As a core manufacturing hub for global fashion giants including Nike, Adidas and Uniqlo, Vietnam’s textile and footwear sector is deeply embedded in the global supply chain and serves as a pillar of Southeast Asia’s light manufacturing industry. In 2026, the industry stands at a critical intersection of rebounding overseas orders and global supply chain restructuring. Following the inventory destocking cycle in European and American markets, international brands have released robust restocking demands, driving a solid recovery in Vietnam’s textile, garment, footwear and luggage exports throughout the second half of the year.
Despite the booming export performance, the industry faces mounting structural challenges that constrain high-quality development. Persistent labor shortages, rising labor costs, tightening green trade barriers in Western markets, and heavy reliance on imported raw and auxiliary materials have forced thousands of traditional labor-intensive factories in Vietnam to undergo comprehensive transformation. The extensive manual production model is being phased out, replaced by intelligent automated manufacturing and low-carbon, environmentally compliant production systems, marking an all-round industrial upgrade across production techniques, equipment systems and ESG standards.
Against this transformative backdrop, the 24th Vietnam International Textile & Garment Industry Exhibition (VTG) and Vietnam International Footwear Machinery & Material Industry Exhibition (VFM) will take place from October 14 to 17, 2026, at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC). Running daily from 9:00 to 17:00 with an early closing at 15:00 on the final day, the two authoritative B2B exhibitions serve as a vital weather vane for global apparel and footwear supply chains to observe Vietnam’s industrial changes and capture Southeast Asian market opportunities. Adhering to professional exhibition norms, the events deny entry to visitors under 16 and require pre-registration with exclusive personal QR codes for admission.
1. Opportunities and Structural Pains of Vietnam’s 2026 Footwear & Textile Market
Vietnam continues to consolidate its position as the world’s second-largest apparel and footwear manufacturing base in 2026, benefiting from mature industrial supporting systems and the “China Plus One” supply chain dividend. In the textile and garment sector, official statistics from VITAS show that Vietnam’s textile and garment export volume reached USD 22.2 billion in the first six months of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 1.7%, with upstream raw material exports growing rapidly from 5.6% to 10.6%. The export value rose to USD 27 billion in the first seven months, and the industry targets an annual export volume of USD 48–50 billion, with garment exports to the US achieving substantial growth. In the footwear and luggage segment, foreign-invested enterprises generated USD 15.5 billion in export value within the first eight months, including USD 13.23 billion from footwear products, driving the industry to expect a record annual export breakthrough of USD 29–30 billion.
Nevertheless, the traditional OEM model has reached its development ceiling due to three major structural bottlenecks. First, labor shortages and rising labor costs have become normalized. The rapid expansion of Vietnam’s electronics and automotive industries has diverted massive labor resources, while increasing minimum wages and declining willingness to engage in manual work have led to severe losses of skilled workers in the textile and footwear sectors, eroding the traditional cost advantages of labor-intensive manufacturing.
Second, the upstream industrial chain is incomplete with weak independent supply capacity. Vietnam focuses heavily on downstream finished product assembly, while core upstream links such as spinning, high-end functional printing and dyeing, and new environmental materials are underdeveloped. Currently, 60% to 70% of raw and auxiliary materials rely on imports, leaving local factories vulnerable to geopolitical conflicts and international logistics fluctuations, resulting in prominent supporting gaps in the regional supply chain.
Third, escalating green trade barriers have made environmental compliance a rigid threshold for order acquisition. The implementation of the EU Sustainable Textiles Strategy and EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation has imposed strict carbon footprint and raw material traceability requirements on imported products. Global leading brands have incorporated ESG due diligence into supplier assessment systems. Factories without GRS, GOTS and ZDHC certifications are unable to access high-end overseas orders, forcing widespread green upgrading across the industry.
2. Intelligent & Green Equipment Upgrade: Core Demands of Local Factories
To tackle overlapping industry dilemmas, Vietnamese manufacturers regard intelligent and green equipment upgrading as the core breakthrough point. In 2026, digital printing and dyeing automation equipment and AI-powered intelligent shoemaking machinery have become the most sought-after products at VTG and VFM exhibitions, precisely matching the industry’s demands for small-batch fast response, low-carbon compliance and cost reduction.
In the printing and dyeing sector, local authorities in Ho Chi Minh and surrounding industrial provinces have restricted the construction and expansion of traditional high-pollution screen printing production lines, accelerating the elimination of backward capacity. Meanwhile, the booming personalized and fast-updating market demands have made traditional mass production obsolete, creating a huge market for digital printing equipment. Newly installed equipment must comply with ZDHC MRSL Level 3 standards, completely PFAS-free, and conform to Vietnam’s Chemicals Law (No.69/2025/QH15). Water-based direct-injection printers and elliptical digital all-in-one machines have become mainstream upgrades, supporting single-piece customization, instant drying and zero wastewater discharge, cutting material costs and shortening delivery cycles by over 30%.
In the shoemaking industry, “machine replacement of labor” has become an inevitable trend to reduce labor dependence by 30% to 40%. The industry presents a clear two-tier structure: leading Taiwanese and Korean factories in Binh Duong and Dong Nai have achieved 35% to 50% mechanical arm coverage in core processes such as glue spraying and roughing, while over 90% of local small and medium-sized factories have an automation rate below 8%, ushering in a critical window for semi-automatic and intelligent transformation. The latest shoemaking machinery is equipped with 3D laser scanning and AI vision systems, achieving an operation accuracy of ±0.5mm. Adapted to water-based and plant-based environmentally friendly adhesives and supercritical CO₂ physical foaming technology, the new equipment effectively reduces VOC emissions and replaces high-pollution traditional chemical foaming processes, helping factories meet global low-carbon compliance standards.
3. VTG & VFM 2026: Core Supply Chain Platform for Southeast Asia
Hosted by Zhan Zhao International, the 2026 exhibition integrates four major events including VTG, VFM, VITATEX and Dyechem Expo, covering more than 70% of Vietnam’s apparel and footwear factories and forming a full-industry-chain closed loop from raw materials and chemicals to intelligent equipment and finished products. As UFI-certified flagship exhibitions with nearly 20 years of market cultivation, VTG focuses on Textile 4.0 to 5.0 intelligent manufacturing solutions, covering intelligent knitting, digital spinning, 3D body scanning and intelligent ERP management systems, solving core pain points such as labor shortage and low production efficiency for textile enterprises.
VFM, the most professional footwear industry exhibition in Southeast Asia, covers supercritical physical foaming equipment, AI intelligent cutting systems, fully automatic shoemaking production lines and lightweight environmental protection materials. On-site process demonstrations showcase full-process intelligent and low-carbon production technologies, adapting to the global trend of lightweight and minimalist footwear and helping manufacturers complete ESG compliance and capacity upgrading. Global suppliers of intelligent equipment and environmental materials can connect with ASEAN OEM manufacturers and overseas brand procurement offices here to tap the billion-level industrial upgrading market. Industry decision-makers and technical buyers can inspect compliant equipment and materials on-site to solve export compliance challenges.
