In the textile and apparel sector, women make up the majority of the workforce: in Vietnam,
for example, they account for nearly 75% of employees, making a decisive contribution to
the industry’s growth [1]. Yet, despite this overwhelming presence, most of them remain
concentrated in low-skilled jobs, with low wages and limited opportunities for advancement.
Female workers are often excluded from continuing education opportunities and
underrepresented in technical and managerial roles [1]. It is this reality that inspired the
GreenLift Project, which identifies green upskilling as the key tool to reverse this trend.
Green Upskilling: What It Is and Why It Matters
Green upskilling is the process of acquiring skills related to environmental
sustainability — management of recycled fibers, energy efficiency, waste reduction, digital
traceability of the supply chain — applied to the existing workplace [2]. It does not replace
women’s work in the textile industry: it transforms it, opening access to more skilled and
better-paid technical roles. For women workers in the sector, this means transitioning from
production line workers to specialised professionals capable of driving the ecological
transition from within the factories [2].
Training as a Driver of Change
The GreenLift Project invests in targeted training programs: sustainable materials
management, the use of digital technologies for supply chain traceability, and efficiency in
production processes [2, 6]. The results of similar programs confirm the effectiveness of this
approach. The GEAR (Gender Equality and Returns) program, developed by the IFC and
implemented in Vietnam, equipped female textile workers with the skills needed to take on
supervisory roles: over a two-year period, 80% of participating factories reported increased
productivity on production lines led by the trained women¹. Similar data emerge from other
contexts: green training reduces turnover, increases retention, and improves workers’
contractual conditions [3, 4].
Sustainability and Inclusive Growth in the Textile Industry
Sustainable fashion is not just about materials or environmental certifications: it is about the
people who produce those garments. Equipping female textile workers with sustainability
skills means transforming the entire production chain, not just the final product [4].
Companies that invest in women’s empowerment see tangible improvements in quality,
process innovation, and reduced environmental impact [5, 7]. Inclusion, in this sense, is not
an additional cost: it is an integral part of a credible sustainability strategy.
Toward a Circular and Just Future
The GreenLift Project recognises that women’s empowerment and the ecological transition
in the textile industry are inseparable goals. Promoting green upskilling means investing in a
sector where sustainability is also a social issue: cleaner factories, more skilled workers, and more transparent supply chains [6]. Supporting women’s talent through sustainability training
is the decisive step toward transforming the textile industry’s ecological challenges into real
opportunities for professional and social advancement.
Links:
¹ ILO – Empowering women in Viet Nam’s textile and garment industry
² Textile Network – Empowering women in the garment sector
³ Emerald Publishing – Stories of work, well-being and inclusive
⁴ HSWS – Research on sustainable textile and women’s empowerment
⁵ Ministero del Lavoro – Empowering Women at Work
⁶ Forbes – Behind the Seams: Empowering Women Through Sustainable Fashion
⁷ Abiteks – Empowering Women in the Textile Industry
