Can circularity become a source of competitive advantage for Vietnam's textile and packaging sectors?

This was one of the key themes explored during the Vietnam ESG Investor Conference 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City, where CIIP's Akhil Khurana joined fellow panelists Tim King (Syre), Ngo Dinh Dat (Muller) (ITI Fund), Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy (IDH), and moderator Jonathan Sourintha (Turn Green Holding and HRK Group) to discuss how businesses can navigate evolving sustainability requirements, including Vietnam's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework and increasing global demand for circular supply chains.

Many of the technologies needed to transform waste into valuable raw materials already exist. The more difficult challenge is scaling adoption, from building reliable feedstock and collection systems, to improving recycling economics, developing enabling infrastructure, and coordinating across manufacturers, recyclers, brands, investors, and policymakers.

This transition will not be easy. Many circular solutions continue to face green premiums, infrastructure gaps, and commercialisation challenges. Yet as sustainability requirements become increasingly embedded into global supply chains, circularity is moving beyond compliance and becoming a question of competitiveness, resilience, and long-term market access.

At CIIP, we see these opportunities and challenges across the wider region through both our research in sustainable supply chains and ventures supported by the Amplifier programme. For instance, Circ is demonstrating how textile waste can be transformed into high-value raw materials for the fashion industry, while N&E Innovations and AlterPacks are unlocking value from agricultural waste streams through innovative material solutions. Their journeys have highlighted to us the importance of patient capital, ecosystem partnerships, and industry collaboration in helping innovations move from pilot to commercial scale.

A key takeaway from the discussion was that circularity is ultimately an ecosystem challenge. Beyond innovation, success will depend on the ability of stakeholders across the value chain to align around the infrastructure, partnerships, financing mechanisms, and market signals needed to support long-term adoption.

Our thanks to Raise Partners for convening this timely discussion, and to fellow panelists and participants for contributing to an engaging conversation on the future of circularity, competitiveness, and sustainable growth in Vietnam.