Llocal authorities in Vietnam have, lately, expressed strong concerns over some of the latest apparel and textile projects, especially those pertaining to dyeing. In fact, several areas and provinces in the country have vehemently refused to take up any project that has an investment of $100 million or more to avoid any kind of damage to the environment. Among the major cities that have rejected textile investments projects in recent times are Hanoi, Da Nang and Dong Nai.

Statistics show that over 90 per cent of foreign direct investment (FDI) in textile sector is today restricted to only apparel-only production projects (8.3 per cent of capital is used for textile and dyeing factories). With lack of adequate capacity and resources to handle dyeing projects, apparel-only projects are the ones that are getting green signal. If Provincial government continues refusing textile and dyeing projects, Vietnam will have to keep outsourcing dyeing projects for foreign partners, because it does not have fiber and fabric for export.