1) Environmentally-friendly fabrics & Why ethnic fashion is

sustainable
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wON9LBPBnCTp4dTY
DV-8CMbjSOIsaZzugN8sZnqpNNA/edit?usp=sharing
(source: fabric for fashion the complete guide page 137, page 168, page
169, papge 172, page 177)

2) Vietnamese ethnic fashion is fading:

“In many places, traditional cultures are fading,” Réhahn says. “Around 10 of
the 49 groups in Vietnam that I’ve met can’t even make their traditional
costumes any more, and many villages don’t even have one. Elders are
worried about seeing their culture disappearing, but I often meet young
people who don’t care at all about their traditions. They use a phone and
Facebook from a very young age.”
“After waiting three years for permission, meeting the Ro Mam was definitely my
most intense and unbeatable experience. There are now only 12 traditional
costumes left.”
(https://timemark.vn/en/travel-news/haunting-portraits-of-vietnams-
disappearing-tribes-french-photographer-documents-a-way-of-life-that-is-
dying-out.html)
- In May 2016, Réhahn had the chance to meet the Brau ethnic group in Kon
Tum Province, only to find out that there are only 397 Brau left in the
country and not one person living in the village is able to make the
traditional costumes anymore.
(http://www.ringotravel.com.vn/travel-tips/the-beautiful-cultural-legacy-of-
vietnam-s-fading-ethnic-minority-groups/120)
)
3) Why Vietnamese local brands are unsustainable

- A Hongkong apparel and textile company, / Smart Shirts, was fined 138
million VND (5800 USD) for excessively and repeatedly releasing
poisonous chemical wastes into the environment (Ngoan 2019). However,
not all companies are penalized for their environmental damages for some
reasons. Chau Giang textile company, for example, contaminated the air
with incinerated wastes, but was strangely ignored by the authorities (Doan
2019).
- Unlike many other countries in the world, retail businesses and
supermarkets in Vietnam offer free plastic bags to all buyers. As a result,
the amount of plastic wastes is unimaginable. Typically, 35 plastic bags are
 consumed per week by a household and for all households, this number
adds up to 938 million bags per weekly (Nhien 2019).
- There are different prices for various fabric types but in general, they are
quite inexpensive. For example, a meter of cotton fabric is sold at
approximately 100.000 VND (4 USD) or a meter of velvet fabric costs
75.000 VND (3 USD). Fabrics in these markets are usually diversified in
designs and types. Their origin varies from China, Korea, Japan, India, etc.
Each kiosk specializes in several types of fabrics but mostly are burlap,
spandex, cotton, and chiffon. Such markets also supply fabrics for many
shops in the areas and surrounding regions. (VnExpress 2019.)

(source: ENTERING THE VIETNAMESE TEXTILE AND APPAREL CONSUMER

MARKET - LAB University of Applied Science. Page 23, page 30, page 39)

Environmental repercussions of conventional cotton:

1) Global warming

Carbon emissions from cotton production amount to around 220

million metric tons yearly7. Regular cotton uses a considerable
amount of synthetic fertilizers, which release nitrous oxide into the
atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas that is 310
times more potent than carbon dioxide.

2) Water consumption
Cotton is water-intensive as a crop and in manufacturing. About 2,700 liters of
water are needed to produce a single cotton t-shirt. That is enough drinking water
for an individual for two and a half years. Dyed cotton fabrics look great, but
dyeing fabrics consume about 5 trillion liters of water every year worldwide. About
20,000 liters of water is needed to produce a kilogram of cotton fiber.

Some say that cotton is the largest user of water resources out of all agricultural
commodities. In most situations, this demand is unsustainable.

3) Soil degradation and erosion

Cotton farms are usually monocultural. And as with monocultural

systems sustained for decades, the soil quality suffers degradation.
The global area devoted to farming cotton has been more or less
constant over the last 70 years. However, exhaustion has led to
expansion into new areas. The expansion directly causes
deforestation and wildlife habitat loss.

4) Cotton farming pollution

Cotton farming, the conventional way, uses a lot of harmful chemicals to control
pests and boost production. The heavy use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers
harms the environment over time. These toxic chemicals also threaten human
health, wildlife, water, and soil.

Cotton uses 24% and 11% of the world’s insecticides and pesticides, respectively. It
also uses 4% of the world’s artificial phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers4. In the
US, cotton is the third crop with the most pesticide use. In 2017, about 48 million
pounds were used in growing cotton. Experts estimate that cotton consumes 8
million tonnes of synthetic fertilizers and 200,000 tonnes of pesticides globally
every year.

(source: Environmental Impact of Cotton from Growing, Farming & Consuming

(trvst.world))