On Wednesday, December 01, 2021, Cotton Council International (CCI), with the support from Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), organized the 5th Cotton Day in Vietnam with the theme “Sustainability and Transparency You Can Trust”. Cotton Day is an annual event that provides updated market information and perspectives from the world’s leading experts in textile and fashion industry. The event has been organized successfully throughout Asian countries since 1990s and in Vietnam since 2017. Cotton Day Vietnam 2021 brought valuable insights about key development trends and provide essential solutions that textile and garment companies in Vietnam need to change and adapt to market demands in the post COVID – 19 era.
The event has attracted the attention of major companies in the textile and garment industry in Vietnam after a year full of volatility. 430 industry professionals, in which 93% has some influence on the cotton purchase decision, from 255 companies in various tiers of the textile supply chain had joined this informative two-session online event which covered useful and relevant topics. Among these 255 companies, there are 50 A accounts (88%), 16 B accounts (76%) and 7 C accounts (70%). In total, 83% of ABC account joined Cotton Day Vietnam 2021.
The welcoming speech of Mr. Ricky Clarke, CCI President, started the Cotton Day’s main session. The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam also supported the event with the speech from Mrs. Marie Damour, Chargé d'Affaires for U.S. Mission in Vietnam, highlighting the U.S. and Vietnam relationship especially in cotton, textile and garment industry. Cotton Day continued with the Industry Updates from Mr. Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, summarizing the achievements of the whole industry in the tough 2021 and sharing the strategies for reviving the industry in 2022. The audience got excited when Mr. Steve Dyer, Head of Global Marketing from Louis Dreyfus Company, shared the recent updates of global cotton supply demand and price outlook. Many questions had been raised about the shipment delays, competition from other markets and price trend. Before the break, Mr. Andrew Winston brought the audience away from the current day to day operational problems to look into the future with megatrends in sustainability and with examples of how smart companies create values with sustainability. Mr. Joe Little from TESCO PLC. continued the event after the break with the story of TESCO joining the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and how the program helps them to fulfill their sustainability goals. The last keynote speaker, Mr. Bruce Atherley, CCI Executive Director, shared with the local industry the findings of a recent research study about the demands and needs of global brands and retailers for their supply chains. The main session was ended with the closing remarks from William Hung, CCI Representative in Vietnam.
Two repeated breakout sessions continued right after the main session of the Cotton Day Vietnam 2021. Each session featured four different topics which include:
- The COTTON USA Solutions – Maximize your profits with CCI Profitability Model presented by Mr. Jorge Bauersachs, Senior Technical Director of CCI.
- What’s New with U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol from Ms. Stephanie Thiers-Ratcliffe, European Director of CCI.
- Verifiable Traceability with Oritain presented by Ms. Samantha Boediman, Business Development Manager, Asia Pacific, Oritain.
- Supply Chain Transparency with Textile Genesis from Mr. Amit Gautam, Founder and CEO of Textile Genesis.
Besides the attention of local textile firms, Cotton Day Vietnam 2021 also caught the interest of local medias. There are a total of 70 free articles and television broadcasts featuring the event with the total estimate value of 48,439 USD.
After attending the Cotton Day Vietnam 2021, 94% of participants are satisfied with the overall quality of the event while 99% of them would like to recommend this event to their colleagues. It is also excited to know that majority (95%) of participants think that the quality of U.S. cotton is higher than cottons from other regions and 82% of participants are likely to buy U.S. cotton or U.S. cotton rich products. Majority of the respondents share that they would like to try different offerings from CCI including the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, and COTTON USA Solutions with 59% and 63% respectively. CCI representatives in Vietnam will follow-up with them after the event.