With the effects of the climate crisis and the pandemic, consumers' awareness of ready-made clothing has increased as well, as in many other areas. The consumer, who turns to more sustainable and environmentally friendly products, wants to see this information on the label of the purchased product as well. However, details such as product content, usage guidelines, symbols, product origin increase the number of labels on the product, which results in approximately 9.2 million kilometers of labels to be printed annually, according to industry estimates. From this data, the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) made a call to organizations operating in the clothing, footwear and accessories industry around the world to contribute to the transition process to the digital label process. 130 associations and federations from all over the world, including the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers' Association (TGSD), responded positively to this call and signed the open letter published on 11 July.
Circular Economy Support Facing Label Amount Barrier
In the intention emphasizing on the significant importance of labels for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions, it was also stated that this situation counters the efforts of the sectors to support the circular economy such as being sustainable and increasing traceability due to the increasing amount of labels. In addition, it was predicted that supply chains will reduce at least 343,000 MT of carbon emissions, as much less labels will be printed thanks to digital technology solutions such as QR code labels.
Global Highlights
The paper also emphasized on the EU digital product passport and the electronic labeling systems used in Singapore and Australia, while highlighting the expectation to make legal arrangements for the use of more sustainable and economical digital labels and to support this process.
Digital Labeled Product Will Become Useful and Valuable
In the open letter, of which TGSD is one of the signatories, other advantages of digital labels are listed as follows:
- Digital labeling solutions will enable consumers to access more detailed and accurate information about the products they are considering for purchase. Moreover, this information can be updated in real time without being limited to the physical area of the label.
- Product information will become accessible to a wider consumer base. For example, it will be easier to read in a way it can contain visually impaired individuals and will be available in different languages.
- With the digitalized reduction of the existing large amount of labels available to a single label or QR code, consumers will be discouraged from cutting the label of the product they buy. This will ensure that the information remains on the item for the life of the product.
- Having label information on the product will make these products useful and valuable for longer in the circular economy. It will reveal new opportunities such as second hand sale, repair, rental, upcycling and recycling.
About TGSD:
One of Turkey's most rooted sectoral associations, The Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TGSD), founded in 1976, is a professional organization that became a public benefit organization with the Council of Ministers Decree No. 2003. TGSD, which has the representation of the entire value chain of the sector with its more than 450 members that realize 60 percent of Turkey's ready made clothing exports, has the distinction of being the most inclusive NGO in the sector.
The Association, which leads the ready made clothing industry to institutionalize and become a world brand with its product and service quality by showing perseverance on innovation and sustainability, to renew all its processes with the focus of digital and green transformation, and to make large-scale investments, aims to increase the competitiveness of the sector with the TGSD Development Academy. Being a member of leading international organizations such as IAF, Euratex and Textile Exchange, TGSD contributes to the establishment of global business partnerships as well while increasing thel effectiveness of the industry on a global scale. TGSD also takes the pulse of the industry with the Istanbul Apparel Conference, which it has been holding every year uninterruptedly since 2008 to date and which is listed in the international calendars.
