AMSTERDAM & HONG KONG & OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 17, 2025--
Issued today, the “ Vietnam Country Report: Macroeconomic, Socioeconomic, and Industry Analysis ” report, developed by Cascale with support from the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), highlights the evolving macroeconomic landscape, sustainability challenges facing apparel and footwear manufacturing, and the rapid expansion of the consumer goods market in Vietnam. A strong economic outlook coupled with bold sustainability initiatives reveals a country poised to play a crucial role in global decarbonization efforts, even as tariffs threaten to put 5.5% of Vietnam's GDP at risk and raise prices for American consumers ( New York Times, April 6). Tariffs and other key topics impacting Vietnam will be on the agenda at the Cascale Forum: Ho Chi Minh City on May 14-15, as Cascale members and non-members alike – including manufacturers, leading brands, service providers, and supply chain partners – come together for an immersive event to address urgent sustainability challenges and opportunities.
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The report includes critical analysis of data from Cascale’s Higg Facility Environment Module (FEM) tool, exclusively available on Worldly. It is the first in a series of actionable reports filtering Higg FEM insights through a regional lens.
In 2023, over 1,200 verified Higg FEM submissions showed coal exacerbates carbon emissions in the region: 12% of apparel and footwear facilities use coal for energy, while 94% rely on electricity purchased from Vietnam’s coal-dependent grid. Although renewable energy accounts for less than 2% of the sector’s energy use, the analysis underscores opportunities for transformation to a low-carbon economy, including through the Industry Decarbonization Roadmap (IDR) developed by Cascale and Aii.
The report shows Vietnam can couple growth with sustainable manufacturing. Vietnam’s economy is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2025, outpacing regional peers. The manufacturing sector continues to be a key driver, contributing 23.88% to GDP in 2023. Additionally, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) remains robust, reaching US$31.4 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, signaling investor confidence in Vietnam’s economic resilience. Employing around three million workers and generating an estimated US$71 billion in export revenues for 2024, the apparel and footwear sector is a vital component of Vietnam’s economy but faces significant sustainability challenges, including high energy consumption and carbon emissions. With commitments in place for a 65-70% increase in renewable energy by 2045 – reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a projected 70-80% – Vietnam is committed to supply chain decarbonization, in line with the IDR.
The report brings Cascale and Aii’s IDR into focus as a potential solution. By uniting manufacturers, brands, retailers, and stakeholders around shared goals, the IDR emphasizes collective accountability and pre-competitive collaboration to accelerate systemic change across the supply chain. With a science-based target of reducing supply chain emissions by 45% by 2030, the IDR drives measurable progress through various interventions, solutions, and programs. The IDR ensures resources are targeted, so low-carbon sourcing and other benefits can be realized. This means prioritizing action in the 10% of facilities across the textile and apparel supply chain – including some in Vietnam – that account for over 80% of global manufacturing emissions. By aligning with these initiatives, facilities in Vietnam can play a pivotal role in the global transition to a low-carbon economy.
“This isn’t merely about compliance—it’s about long-term competitiveness,” said Colin Browne, Cascale CEO. “Brands increasingly prefer suppliers who meet robust sustainability standards. Manufacturers investing in sustainability today will secure long-term brand partnerships tomorrow.”
ABOUT CASCALE
Cascale is the global nonprofit alliance empowering collaboration to drive equitable and restorative business practices in the consumer goods industry. Formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cascale owns and develops the Higg Index, which is exclusively available on Worldly, the most comprehensive sustainability data and insights platform. Cascale unites over 300 retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics, and NGO/nonprofit affiliates around the globe through one singular vision: To catalyze impact at scale and give back more than we take to the planet and its people.
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Cascale issues "Vietnam Country Report: Macroeconomic, Socioeconomic, and Industry Analysis" report.
CHICAGO (AP) — The town of Newport, Maine, has a population of about 3,200 people. There's a bowling alley, a popular local diner that serves breakfast all day, a hunting club and it costs only $6 to license your dog.
It is a quintessential small New England town. It is not known for developing NBA stars.
Cooper Flagg was undeterred.
Flagg played his lone college year at Duke, finished high school in Florida at Montverde Academy and presumably will soon be moving to Dallas to play for the Mavericks, the team that has the No. 1 pick in next month's NBA draft. But he's still just an 18-year-old from Maine, a small-town kid who says “please” and “thank you” and seems completely unphased by being labeled basketball's next big thing.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from," Flagg said Wednesday at the draft combine. “If you have a goal, if you have a dream and you put your mind to it ... I mean, honestly, for me it wasn’t real until I was in high school, but I always loved the game of basketball. I always put the work in. I always wanted to be the best that I could be.”
The only player who lists Maine as his birthplace and played in the NBA this season is Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson. There are a couple of players — current Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle among them — who went to the NBA after spending at least some of their college career at the University of Maine. But the basketball history, at least at the NBA level, of the Pine Tree State isn't exactly rich.
Flagg — who should be a high school senior right now in Newport, then decided to reclassify and go to college early — could soon change that.
“I'm so proud of this guy, what he’s done,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said last month at the Final Four. “I have to remind myself it’s a year early. He should be graduating high school now. To have the season that he’s had, I think the stats speak for itself. I think how hard he plays, the highlights, all those things speaks for itself. But it’s the person he is every day.”
Flagg is starting to settle into his new reality.
He's been considered the presumptive No. 1 pick in next month's NBA draft for some time and now knows that pick is held by the Mavericks — winners of the draft lottery earlier this week. Flagg was at the lottery along with a handful of other draft picks, all of whom met NBA Commissioner Adam Silver briefly before the event started.
It's a rare Texas two-step of No. 1 picks for Dallas. The Dallas Wings had the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft last month and took UConn's Paige Bueckers, and now the Mavericks will follow as holders of a No. 1 pick.
This one-city, two-No. 1-picks double has happened only once before — 2003, when the Cleveland Rockers chose LaToya Thomas and the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted LeBron James two months later.
“I’m grateful to get this opportunity, any opportunity to any team, to be able to hear my name called on draft night and shake Adam Silver’s hand,” Flagg said. "I’m just really excited for this whole opportunity. The environment, just go through this process, not everybody gets to do this, so I just feel really blessed.”
In Dallas, Flagg could join a roster with fellow former Duke players Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II — and be part of a new chapter for the Mavericks, who saw their fan base rocked in February by the decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“As far as Dallas goes, they’ve got a lot of really good pieces," Flagg said. "D-Live, coming from Duke, that’s pretty cool. So I think it would be a really cool opportunity.”
Flagg has gone through the rigors of the draft combine this week, getting height, weight, vertical leap and various sizes measured, along with hitting the court for some shooting, agility and speed drills.
He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season. He shot 48% from the field, 39% from 3-point range, 84% from the foul line and was The Associated Press’ national player of the year.
He's done Duke, and Montverde, and Maine proud. He has no plans on stopping now.
“Growing up in Maine, there’s people that told me I would never be able to make it to the next level or play Division I basketball because I’m from Maine and nobody plays up there," Flagg said. "I think just that message of ‘it doesn’t matter where you’re from,' as long as you work hard and trust yourself and trust your ability, then you can really accomplish anything.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Khaman Maluach, left, and Cooper Flagg warm up on the court at the 2025 NBA basketball draft combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Khaman Maluach, from rear left, and Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Tre Johnson participate in the 2025 NBA basketball draft combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Cooper Flagg participates at the 2025 NBA basketball draft combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Cooper Flagg (51), Khaman Maluach (14) and Ace Bailey (21) participate at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Cooper Flagg participates at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
