Eco-Friendly Fashion: the 4 Sustainable Startups in Vietnam Leading the Way

Wednesday, 26/10/2022 09:00 (GTM +7)

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions and generates significant waste, with only 15% of textiles in the US being recycled. Sustainable practices and innovation are urgently needed to reduce its environmental impact.

In response to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, brands increasingly prioritise sustainability alongside design, leading to new fashion trends for consumers. Several noteworthy sustainable fashion startups in Vietnam:

Piktina

Founded in June 2022, Piktina connects individuals seeking to liquidate or purchase used clothing and businesses specializing in selling second-hand fashion items. The co-founders are Ms. Nguyen Hoang Phuong, a former Be Group CEO, and Ms. Trinh Thanh Huyen, a former employee there.

ITI Fund_Sustainable Fashion Startups_Piktina Piktina, a marketplace for pre-loved fashion items (Source: Startup Wheel)

Piktina raised $1 million in a seed round from Touchstone Partners. It will use the new capital to accelerate its growth and improve its business model. Piktina charges a 20% commission on each successful transaction, incorporating additional validation costs if required.

Vietnam’s used fashion product market is estimated to reach 5 billion USD by 2026. Piktina targets Gen Z customers. Besides, the business also focuses on increasing consumer awareness of sustainable values in reusing old products, saving resources and protecting the environment.

SSSMarket

Established at the end of 2020, SSSmarket is an e-commerce platform that helps users to shop for fashion easily, quickly, and according to their needs thanks to innovative features, with the desire to optimize the shopping process, thereby reducing Minimize waste in this world’s second difference industry.

SSSMarket now attracts nearly 1 million customers almost two years after launch, with ten measurements of typical users. The application received much good feedback on CH Play and Apple Store thanks to its friendly, easy-to-use experience, integrating many features such as image search, virtual testing room, etc.

ITI Fund_Sustainable Fashion Startups_SSSMarket SSSMarket, Vietnam’s top second-hand fashion e-commerce platform, reached 420 000 users (Source: VTV)

SSSmarket has raised $ 450,000 in a Pre-Seed round led by Thinkzone and Goodwater Capital. This capital flow would help the startup focus on developing products, and increasing user experience, especially building a complete AI technology system – a virtual fashion assistant.

Besides the strength in secondhand fashion, in 2022, SSSmarket will continue to develop into the brand fashion market and be chosen by many local brands for cooperation, such as Boo, Marc, etc., showing the potential to develop into a comprehensive fashion platform page in the future.

ShoeX

ShoeX, a startup by Thanh Le, is committed to environmental responsibility and a passion for Vietnamese coffee beans and fashion. The company’s innovative approach involves using locally sourced coffee and coffee waste mixed with recycled materials, starch, cellulose, wood, natural resins, waxes, and oils to create a bio-based blend. The resulting material is both recyclable and lightweight, with a unique aroma of coffee and a natural wooden colour.

ITI Fund_Sustainable Fashion Startups_ShoeX The ShoeX exudes a youthful and charming appeal (Source: ShoeX)

Each pair of ShoeX shoes is handcrafted from 3 cups of coffee grounds and 12 plastic cups, is waterproof, dries two times faster, deodorizes and blocks UV rays. In addition, the sustainable cyclical fashion trend is independent of the product’s aesthetics.

ShoeX also produces coffee-based cups and masks, which have gained popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dòng Dòng

Founded in 2019, the brand name “Dòng Dòng” comes from the southern pronunciation of the word “go around” (vòng vòng), meaning hanging out with friends around the streets. Startups have two product lines: backpacks, tote bags, crossbody bags, wallets, and fashion accessories.

ITI Fund_Sustainable Fashion Startups_Dong Dong Dòng Dòng embodies the essence of Saigon aesthetic and brings a beautiful love story (Source: Dòng Dòng)

From finding raw materials to the production stages, handling old tarpaulins, delivering goods, and using recycled bags, Dòng Dòng usually does not interfere with the material surface of the canvas, trying to keep the scratches intact, opting to lighten or fade colour smudges to preserve the product’s unique story.

Aesthetics, sustainability and durability are the three must-haves in all Dòng Dòng products. Dòng Dòng bags and purses are unique due to the unique selection and cutting of the canvas, resulting in slight variations in colour and shape.