EU Ecodesign Regulations Increase Green Pressure on Vietnam’s Textile and Garment Supply Chain

Vietnam’s textile and garment industry is facing a fundamental change in the way it approaches the European market. Environmental requirements are no longer focused only on wastewater treatment, energy use, or factory emissions reporting. With the new legal framework on ecodesign for sustainable products, factors such as durability, repairability, recycled material content, recyclability, and product life-cycle data may increasingly have a direct impact on how goods enter the EU market.

This is a significant issue for Vietnam because many domestic companies participate in the supply chains of international brands through contract manufacturing. A company may not sell products under its own brand directly in Europe, but it may still have to provide data, materials, and production processes that meet customer requirements. As environmental responsibility is distributed throughout the supply chain, a factory’s capabilities will no longer be assessed solely on production costs, sewing quality, and delivery times.

From Brand Standards to Market Requirements

The European Union published its EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles in 2022. The strategy places the textile industry within a broader program aimed at reducing the environmental impact of products, extending their useful life, and promoting a circular economy. In the same direction, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 establishing a framework for ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, commonly referred to as the ESPR, provides the legal basis for the EU to introduce requirements for specific product groups.

The ESPR is not a single set of criteria that immediately applies to every textile product. It is a legal framework that allows the EU to develop specific requirements through subsequent implementing acts. Therefore, businesses should not assume that all detailed requirements for each type of garment became effective at the same time as the framework regulation was adopted.

However, the policy direction is already quite clear: products are assessed throughout their entire life cycle, from design, material selection, production, distribution, and use to repair, reuse, and treatment after disposal. This is changing how importers and brands assess suppliers. A product’s environmental profile may become part of its commercial capability, rather than merely documentation used for internal inspections.

Digital Product Passports Will Increase Demand for Data

An important element of the EU’s ecodesign framework is the move toward Digital Product Passports. Depending on the product group and specific implementing rules, these passports may contain information related to the product, materials, origin, environmental performance, and end-of-life treatment options.

For textile and garment companies, the challenge is not simply creating a single data code. The larger issue is organizing an information system that covers the entire process, from incoming raw materials to finished products. A product may use blended yarns, dyes, accessories, and packaging from multiple suppliers. If each party stores data differently, garment manufacturers will find it difficult to accurately demonstrate the product’s composition, origin, or recyclability.

Data digitization also creates a need for consistency. Information on material certificates, purchasing records, production management systems, and documents sent to customers must be cross-checkable. General claims such as “green,” “environmentally friendly,” or “recyclable” will have limited value if they are not accompanied by appropriate verification methods and data.

What Vietnamese Textile and Garment Companies Need to Prepare

For factories producing export goods, the immediate impact will likely come from the requirements of brands and buyers. These parties often establish their own criteria covering materials, chemicals, emissions, water, energy, labor, and traceability. As EU policy continues to move toward sustainable and circular products, contractual criteria may be expanded or require more detailed evidence.

Controlling Raw Materials and Fiber Composition

Identifying fiber composition is the foundation for many subsequent environmental requirements. A product made from a single type of fiber is often treated differently at the end of its life from a product made from multiple blended fibers. Recycled materials must also be distinguished between pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled sources, depending on the definitions and certification systems applied by the customer.

Businesses therefore need to develop a raw-material catalog containing clearer information on composition, suppliers, certifications, and scope of use. For materials carrying claims about recycled or sustainable origins, supporting records must be retained and linked to each order, product code, or production batch. This work may increase management costs, but it can also reduce risks when customers request unannounced inspections.

Product Design and the Ability to Extend Useful Life

Ecodesign is not simply a matter of replacing one type of fiber with a fiber labeled “sustainable.” Physical durability, colorfastness, ease of repair, and the ability to separate components may also affect a product’s life cycle. A product that wears out quickly or is difficult to repair will be poorly suited to the goal of extending its useful life, even if its initial material has a high recycled content.

This is an area that requires coordination between a brand’s design department and its manufacturers. Factories need to be able to provide data on seam strength, colorfastness, shrinkage, and relevant tests according to customer requirements. For Vietnamese companies, participating early in sample development may create additional opportunities to move beyond simple contract manufacturing toward providing higher-value production solutions.

Digitizing Records Instead of Managing Them in Isolation

Many companies already use software for order management, quality management, or production monitoring. However, these systems are not always connected to environmental and supply-chain data. A practical preparation step is to map the data: what information is created during yarn purchasing, what information arises during dyeing and finishing, and what data belongs to sewing, packaging, and transportation.

Businesses also need to determine who is responsible for validating each group of information. If data has no owner, updates are easily neglected or become dependent on a few employees. As traceability requirements increase, data management should be treated as an operational function, not merely an information technology responsibility.

Recycled Materials Create Opportunities but Do Not Eliminate Risks

The EU’s promotion of the circular economy could create additional markets for recycled yarns, recycled fabrics, and textile sorting, recovery, and recycling services. Vietnam has a large textile and garment manufacturing base, a supporting-business network, and export experience, giving it an opportunity to participate more deeply in material segments that meet international brand requirements.

However, expanding the use of recycled materials is not simply a matter of increasing the proportion of recycled fibers in a product. Companies must control consistent quality, supply, color uniformity, and compliance with chemical safety standards. If recycled materials have inconsistent quality, defect rates or processing times may increase, reducing the cost advantage.

For textile and garment products, recycling also faces challenges arising from material structures. Blended fabrics, accessories, coatings, zippers, buttons, and other components can make sorting, separation, and recycling more complex. Therefore, design for recyclability needs to be considered from the outset, rather than addressing the product only after it has become waste.

Businesses should not make environmental claims that go beyond what their data can demonstrate. An unsupported claim can create legal risks, risks to the brand, and the risk of losing customer trust. A cautious approach is to clearly describe the type of material, the proportion used, the verification standard, and the limitations of the claim.

Impact on the Competitiveness of Vietnamese Suppliers

In the short term, the new requirements may increase investment costs for data systems, testing, certification, and training. Small businesses may face greater difficulties because they lack dedicated staff or the budget for complex management systems. These costs are particularly significant in a context where buyers continue to exert pressure on prices and delivery times.

Nevertheless, if companies view this only as a compliance burden, they may miss a competitive opportunity. When brands need to reduce the number of suppliers and prioritize partners capable of demonstrating data, factories that have standardized their processes may receive higher evaluations. The ability to provide information quickly, accurately, and consistently may become a factor that helps maintain orders in high-requirement segments.

This also highlights the role of industry linkages. A garment company will struggle to resolve the entire issue on its own if yarn, weaving, dyeing, and accessories suppliers do not share compatible data. Industry associations, technology providers, testing laboratories, and training institutions can help businesses develop common criteria, provide guidance on evidence storage, and improve their ability to assess product life cycles.

Businesses Should Not Wait Until Requirements Become Mandatory

Because the ESPR is a legal framework and detailed requirements are developed for individual product groups, businesses need to monitor implementing acts rather than mechanically applying a single list of criteria. However, waiting until customers issue mandatory requirements before preparing will reduce the time available to respond.

A suitable roadmap could begin by identifying product lines exported to the EU, compiling lists of materials and suppliers, reviewing existing data, and then testing traceability on several product codes. Businesses should also distinguish between data required by law, data required by brands, and data used for internal management purposes. This classification helps prevent scattered investment while still creating a foundation for future expansion.

Supply Chains Will Compete on the Ability to Prove

The EU’s policy direction shows that competition in the textile and garment industry is shifting from the question of “who can produce at a lower price” to “who can prove how a product was made.” Cost and delivery capabilities remain important, but data on materials, processes, and life cycles will increasingly be part of purchasing decisions.

For Vietnam, this is a source of pressure but also a driver for upgrading the industry. Investments in energy efficiency, water treatment, controlled materials, more durable design, and traceability systems will have greater value if they are connected into a unified process. Conversely, green projects limited to individual equipment or certifications will struggle to create a lasting advantage if companies cannot link their results to each product and each order.

In the coming period, textile and garment companies need to monitor three layers of requirements simultaneously: legal regulations in import markets, individual brand standards, and the data capabilities of their own supply chains. Early preparation does not guarantee that every order will increase, but it can help businesses reduce the risk of being excluded from supply chains as sustainability criteria become more common commercial conditions.