| Opportunities for the footwear industry to increase export market share to Canada What should the footwear industry do to better take advantage of opportunities from the UKVFTA? |
Sustainable development in the footwear industry is becoming an inevitable requirement due to the growing awareness of environmental issues and consumer demand for environmentally friendly products.
This shows that the supply chain has changed and the challenge is what Vietnamese export enterprises need to prepare to comply with new regulations and participate in sustainable supply chains? How to minimize carbon emissions in the production process of footwear factories towards zero-waste production to meet ESG and corporate sustainability reporting.
To support businesses in updating information and instructions, effectively implementing new policies, the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso) in collaboration with IDH Organization organized the Workshop "Training to update information on new EU policies for leather and footwear products imported into the EU market".
 |
| Workshop "Training to update information on new EU policies on leather and footwear products imported into the EU market" |
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Ms. Phan Thi Thanh Xuan - Vice President and General Secretary of Lefaso said: Trade policies in major export markets of the footwear industry are changing rapidly. If in the past, sustainable development activities were mainly initiated by customers and were encouraged, today they have been legalized through policies issued by the Governments of major footwear importing countries such as the US and EU.
“ We understand that this is a big challenge for footwear and handbag factories today. Therefore, today's workshop is organized to share knowledge and practical experience to help businesses update information, learn and better prepare for the next stage ,” said Ms. Phan Thi Thanh Xuan.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy - Senior Manager of Sustainable Development Program, IDH Organization also shared: IDH is a Dutch organization, operating in 40 countries with the mission of supporting businesses in Vietnam's strong fields to export more effectively. IDH is cooperating with the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association and Lefaso to prepare to carry out many useful activities.
" IDH commits that during this time and in the medium and long term, the organization will commit to the footwear industry to have specific, long-term and strategic technical support activities ," the representative of IDH Organization affirmed.
Sharing at the workshop, Mr. Gerwin Leppink - Expert from Wrap organization commented: Nowadays, to successfully export to the US and EU, compliance with regulations of customs, environmental protection, social responsibility... is mandatory. This affects both buyers (distributors in the host country) and suppliers of goods (exporting enterprises). In which, buyers must prove responsible sourcing and compliance with new laws. Suppliers are responsible to the distributor in proving that their factories are safe, their workers are treated in accordance with international standards, local laws and buyer requirements.
“ Suppliers can lose orders if they don’t comply with regulations, and buyers can have their goods seized or their shipments rejected by authorities if there are allegations of worker mistreatment ,” said Gerwin Leppink.
From this reality, Mr. Gerwin Leppink recommends: Competition has shifted from individual companies to the entire supply chain, requiring buyers and suppliers to work together to comply with the laws and regulations that customers expect. He also emphasizes that competition is based on value, not on the lowest cost.
Wrap representatives also recommend that manufacturing and exporting businesses on the buying side now focus more on supply chain risk management and resilience. They also shift to bilateral and multilateral sourcing strategies; at the same time, they value sustainability, compliance, transparency, traceability and supply chain flexibility.
Also at the workshop, many contents related to sustainable development were informed in depth to enterprises in the footwear industry such as: Laws on enterprise appraisal in the supply chain of the Federal Republic of Germany; practical experiences in the field of human rights and environmental protection of Adidas shoe company; solutions to reduce carbon emissions in the production process of footwear factories towards zero-waste production...
Source link
Comment (0)