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Environmental Adaptation by Small and Medium Sized Textile and Garment Companies in Vietnam—Is Governance an Issue?

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Roadmap to Sustainable Textiles and Clothing

Part of the book series: Textile Science and Clothing Technology ((TSCT))

Abstract

Institutional theory emphasizes the social context in which firms operate and explains the role of institutions in shaping organizational responses. Following this theory, if a firm fails to conform to institutionalized norms, its legitimacy and survival is threatened. This chapter uses institutional theory as a tool to understand the influence of current institutional mechanisms on the adaptive capacity of textiles and garment small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam in response to national and international environmental requirements. Field work undertaken in Vietnam in 2013 enabled 21 interviews with policymakers, experts, and textiles and garment enterprises. The interviews revealed a number of problems with the current environmental legislation as well as the governance system in Vietnam. These problems are considered as barriers for the environmental adaptation process at textiles and garment SMEs in Vietnam.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “Đổi Mới” is the name given to the economic reforms adopted at the 6th Vietnamese Communist Party’s Congress in 1986, when the country was facing an economic crisis. The reforms included an agreement on the need for policy reforms aimed to move to a multi-sector, market-oriented economy, with a role for private sector to compete with the state in nonstrategic sectors.

  2. 2.

    The Law on Environmental Protection was passed on December 27th, 1993 by the National Assembly, and went into effect on January 10th, 1994. The law provides for the protection of the environment with a view to protecting the health of the people, serving the cause of sustainable development of the country, and contributing to the protection of regional and global environments.

  3. 3.

    Decree 56/2009/ND-CP dated 30 June 2009 stipulated supporting measures for SMEs (replacing Decree 90/2001/CP-ND).

  4. 4.

    General Statistic Office. Statistical Yearbook. Hanoi, 2004.

  5. 5.

    General Statistic Office. Statistical Yearbook. Hanoi, 2004.

  6. 6.

    Vedan scandal: Vedan is a Taiwanese MSG maker who started business in Vietnam in 1991. The company was accused of polluting the river in 1994, 1995, 2004, and 2006. It was suspected of having wastewater discharging directly to the river, but this was not uncovered until 2008 when a hidden pipe discharging directly into the river was found.

  7. 7.

    Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee released decision No.80/2002/QĐ-UB dated July 8th, 2002 on the approval of the “Relocation of Polluted Enterprises to Industrial Zones Programme”. Following this decision, many textile companies were required to move out of residential areas and relocate to industrial zones.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Nga H. Nguyen, Robert J. S. Beeton & Anthony Halog

  2. Vietnam Environment Administration, 10 Ton that Thuyet, Hanoi, Vietnam

    An T. Duong

Authors
  1. Nga H. Nguyen
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  2. Robert J. S. Beeton
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  3. Anthony Halog
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  4. An T. Duong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nga H. Nguyen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainability Consultant, Global Sustainability Services, SGS Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu

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Nguyen, N.H., Beeton, R.J.S., Halog, A., Duong, A.T. (2015). Environmental Adaptation by Small and Medium Sized Textile and Garment Companies in Vietnam—Is Governance an Issue?. In: Muthu, S. (eds) Roadmap to Sustainable Textiles and Clothing. Textile Science and Clothing Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-164-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-164-0_4

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-287-163-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-164-0

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