What must textile enterprises do to meet the new EU regulations?

EU is a difficult market

The EU is Vietnam's second largest garment export market after the United States and is a high-class, fastidious market with high requirements for quality, strict regulations on labor and environment. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) with the tax rate gradually reduced to 0% within 7 years after it comes into effect is an advantage that helps Vietnam's textile and garment increase competitiveness with competitors.

Information from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the EU's textile waste is increasing. Every year, EU people throw away 5.8 million tons of textiles, an average of about 11.3kg/person. Most of these textiles will be burned, buried or exported as second-hand clothing. Therefore, the EU launched a trend-setting campaign, addressing all actors in the apparel industry: Designers, brands, retailers, end consumers and garment manufacturers in the and outside Europe.

The campaign's goal is that by 2030, textile products entering the EU market have a long life and are recyclable, made mainly from recycled fibres, free of harmful substances and manufactured meet social and environmental rights. Producers are responsible for their products along the value chain, even when they become waste. The circular textile ecosystem is thriving, fueled by innovative yarn-to-fiber recycling capabilities, while burning and landfilling of textiles are kept to a minimum.

Vietnam's textile, garment and footwear are two of the products and goods with relatively high export growth to the EU market over the past time, thanks to tax incentives from the EVFTA Agreement. Therefore, textile and garment enterprises should pay special attention to market changes.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Quan - Trade Counselor, Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and the EU informed that the EU has set out a new strategy for the textile and garment industry by introducing new legal measures to increase circularity, including: new directives regarding product durability and repair rights.

With that, the EU is also considering introducing EPR (extended manufacturer's liability) across the EU for apparel. This holds businesses accountable for how their products are handled, recycled or repaired.

In the EU, textiles and apparel are destined for the ultimate goal of not landfilling, but recycling. In April 2023, the Ministerial Conference of the EU countries approved the regulation on Ecodesign (ecodesign). Currently, the EU Textile and Apparel Association is implementing a lot of activities related to Ecodesign.

On the other hand, the garment industry in particular and the textile industry in general in the EU are greatly affected by duediligent (in-depth appraisal), which includes assessment of environmental, labor and human rights factors.

Therefore, the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and the EU is concerned that, when EPR and other regulations are applied, it is worrisome that it is difficult for Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises to export products with their own brands. . The reason is that the EU requires brands to build a chain of stores to purchase and repair products. Meanwhile, Vietnamese enterprises currently mainly process for EU brands, EU enterprises are responsible for EPR-related activities.

However, according to Mr. Tran Ngoc Quan, the EVFTA agreement helps Vietnam's textile, footwear, and wooden products industries increase exports to the EU. To take advantage of these advantages, meeting the rules of origin is very important. On the other hand, the EU is strongly shifting to a circular economy, domestic enterprises need to transform because when the regulations come into force, it will strongly affect their exports.

Businesses are forced to convert

According to experts, in the coming time, Vietnamese textile and footwear enterprises need to research and innovate according to the above trends and regulations; at the same time, take shortcuts, anticipate trends to successfully break through.

However, before the EU's moves with textiles, many domestic people are very worried. Mr. Than Duc Viet - General Director of Garment 10 Corporation said that at present, many customers ask that Garment 10 must use materials of natural origin, recycled materials so as not to exploit many resources. and after use, only 5-10 years self-decomposition.

Mr. Truong Van Cam - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association said that even EU importers do not know how to implement these regulations. Because an EU importer has many suppliers, they do not know how to control the manufacturers.

Mr. Truong Van Cam said that Vietnam's textile and garment industry is a large open industry, 85% of production capacity is for export. Changes in the world market will have a great impact on the industry. Therefore, businesses need market information, policy.

Source: baotintuc.vn