EU Provides €7 Million in Support to Exporters for Transition to a Green Economy
According to the statement made by the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (IHKIB) the three-year implementation process of the “Green Economy Transition Project,” prepared to pioneer the reduction of the carbon and water footprints of the ready-to-wear, textile, chemical and logistics sectors, has begun.
The “Transition to Green Economy Project”, supported by the European Union (EU) and the Ministry of Industry and Technology, will be implemented with a total budget of 7 million euros.
Mustafa Gültepe, President of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) and IHKIB, whose views were included in the statement, emphasized that twin transformation will be one of the most important dynamics in the future of competitiveness. Gültepe noted that TİM and 61 exporters’ associations are carrying out numerous projects on twin transformation and continue to develop new ones.
Gültepe stated that IHKIB has both brought permanent institutions to the sector and increased the competence of its existing subsidiaries through IPA projects, and noted the following: “With IPA-I, we focused on design and established the Istanbul Fashion Academy (IMA). With our IPA-II project, called Metamorphosis, we launched the Digital Transformation Center for the industry. We’ve transformed Ekoteks, a subsidiary of İHKİB, into one of the world’s leading laboratories. We focus on green transformation in our IPA-III project, financed within the framework of the financial cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey and supported by the Competitive Sectors Program implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, with the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Association (ITKIB) as the final beneficiary and İHKİB as the implementer. The project, with a total budget of €7 million, brings together the textile, chemical, and logistics sectors—the most important links in the ready-to-wear value chain. We will be implementing the project in collaboration with TIM and İHKİB, as well as the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB), the Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters’ Association (IKMIB), and the International Freight Forwarders’ Association (UND).”
Mustafa Gültepe stated that they will strengthen companies’ capacity to measure and reduce their carbon and water footprints during this process, saying, “We will increase the competitiveness of our companies with this 36-month project, which is the most comprehensive in its field in our country. Thus, we will implement some of the transformation items in the Ready-to-Wear Sector Sustainability Strategy Action Plan.”
Gültepe emphasized his belief that the project will make a significant contribution to the green transformation of stakeholder sectors and the transition to a circular economy.
