It was projected that approximately 1,200 people will accommodate in 308 containers in the TGSD Container City and Living Area established next to Adıyaman OIZ. Adding to the residential containers, which were designed and furnished to cover all the basic needs of a house, a playground, kindergarten and laundry room were also commissioned. While giving statistics about the ready-made clothing production companies in Adıyaman which could hardly reach 40 per cent capacity after the earthquake, TGSD President Ramazan Kaya, “With the living areas which we established, we are aiming to contribute to the survival of our employees, to the qualified manpower of our companies which does not fall due to the migration and to the realization of capacity to 70 per cent which was true before the earthquake.’’
While evaluating on 11 cities which were affected by the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake, it can be said that these carry great importance on the production of ready made clothing of Turkey. The region, based on the 2022 year-end figures where 143,663 personnel employed in 1,366 ready-made clothing companies, carries out 8.9 percent of the total production capacity in Turkey's ready-made clothing sector. One of the leading cities of the sector is Adıyaman, which experienced a great catastrophy during the earthquake disaster where 265 ready-made clothing companies provide employment to 22 thousand 568 workforce. The Turkish Clothing Manufacturers' Association (TGSD), the most inclusive non-governmental organization of the ready-made clothing industry, has installed TGSD Container City and Living Space to enhance the living conditions of employees in Adıyaman and to support the recovery in the industry to its previous conditions. Living areas have installed around 22-acre land next to the Adıyaman Organized Industrial Zone in 308 container area’s.
Ramazan Kaya: “We Have Directed Our Resources to the Long-Term Solutions”
TGSD President Ramazan Kaya mentioned about their efforts for the recovery and for the fullfillment of the immediate needs since the emergence of the earthquake disaster thanks to the sound structure of the ready-made clothing industry in the region and said, ‘’We decided to direct our resources to the longer-term solutions, following the support provided by our member companies, international buying offices and individuals in order to reduce the damage caused by the destruction in ready made clothing industry in the region and to support the employees. In this period, while taking into account the differences in the industrial and demographic profiles of the cities in the earthquake zone, we set Adıyaman as our primary aid and support point which stand as the strong pillars of our sector. With the contributions of AFAD, the cooperation of Adıyaman OIZ Directorate and with the great support of our stakeholders which we reached for support and philanthropists, we installed our TGSD Container City and Living Area on the land next to the OIZ.”
“We Must go beyond the Need for Housing and Should Provide Good Living Conditions”
While pointing out the great loss of workforce due to the psychological effects of the earthquake and the migration nothwithstanding the size of the damage to the buildings and the machinery of the ready-made clothing companies in the OIZ which was not destructive, Kaya, “Our production capacity in Adıyaman was 70 percent before the earthquake. However, after the earthquake, thanks to the low structural damage of the enterprises, our capacity reached to 30 percent by the end of March and have risen to 40 percent as of now. With the living areas which we established, we are aiming to contribute to the survival of our employees, to the qualified manpower of our companies which does not fall due to the migration and to the realization of capacities which was true before the earthquake.’’
“We took into account the Employment of Women”
While talking about the high level of women employment in ready-made clothing industry which was instrumental in specifying the areas, Kaya said the following, “For this reason, we took into account the housing, safety, social life and the areas which were selected via considering the proximity of schools and health centers. While parents are working, their concern should not be on their teenagers. Also, children should be able to go to their kindergartens, schools and play in the park freely.”
Sanem Dikmen: “Foreign Companies also Supported the Container City”
While sharing about their belief to provide better living conditions by going beyond the basic needs for living until permanent residences are getting ready as one of the most important elements in preventing migration, TGSD Başkanı Sanem Dikmen, “There is no problem in the supply of raw materials to the region, but there is a serious challenge in employment. At this point, the fastest and the most efficient solution was to establish a container city. To respond this demand, we created our living areas with the contributions of our members and stakeholders some of which were composed of foreign companies. In this period, in two meetings which we organized in a month in cooperation with the representatives of the buying office of international brands, we also emphasized that our country has the capacity to fill the orders, and that there is no obstacle to signing new cooperations, and underlined the importance of the continuity of the orders attached to the region.’’
Living Containers, Playground, Kindergarten and Laundry were built
TGSD Container City and Living Area, which consists of a total of 308 containers and is expected to accommodate 1,200 people, was established in an area where gravel is grounded whose infrastructure is completely ready. Housing containers were designed and furnished to cover all the basic needs of a home. Adding to the living containers, a playground, kindergarten and laundry room were also built in the area. In addition, a family health center, a school and another kindergarten in the immediate vicinity of the area can be found.
Ready-Made Clothing Sector in 11 Cities affected by the Earthquake by Figures
-According to the year-end 2022 data, 726 thousand personnel in Turkey general and 143 thousand 663 workforce in 11 cities employed in the ready-made clothing sector. Based on this, 19.7 percent of the total employment in the sector is from the earthquake zone.
-Malatya ranks first in employment with 50,803 employee which followed by Adıyaman with 22,568 workforce and Diyarbakır with 18,825 personnel.
-According to 2022 data, 11 cities carried out 8.9 percent of Turkey's total production with an annual production of 352 thousand tons.
About TGSD
The Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TGSD), one of Turkey's most rooted sectoral associations, founded in 1976 and became a public benefit organization with the Council of Ministers Decree on 2003. TGSD, which has the representation of the entire value chain of the sector with its more than 400 members that realize 80 percent of Turkey's ready-to-wear exports, has the distinction of being the most inclusive NGO in the sector. The Association, which leads the ready-to-wear industry to entrepreneurship and to become a world brand with its product and service quality by showing a determinance on innovation and sustainability, renews all its processes with the focus of digital and green transformation, and makes large-scale investments, aims to increase the competitiveness of the industry with the TGSD Development Academy. TGSD also takes the pulse of the industry with the Istanbul Ready-to-Wear Conference, which it has been holding every year since 2008 upto now and which is also included in the international calendars.
