Hansae to build eco-friendly clothing plant in Vietnam

South Korean textile and clothing maker Hansae on Friday announced plans to build a plant in Vietnam to expand production of eco-friendly clothing under the Recover Project.

The company's locally incorporated business Hansae Vietnam Co. will remodel its ninth plant and install machines of its Spain-based partner brand Recover. Later, a factory on the site next to the plant will be built to secure a combined 20,000 square meters of production facilities for recycled cotton fiber.

Recover possesses the know-how to create fibers in a raw material state for collecting and sorting fabrics and clothing, breaking them into small pieces and reweaving them into thread. For the project to proceed smoothly, stable collection and classification of discarded fabrics and textile waste are crucial as well as transformation of the fibers into thread.

Ho Chi Minh City, where Hansae's Vietnam operations are based, is rated the country's optimal place to collect and use textile waste given the concentration of large-scale textile complexes there. Remodeling of the ninth plant will start this year and production by next year, thus the recycling of discarded fabric in the textile and clothing industry is expected to get a huge boost.

"Hansae Vietnam Co.'s Recover Project will help respond to surging global demand for sustainable fashion and support circularity in textiles and fashion," Hansae Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Ik-hwan said.

"Fabrics recycled through the Recover Project will be made into products for export and shipped first to the European market such as that of the European Union, which requires eco-friendly processes in clothing production."

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com