Viet Nam’s craft villages and occupational air pollution

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines how socioeconomic disparities, gender norms, and employment status influence exposure to occupational air pollution in craft villages in Hanoi, Viet Nam. Based on research involving 120 informal labourers, the document highlights that while men often perform more hazardous tasks for higher pay, women face prolonged exposure due to their confinement in indoor production facilities and suffer more significant income losses from health-related absences. The brief identifies critical gaps in national and local policies, which are described as gender-blind and insufficient for protecting informal and migrant workers, and provides recommendations for legal reform, stricter enforcement of environmental regulations, and capacity building for local governments.

• Gender norms dictate a division of labour that creates different air pollution exposure patterns: men typically engage in more hazardous, higher-paying tasks but have more opportunities to work outside production facilities, whereas women are often confined indoors and spend more time exposed to concentrated pollutants.
• Women in craft villages experience disproportionate economic impacts from air pollution because they report more health-related absences and have fewer alternative livelihood options compared to men.
• Age influences vulnerability and exposure levels; while middle-aged workers are the most at risk overall due to pre-existing health conditions, young men are the most likely to perform heavy work with direct pollutant exposure.
• Migrant workers face heightened risks because they often live adjacent to production facilities, exposing them to pollution during non-working hours, and their temporary status makes them more likely to accept high-risk jobs for better pay.
• The informal nature of craft village employment limits worker protections, as most labourers are unaware of their rights and employers often lack the resources or commitment to implement effective air quality measures.
• Current national and local policies in Viet Nam are insufficient for protecting craft village workers because they are often gender-blind, lack specific recommendations for craft villages, and suffer from a lack of monitoring and enforcement resources.
• Environmental pollution in craft villages is linked to severe health outcomes, including respiratory, neurological, and skin diseases, and residents' average life expectancy is 10 years lower than the national average.

APA

Thanh, V. T., Dung, L. T. D., Han, J. Y.-C., & Archer, D. (2022). Viet Nam’s craft villages and occupational air pollution. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/viet-nam-craft-villages-sei2022.034.pdf

Chicago

Thanh, Vu Thi, Le Thi Dan Dung, Jenny Yi-Chen Han, and Diane Archer. Viet Nam’s craft villages and occupational air pollution. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/viet-nam-craft-villages-sei2022.034.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Thanh |first1=Vu Thi |last2=Dung |first2=Le Thi Dan |last3=Han |first3=Jenny Yi-Chen |last4=Archer |first4=Diane |title=Viet Nam’s craft villages and occupational air pollution |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/viet-nam-craft-villages-sei2022.034.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{thanh2022viet, author = {Thanh, Vu Thi and Dung, Le Thi Dan and Han, Jenny Yi-Chen and Archer, Diane}, title = {{Viet Nam’s craft villages and occupational air pollution}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/viet-nam-craft-villages-sei2022.034.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }