Maritaş Denim, which produces with 520 personnel and a fabric capacity of 24 million meters per year in its fully integrated production facilities from yarn to weaving, realized the second harvest of its regenerative cotton project, which it started in 2023, in Harran Plain. First TÜBİTAK-supported regenerative cotton harvest in Turkey, carried out in cooperation with universities and industry, aims to reveal the potential of positive contribution in organic cotton production.
Maritaş Denim’s regenerative cotton project demonstrates a holistic approach that offers solutions to fast fashion consumption, fabric production, raw material supply and the relationship between the nature and the human. The project is not limited to cotton production, but aims to extend its reach to fashion from environmentally friendly textile production.
Maritaş Denim, which produces fabric for a total of 340 companies and is one of the most important solution partners of domestic and global denim brands, has realized the second harvest of the regenerative cotton project which launched in 2023. The second harvest event, which came to existence with the slogan “Harvesting in Harran: Maritaş Denim’s Regenerative Cotton Journey Phase 2” was also an important milestone that revealed the environmental, economic and intellectual benefits of regenerative agriculture. In the project, which aimed to launch to support domestic farmers and to draw attention into regenerative agriculture practices on a national scale, Maritaş Denim is collaborating with Harran University Faculty of Agriculture Field Crops Department and Gaziantep University Textile Engineering Department. The project ensures that the production is carried out with sustainable methods without harming the environment during the cultivation of cotton starting from soil to turning into clothing. The success of the project aims to create a radical change not only in the supply of raw materials, but also in the production of fabric and end fashion consumption. This visionary project run by Maritaş Denim touches many areas from fashion to raw materials, and from fabric production to nature, and further demonstrates how the fashion sector can be reshaped on the axis of sustainability.
The First Regenerative Cotton Project Supported by Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA)
Maritaş Denim, which leads the sector in the field of green transformation, exports fabric to 340 brands in 41 different countries through its agencies located in 16 countries. This project, which aims to reveal the positive environmental and social benefits of organic cotton production, is also the first regenerative cotton project supported by Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) which is carried out within the scope of OCA's global agriculture program. The project is aimed to spread the contributions of regenerative agriculture to cotton production in Turkey. It is expected that the methods will not only increase production efficiency, but will also be accepted as one of the major cornerstones of sustainable agricultural policies. Approaches that enriching the biodiversity of the soil support the more efficient use of water resources while involving vital steps towards reducing carbon emissions.
Nitrogen Provided to Soil Through Natural Processes Via Lentil Planting
Maritaş Denim is taking environmentally friendly steps in cotton production by implementing regenerative agricultural practices in line with its sustainability goals. Regenerative agricultural practices aim to protect natural resources while increasing soil fertility. In this context, Maritaş Denim naturally added nitrogen to the soil by planting lentils before cotton planting from the first stage of the project. The nitrogen accumulated in the roots of the lentil plant significantly reduced the use of chemical fertilizers in cotton production, both minimizing the damage to the environment and providing cost advantage. In addition, Maritaş Denim, which prevents the deformation of the soil ground by minimizing soil processing stages and implements sustainable agricultural techniques such as ground cover planting, has successfully integrated innovative methods in agriculture.
“We Aim to Change Deep-rooted Habits Like Conventional Agriculture”
While describing the Maritaş Denim Regenerative Cotton Project as “Sincere and real, transparent, traceable and scientific. The purest combination of soil, human, nature and textiles. A project that combines the benefits of the past with the whole while moving towards the future” Maritaş Denim Deputy General Manager Fatih Kesim said, “We set out on the regenerative cotton journey in 2022, hand in hand with universities and farmers, with a saying “close supply is possible.” This year, we continued our growth by adding partners whom believe in sustainable change and methods. In this process, we witnessed that this path is not easy to achieve, but possible. It is also indispensable for a sector with a such high environmental impact. What we do is not just renewing the soil and processes, a complete renewal. In fact, we are trying to eliminate the grounded habits and established behaviors like conventional agriculture, re-evaluate raw materials, and even design our products from scratch if necessary in order to produce them in line with the nature. However, it is impossible for us to achieve this alone. We would like to make this change with project companions whom can administer the process right from beginning to the end, and can guide through the right agenda and can translate the terms to the fashion industry. We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Osman Çopur, Head of the Field Crops Department of Harran University Faculty of Agriculture, whom guided us through the project, to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hasan Haliloğlu and accompanied fellows and to Prof. Dr. Cem Güneşoğlu, Head of Gaziantep University Textile Engineering Department.’’
“We Cover the Field with Plants in Regenerative Agriculture”
In the second year of the project, Head of the Harran University Faculty of Agriculture Field Crops Department Prof. Dr. Osman Çopur stated that while completing the harvest of lentils, which planted in December 2023, in May 2024, and said, “After this stage, within the framework of regenerative agriculture criteria’s; we planted cotton in an environmentally friendly manner, without harming the environment and by avoiding deep farming. We avoided using excessive water by going beyond traditional irrigation methods and covered the field with plants in a period of 5-6 months through the winter. Cotton farming and conventional farming have been carried out in the Harran Plain since 1995. We have tried to minimize the issues that occurred. Cotton is the second most important oil crop in our country after sunflower. Its seed contains 20% oil and the oil obtained can even be used as cooking oil. We also have advantages in terms of minimized soil farming. This means less fuel, reduced production costs, less damage to the environment and less carbon emission. In conventional agriculture, the field is left empty for 6 months during the winter season, while in regenerative agriculture, we cover the field with plants. Plant cover maintains photosynthesis and accumulates carbon in the soil. Lentil production is quite limited in our country. Turkey imports around 400-500 tons of lentils every year. With this project, if we can spread lentil production in the plain before cotton planting, we will also prevent imports.”
About Maritaş Denim
Maritaş Denim journey begins in 2004 with Maritaş Tekstil. The facility, which produced woven fabrics in the first period, added a denim production line to its production in 2013 and took the name Maritaş Denim. The permanent structure of denim fabric, which adapts to time and changes, is combined with the new and innovative DNA of Maritaş Denim. Maritaş Denim is an integrated facility capable of performing all steps of denim fabric production, from yarn to weaving. We focus on innovation, circularity and sustainability when designing the idea behind each of our new collections. In this period of change, where the environment is at the center of the business world, we analyze products and processes from an ecological point of view, update traditional production methods and produce new solutions.
