HÀ NỘI — Australia’s The Woolmark Company has organised the first Merino Wool Awareness Day in Hà Nội to highlight the benefits of Merino wool.

The June 22 event drew the participation of hundreds of local and international industry experts, as well as designers, suppliers, and manufacturers in the textile and garment industry.

The event focuses on the benefits of Merino wool and is aimed at providing guidance on how to access and process the fibre in innovative ways as well as giving domestic companies an opportunity to showcase their wool products and connect with more than 80 supply chain brands in Việt Nam.

Participants also have a unique opportunity to learn valuable lessons from experienced experts from leading brands in Việt Nam and across the world such as Canifa, Ivy Moda, and Ffixxed Studios, as well as Designer Textile International (DTI) and Appeal Korea.

“As the global authority on Australian Merino wool, we have been working towards developing a sustainable supply chain in Việt Nam,” John Roberts, The Woolmark Company’s General Manager for the Eastern Hemisphere, said. “Our heritage in wool research and development together with Việt Nam’s solid background in the textile industry make a perfect combination that promises high quality and sustainable ‘Grown in Australia - Made in Vietnam’ wool products, as well as a strengthening partnership between the two economies.”

Việt Nam is considered as a highly valuable potential market thanks to the country’s political and social stability, established textile manufacturing infrastructure, abundance of a skilled and low-cost labour force as well as reliable water and electric supply, and the country’s accessibility to numerous FTAs and cross-border partnerships.

Woolmark has been in the Vietnamese market for five years, witnessing the country’s growing interest in the use of natural fibres and its potential for production of quality wool products as the country’s economic and social environment evolves, Roberts said.

The textile and garment industry has long been Việt Nam’s key economic sector. The industry employs more than 2.7 million people, equivalent to 25 per cent of the industrial workforce, and is the second largest export earner in the manufacturing sector. Accounting for 17 per cent of world apparel exports in 2017, Việt Nam’s textile exports have steadily grown to US$31.1 billion in 2017 from c modest US$1.35 billion in 1998, making the country among the world’s top 5 textile exporters. — VNS