‘‘Textile is the First Sector to Announce Sustainability Action Plan’’

Sustainability Talks, organized for the third time this year in the strategic partnership of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB) and in cooperation with Orbit Consulting and Kipaş Textiles, hosted the world’s leading names in the field of sustainability in fashion and textile, such as Arnoud Passenier of the International Department of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Andreas Streubig, Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs at Hugo Boss, Nicolas Prophte, Tommy Hilfiger (PVH Corp) Vice President of Supply, Manufacturing, Innovation Denim and H&M group Head of Sustainability Leyla Ertur.

Within the scope of the event; 5 different panels were organized, namely Traceability and Transparency, Circularity and Recycling, Innovative Production Solutions and Climate, New Generation Cotton and Thinking Long Term for the World. More than 1,800 people attended the event where more than 40 national and international speakers presented important outputs. This year, all the challenges and solutions faced by the sector, from climate emergency to traceability, from responsible sourcing of raw materials to minimum resource utilization, were discussed at the conference.

Ahmet Öksüz, President of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB), made the opening speech of the event and expressed the following, ‘‘As the textile industry, we see sustainability as an obligation and responsibility, not a choice. The demand and sensitivity for sustainable products is rightfully increasing among both manufacturers and consumers. The basis of the approaches of global brands 10 years ago was based on data such as quality, design, logistics, diversity and capacity. However, facilities without a sustainability approach are not even taken into consideration today. In this direction, we, as İTHİB, said ‘everyone should start taking action as soon as possible’ and we became the first and only sector to announce its sustainability action plan.’’

‘‘We are in Contact with Ministries for Support Mechanisms’’

Stating that the goals within the scope of the ‘Sustainability Action Plan’ can only be achieved with the common vision of public-private sector cooperation, Ahmet Öksüz continued his statements as follows: ‘‘In this context, we are making initiatives with our ministries to increase sustainable fiber production, to make legislative arrangements in the production of recycled textile products, and to establish a separate support mechanism on sustainability. As a sector that has taken a step forward with its breakthrough in production and exports, we have shown all our international brands and stakeholders that Turkey is the safest port in the global trade and supply chain. Now, we underline that the Turkish textile sector will again be the most successful port of the circular economy model in global trade and the ‘European Green Deal’ with the awareness it creates on sustainability, energy efficiency, zero waste principle and recycling approach.’’

‘‘Everyone should act with a sense of responsibility’’

Emphasizing that it is everyone’s duty to sustainably improve life for future generations, Ahmet Öksüz added, ‘‘Water use to produce one kilogram of textile products can vary between 95 and 400 liters. It is in our hands to reduce all these data. Case studies show that it is possible to reduce this data by up to 90 percent with the investments we can make. By acting with this sense of responsibility, we should be able to leave a greener world to our future. However, this responsibility is not only the responsibility of the manufacturer, but also the common responsibility of designers, global brands and even consumers.’’

Trade Between Turkey and Finland Targets 3 Billion Euros

Providing information about the trade volume between Finland and Turkey, Ambassador of Finland to Turkey Ari Mäki said: ‘‘Last year, our trade reached an all-time high of almost 2 billion euros. This year we are heading towards a new record. Our goal is to reach a trade volume of 3 billion euros by 2024. For trade growth and deeper cooperation between the two countries, digitalization and sustainability are at the forefront. Especially in the textile sector, it is both extremely important and one of the hot topics. Some of the leading Finnish companies in this field will come together with Turkish companies at the event. We are looking for partners with whom we can make innovation partnerships in Turkey.’’