The Vietnamese leather supply chain needs to invest in sustainability, because the opportunities to intercept the market share that China is losing are present. But to meet the expectations of European and North American customers now requires greater product and process quality. And, in this regard, Italian quality can best assist them in dealing with the upgrade process. This was discussed on July 11 during a talk in the exhibition setting of Shoes & Leather Exhibition (Ho Chi Minh City, July 10-12). Here UNIC – Italian Tanneries represented the value of certifications in risk management, while Assomac (an established partner of Vietnamese manufacturing) of new technologies. UNPAC and AVISA were also present.
What Vietnam needs
In 2023, European customers shifted 20% of production previously outsourced to China to Vietnam, LEFASO (the national reference association) sources explain to the local press. In 2024 the trend is expected to continue, with the transfer of an additional 10% of the quota to Vietnam. Similarly, U.S. customers will have moved to Ho Chi Minh City (by December) one million pairs of shoes previously contracted to the People’s Republic of China. Yet, there is a “but”. It’s no longer enough to offer a value-for-money product to win customers from Europe and North America, because they now demand guarantees of a socially and environmentally sustainable product and a supply chain committed to green practices.
What Italian quality offers
It was Giacomo Zorzi (UNIC) who explained to the audience at Shoes & Leather Exhibition the services of ICEC, the only certification institute in the world specialized exclusively in the leather sector. “A company cannot operate without managing its risks”, he said. “In an increasingly attentive market, the ability to manage risk is no longer just a sign of maturity, but an essential requirement. Risk management cuts across certification schemes, Zorzi claimed, from environmental to consumer safety. ICEC, moreover, has made with its certification schemes “an evolutionary leap” that enables the management of risks not only of tanneries but also “of their client brands”, on issues such as animal welfare, supply chain responsibility and deforestation risk.
Images of the fair from social media
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