Textile and ready-to-wear sectors met with 17 Dutch companies in Bursa on the basis of the circular economy. In order to develop cyclical textile cooperation, bilateral business meetings and networking activities were held within the scope of the Circular Textile Economy Delegation visit, which was held in partnership with the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Istanbul, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Uludağ Textile Exporters' Association (UTİB) and Uludağ Ready-made Clothing and Apparel Exporters' Association (UHKİB). The delegation which started the day in Koza Han; then visited Bursa Technology Coordination and R&D Center (BUTEKOM), Bursa Model Factory and BTSO Energy Efficiency Center, which are good practice centers in the sector in the fields of R&D, training, design and digital transformation. In the bilateral business meetings held after the visits, the companies of both countries achieved the first steps for cooperation.
Taşdelen Engin: ''We will Achieve an Extensive visit to the Netherlands''
While stating that the visit of the Dutch delegation will be of mutual benefit, UTİB Chairman of the Board Pınar Taşdelen Engin said, “As UTİB, we play an important role in establishing communication and coordination between our members with institutions and organizations in the textile sector on a local and global context around the world. We were happy to host the Dutch Delegation in Bursa in this context. Textile is the historical specialty of Bursa. Our foreign buyers, who witnessed the transformation of high-end fabrics with the application of various yarns on its base into world-famous garments, can find everything they are looking for in Bursa. We can easily say that Bursa textile sector, which is exported to 195 countries, offers important opportunities not only in terms of product range but also as a market. As UTİB, we hold physical and virtual B2B meetings and trade delegations with the participation from many parts of the world. The Netherlands is also at the forefront of our plans and we will form an extensive program to visit this country in the near future. We held bilateral meetings to increase the level of cooperation of our companies. In this context, I believe that we have laid the foundations of a stable trade bridge between the textile sectors in our countries.”
“Our Hopes Regarding the Future of the Industry Increased’’
While emphasizing that textile is amongst the most prestigious industries in the world, Pınar Taşdelen Engin said, “The reason behind this success is that we can combine our years of knowledge with a continuous effort to get an insight about and to foresee the future of our industry. Our main drive to achieve this helps us to secure a wide portfolio of buyers both from Turkey and abroad which are reliable business partners. At the point we have reached today, our industry has achieved the digital and ecological transformation in a very fast and robust manner. We put sustainability, green economy and digitalization at the top of our agenda and we are working on it relentlessly. But we are also aware that we still have a long way to go and much to do so far for the transformation of our industry. Of course, it is very important to fulfill these demands without sacrificing design and quality. We are determined to achieve this. The growth of textile in recent years strengthen our hopes and gives an excitement for the future of our industry. The textile and apparel industry, which we combined, reached a total export value of 32 billion dollars in 2022. We have risen to the 6th stage in the world in exports and the 3rd in Europe.”
Gündemir: ''The Transformation of the Sector Will Make a Critical Contribution to the Economies''
Nüvit Gündemir, Chairman of the Board of Directors of UHKİB also shared their pleasure to welcome the Dutch delegation at one of the critical centers of the Turkish fashion industry which located at the intersection point on the historical Silk Road in Bursa, said, ‘’Despite the pandemic, we complied with the conditions thanks to our agile structure with our 1,150 active members, after the economic difficulties and the recent disasters. Recently, we have achieved stable growth in sales as well. Our Association controlled a 5 percent share from Turkey's total ready-to-wear exports, which was 21.2 billion dollars with an export figure of 1.1 billion dollars in 2021. Our biggest markets are Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and France. Our region has a regard as an important actor in strategic cooperation with world brands. This period, in which European brands re-evaluated their supply processes, gave us the opportunity to turn crisis into an opportunity. In this period, we were also be able to benefit from the prominence of the 'Made in Turkey' brand in search of a safe and robust supply chain. I would like to state that we are determined to carry out tasks which fall into our stake in order to maintain the progress we are going through. As clothing exporters, we are aware of the added value of design and sustainability-based products, both from the environmental and financial approach. Our top priority is to encourage the youth and the entrepreneurs at the point of innovative solutions. In this context, I believe that the visit of the Dutch delegation will make an important contributions both to our country and to the economy of our companies.’’
“We Will Focus on Cyclic Textile Solutions”
Nüvit Gündemir, who underlined that they observed the rapid development of the 'slow fashion' trend, which is produced from natural materials and is consumer-friendly in terms of price/performance as an alternative to the fast fashion trend, said; “Many brands are working to developing their sustainability references and developing to entegrate these policies into their full supply chains either because they are under pressure or by accepting this as their mission. The benchmark of good practice examples by our companies in topics such as 'Reuse, Recycling, Sustainable Design, Resource and Process Optimization, Innovative Raw Materials' and the cooperation with the expert instutitions both help us to fulfill our environmental responsibility and contribute to the rise in Turkey's export share. In Turkey, a series of measures and action plans are implemented to ensure the transition to a sustainable and resource-efficient economy and to adapt to the comprehensive legislations proposed by the European Green Deal. In this context, we, as UHKİB, make more calls to our members for 'Circular Textile' solutions that highlight issues asa a whole such as 'Sustainable Design for Repair, Reuse and Recycling'
Zwetsloot: ''Turkish Firms are Each Important Allies''
Paul Zwetsloot, Chief Economy Counselor from the Dutch Embassy in Ankara, who delivered a speech to express their pleasure on behalf of the Dutch delegation, said, “The Turkish textile and ready-made clothing industry is an important ally for Dutch companies with its industrial experience, product variety and flexible production capacity, a structure that supports entrepreneurship, continuous investments in the sector and deep-rooted logistics infrastructure. Turkey, combined with its strong relations with European businesses and consumer understanding and the advantage of geographical proximity, which is critical for circular material flows, is an important partner for circular and sustainable textiles in Europe. In this context, the Netherlands is seeking Turkish partners for circular textile solutions and investments. During the delegation visit with our partners UTİB and UHKİB, we scheduled a program that will provide useful information about conducting business opportunities in Turkey's textile and ready-made clothing sector for our Dutch companies. At the same time, the delegation visit will also provide the opportunity for our companies to come together with important local stakeholders and to meet with the leading companies of the sector. We hope that this delegation will play an important role in promoting the cooperation between the Netherlands and Turkey and highlighting the innovations which are key for the future of the textile and apparel industry.”
