A delegation of U.S. cotton industry leaders visits Texhong’s Renze Vietnam facility on June 13 to discuss increased trade and the company’s sourcing and traceability program.

Organized by Cotton Council International (CCI), the delegation was the first meeting with textile industry by a foreign group in Vietnam since the COVID-19 pandemic. The delegation visited key spinning mills and important partners of the U.S. cotton industry, including Texhong Renze facility. Established in 2006, Texhong Renze was the first spinning mill project by Texhong in Vietnam. Now with a spinning capacity of around 500,000 spindles, the facility alone consumes on average over 100,000 tons of U.S. cotton annually.  

During the meeting, Texhong Renze managers demonstrated their system, which matches customer yarn orders to cotton source batch numbers in its SAP software system. The system allows company managers and customers to verify all information and supporting documentation about a product’s sourcing in a single “Texhong Cotton Tracing Report.” This system significantly enhances the accountability and traceability of supply chain and is now implemented in almost all of Texhong’s facilities around the world.

“We’re proud of our traceability program and we are inviting all of our customers to examine it directly, and to provide feedback,” said Kenneth Chen, Senior manager of Marketing and Development Department of Texhong.

Cotton Council International Executive Director Bruce Atherley introduced the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, which allows U.S. cotton producers to report on six key sustainability metrics from the farm-level– land use, soil carbon, water management, soil loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy efficiency. As a close partner of Cotton Council International, Texhong was one of the first companies to join the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol when it first launched in summer 2020.

Texhong also invited Chairman of the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS) Mr. Vu Duc Giang to attend the meeting. Mr. Vu Duc Giang specifically introduced the export value of Vietnam's yarn, which will be US$5.62 billion in 2021, of which Texhong Group accounts for 15-20% of the total export value and is currently the largest yarn exporter in Vietnam. The U.S. accounts for approximately 42 percent of Vietnam’s textile and apparel exports. Vietnam is also one of the largest buyers of U.S. raw cotton.

The Delegation included:

l  Bruce Atherley, CCI executive director;

l  Kent Fountain, immediate past chairman of the National Cotton Council (NCC); and

l  Joerg Bauersachs, CCI head of technical services; and

l  Tommy Hayden, upcoming ACSA chairman; and

l  William Hung , Cotton USA Vietnam and Cambodia Program Representative.