from third countries.

Transforming the supply chain

In response to market changes, many Vietnamese garment and textile companies have proactively shifted their strategies, treating green transition and innovation as integral to business development rather than merely export requirements.

Nguyen Thi Hong Trang, deputy head of the Research, Development and Investment Division at Corporation 28, international customers have increasingly prioritised green and sustainable products, from materials and energy use to working conditions, she said.

In response, the company has upgraded production capacity and gradually shifted towards greener operations.

Meanwhile, Faslink Vietnam has focused on researching new and recycled materials and applying technology. Tran Hoang Phu Xuan, Director of Faslink Vietnam, said the company has shifted from simply manufacturing products to providing solutions for buyers.

Through recycling solutions, Faslink can cut CO2 emissions by about 59% and water consumption by 47% compared with conventional production processes, Xuan said.

As international brands seek suppliers able to combine price, quality, speed, innovation and sustainability, Vietnam’s garment and textile sector still has significant opportunities.

Experts recommend that the sector move beyond simple processing towards higher-value stages, strengthening design, product development, supply-chain management and control over raw materials.

This should be accompanied by investment in workforce skills, digital technologies, automation, trend forecasting and data management to improve productivity.

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