Vietnam has recently become one of the global hubs for clothing & textile manufacturing in Asia beside China and India. This article will indicate the reasons of this phenomenon.

A shift of production from China to Vietnam

Over the past ten years, there has been a recognizable shift in production from China to Vietnam. This shift has been driven by a number of factors as following.

• One of the primary reasons of this shift is the increasing labor costs in China. Since China’s economy has grown and its workforce has developed more skills, wages have risen significantly. This has made the operational cost of manufacturing in China more expensive than before; hence, investors seek for other lower-cost alternatives.
• The trade-war between America and China is another factor pushing this shift. As the tensions between these two countries have escalated, plenty of businesses concern about tariffs and trade restrictions they might be going to face with if their manufacturing still in China. Thus, the neighboring country, Vietnam, is an ideal option to reduce their reliance on China.
• Vietnamese government has recently invested in vocational and training programs to improve the skillfulness of the local workforce. Vietnam has been signing a number of free trade agreements with many countries to offer an attractive location for manufacturing and trading.

Why is Vietnam a good choice for textile & clothing sourcing in Asia?

There are several reasons why Vietnam is a considerable option for textile & clothing sourcing in Asia.

• The strategic location of Vietnam in the world map is the most competitive advantage of its logistics and supply chain management. Located in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has an easy access to primary markets like China, Japan, South Korea, EU, and US. This strategic location helps to facilitate imports and exports throughout the world much more convenient and cost-efficient than other countries.
• With the population of nearly 100 million, Vietnam has a large and relatively qualified young workforce who are able to handle manual and low-to-average level jobs like in textile and apparel manufacturing.
• Vietnam has been trying to attract more foreign investment by offering a wide range of incentives and benefits like low taxes, low labor costs, favorable trade agreements, etc., making this nation an ideal destination for businesses to minimize operational costs.
• The country has significantly developed transportation and logistics infrastructure to support the manufacturing industries. The number of local suppliers of facilities and materials for textile and clothing manufacturing has increased rapidly. Also, most of global shipping and logistics brands have operation here to consolidate the supply chain of textile and apparel in Vietnam.

How to find the best textile & clothing manufacturers in Vietnam?

There are several approaches to find the most appropriate suppliers in Vietnam.

• Search tools like Google can help to introduce most of suppliers in the market. However, not many suppliers can communicate well in English and their online presence (e.g. website, social media) are not highly responsive.
• Tradeshows: This is the place where companies with high credibility and reputation gather to display their capability, thus you can access them at the event easily. However, the number of tradeshows for textile & footwear during a year is just a few in Vietnam. Also, since the majority of participants in the tradeshow are big suppliers, they usually ask for the high minimum quantity of order which is sometimes an obstacle for S&M buyers.
• Associations: Some local textile and footwear associations can help to connect you with local suppliers. However, the responsive rate is quite random and there is no classification of the suppliers which can take you a lot of time to evaluate them.
• Having a professional handle this: A local service provider who has local experience and expertise is capable of sourcing decent suppliers for you. It would be the best if this partner can help to manage the supplier audit, factory verification, quality inspection and testing, which facilitates your procurement in Vietnam. At HQTS, we offer one-stop service from sourcing, supplier audit, factory verification, quality inspection and testing, etc.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Vietnam’s strategic location, skilled workforce, favorable incentives, strong infrastructure, and culture of innovation make it an ideal hub for clothing manufacturing in Asia. However, if you are not familiar with Vietnam market to find a decent supplier, contact us today for professional advice.