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TURKEY: EMERGING WORLD POWER IN HOME TEXTILES
Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Turkey is situated in a strategic region within a hands throw to European and Asian markets. Boasting state-of-art machinery park coupled with sophisticated logistics support and advanced transportation sector, Turkey is expected to continue its role as the European heartland of home textile industry and preserve its competitive edge in the future.
One of the leading exporting countries in the world in home textiles, Turkey is taking giant steps in becoming a world trade mark. Numerous Turkish companies are now including `made in Turkey' in their products being exported to countries ranging from Europe to Asia. Carrying out sizeable technology investments in home textile manufacturing, the Turkish companies managed to place Turkey in the top of the world league in terms of machinery park. Leading the world in the production of such various home textile products as guipure, curtain cloths and others, the Turkish made products, a large portion of which are exported, are on demand in world markets.
Realising a fascinating growth in the past decade, the Turkish home textile industry is now gearing itself to create the market trends by investing in brand development and designer labels. Through their work and investment, the Turkish companies are targeting to become the leaders in the world of home textiles fashion. Turkey with a population of around 70 million people, made up mainly of young adults, provides a good potential in terms of workforce. However, the Turkish businessmen are aware of the fact that cheap labour is not sufficient to gain a competitive edge in the world markets. Hence, they have lately increased their investment in design, quality, research and development and brand recognition. Having reached a commanding market share firstly in Europe followed by the USA, Russia, Asia and Africa, through their know how and entrepreneurship, the Turkish home textile industry is aiming to topple an exports figure of 5 billion USD. The Turkish home textile industry as a sub-sector of the huge Turkish textile industry, which has a dominant role in the world, has experienced significant progress in the last decade and met the high standards of the EU. The power of Turkish home textile industry results from huge textile industry in Turkey. Turkey has already invested heavily in its textile sectors, especially in spinning, in recent years. Turkey was the world's largest single investor in open end rotors and the second for short staple ring spindles in 1997. In recent years the production of home textiles has shown a significant increase due to the rise in both domestic and external demand for home textiles. Wide range of products Almost all kinds of home textiles are produced in Turkey. These may be listed by export value as follows: Table linens, towels, voiles, curtains, laces, blankets, cushions, pillows, quilts, eiderdowns. Turkish Home Textile Exports by Products (1000 dollars)
The Turkish home textile industry is well on the way to becoming one of the world leaders by its wide range of products and superior quality in home textile production, especially in the production of net curtains, embroidery, guipure, towels and quilt covers. Turkey has the largest machine park for the production of both embroidery and guipure in the world. In Europe, the largest factory producing quilt covers is in Turkey. The Turkish home textile industry has also acquired the latest technology with a high production capacity and a highly skilled labour pool. In addition, the industry has managed to reduce the cost of production below the world average while it has increased its quality of products. So, with a huge production capacity, high quality and strong competitiveness, Turkey is among the top three suppliers of curtains and embroidery in Europe and among the top three suppliers of towels in the world.
In Turkey, the towel sector has traditional roots and its towels are known as `Turkish Towels' worldwide. Today, the Turkish towel sector has competitiveness in international markets in terms of jacquard and embroidery technologies.
In addition, lace which is commonly used in many textile applications, especially in home textiles, is originally a Turkish handicraft. It is an embroidery art reaching back to the mid-1500s and crowned by the labour of Turkish women. It is an outstanding handicraft with its traditional taste and motifs in different colors and lines which are now reflected in modern home decoration. Environment friendly Today, the Turkish home textile industry is aware of the trend in international markets towards the increasing demand for healthier and more environmentally-friendly products and tries to adapt itself to developments within legal and technical regulations. Many manufacturers in the sector managed to produce in the environmental management systems and in the quality management systems, e.g. ISO 9000 series. About 150 companies in the textile sector have ISO 9001 or 9002 certificates, 30 of which are in the home textile field. Additionally, some companies in the home textile sector have private eco labels. Turkish home textile producers are mainly located in Istanbul, Denizli, Bursa, Izmir, Gaziantep, Kayseri and Usak. Towel and bathrobe producers are concentrated in Denizli and Bursa, voile producers in Istanbul and Bursa and blankets producers in Usak. Many of the producers in these cities have integrated their production process from yarn and fabric production to product design, dyeing, finishing and sewing in order to obtain the best quality in any step of the production.
Besides large scale firms, there are many small and medium sized companies scattered all around the country. In the rural areas around some cities like Denizli, Mugla and Kastamonu, the production of traditional fabrics is still widespread and recently they have been used in the production of home textiles.
Traditional Style
One of the traditional fabrics which has worldwide fame is the `Buldan Fabric', of Buldan province, Denizli. With its characteristic designs, it is unique and carries the heritage of the past into the present. It is woven on traditional hand looms. This fabrics, which had a completely natural look and basic textile characteristic due to being made of pure cotton, is widely used both in traditional and modern home decoration. Another traditional fabrics is `Selalmaz Cemberi' which takes its name from Selalmaz, a region in Kastamonu. This fabric is also obtained from pure cotton yarn and woven on hand looms. It is a very thin fabric like tulle. It is so difficult a fabric to weave that one can only weave one metre per day. Due to its outstanding originality it is used widely in home decoration as well as making clothing. `Azdavay Cemberi' is another famous fabric woven in Azdavay, a town of Kastamonu. It is made from linen or pure cotton. It is also a very original hand woven fabric. This fabric, like Selalmaz Cemberi, is woven loose or dense. It is used widely in home decoration and making clothing. Since all of these traditional fabrics are natural, made of pure cotton or linen without using any chemical dyes, they are environmentally friendly. Therefore, there is considerable demand for home textiles made of these fabrics in international markets. In a rapidly changing world, the home decoration field is very sensitive to all changes. That's why the creation of innovative and modern designs and motifs in addition to the quality of the product is very essential. Turkish home textile manufacturers are very conscious about fashion creation and design which enables them to gain a special place in international markets. Creative and modern designs and unique motifs, all created by Turkish designers, keep the pulse of world home decoration fashion and meet all tastes and preferences. Export Market
Besides meeting domestic demand in Turkey, the Turkish home textile sector with its high potential in the export market and its wide range of products and superior quality, is an important foreign exchange earner for the country. Sector exports about 60% of its production. Turkish Home Textile Exports by Countries (1000 dollars)
The home textile sector with an export value of US $ 1,012.8 million and a 3% share in Turkey's total exports in 2001 has been an important sub-sector for the Turkish economy.
With its high grade products, the technology of production and quality of workmanship, Turkey has started to increase her share in the main markets, especially in the European market. Therefore, prominent world suppliers have started to co-operate with Turkish manufacturers in joint production in the home textile field. Now, Turkey's main targets in the world home textile market are to exceed a share of 15% and to increase the existing number of Turkish brands.
The European countries are the most important markets for Turkey's home textile exports. A large quantity of home textiles is exported to Germany. The other main markets are the USA, France, the U.K. and the Netherlands. New markets such as Switzerland, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Russian Federation and the other Commonwealth of Independent States are emerging.
As in all the countries, small and medium sized companies (SMEs) in Turkey are engines of growth and have an untapped potential for export. In order to promote this potential, a legal regulation came into force in December 1994 about the organization of SMEs. After this regulation SMEs started to be organized under the roof of the export companies called Sectoral Foreign Trade Companies (SFTCs). These companies completely specialize in foreign trade. 32 sectoral foreign trade companies (SFTCs) have been established in different sectors. Eleven of them are active in the textile and clothing industry. Six of the SFTCs are active in home textiles.
Turkey exhibits her full potential in home textiles in major specialized fairs both in Turkey and abroad. In 2002, there were 2 large fairs in the home textile field in Turkey. These were HOMETEX 2002 in Istanbul in May and DÉCOR ANK 2002 in Ankra in April. In addition, Turkish companies participate in events organized every year worldwide, including Heimtextil. This year 179 Turkish companies exhibited having 14,000 sq. metres at Heimtextil 2003, a record number for the Turkish home textile industry.
— Courtesy _ (Milliyet, Special edition for Heimtextil, 8th _ 12th January, 2003)
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