Page 69 - New Cloth Market December 2022 Digital Edition

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PAGES

GMO Free Turkish Cotton Launch AEI Tèxtils concludes two projects
was held in Izmir, Turkey aimed at improving skills in the tex-

GMO Free Turkish Cotton Cotton is intended to moni- tile sector based on innovation and
tor the purchase, processing and use of non-GMO sustainability
cotton products, to determine and document the
manufacturer's criteria in all industrial processes AEI Tèxtils is a cluster, structured as a non-profit
containing cotton. With the standard, the association, which aims to bring together all Cata-
sustainability and traceability of cotton textile prod- lan companies and entities directly or indirectly
ucts without GMO will be ensured, so that environ- linked to the sector of advanced textile materials,
mental and social policies determined within the making up a specialized production pole with com-
standard will spread to the base. petitive advantages.

Within the scope of value-added export targets of the tex-
tile and raw materials sector; The launch of the “GMO Free
Turkish Cotton” project, in which non-GMO Turkish cotton AEI Tèxtils has concluded two European projects that have
is transformed into a guarantee brand, was launched on generated several interesting training materials for compa-
December 9, 2022, in cooperation with the Izmir Commod- nies and educational centers in the sector.
ity Exchange, the National Cotton Council, and the Istanbul
Both projects, CLEANTEX and FACTIVE, started in late
Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Association.
2020 and have lasted two years. They habe been co-fund-
At the launch, where ITHIB Board Member Zekeriya ed by the European Commission in the framework of Eras-
Tanriverdi took part as a speaker, information on the start- mus+ program and, in both cases, there has been a close
ing point and goals of the project was shared. ITHIB Board collaboration between the private sector and academia.
Member Zekeriya Tanriverdi stated that the project is one
CLEANTEX and FACTIVE are aligned with the competenc-
of the most important breakthroughs made by the Turkish
es pilar of AEI Tèxtils’ strategy, contributing to the cluster
textile industry in the field of sustainability: We are happy
aim of accelerating strategic and technological capabilities
to offer the “GMO FREE Turkish Cotton” guarantee brand
and attract talent to drive innovation and resilient growth in
to the use of the entire industry. Non-GMO cotton, which is
the sector.
mainly produced in Turkey, Spain and Greece, is at the
level of 800 thousand tons per year in Turkey; about 200 The first project, CLEANTEX, was aimed at promoting the
thousand tons in Greece; In Spain, it is produced around uptake of circular economy and eco-design concepts to
20 thousand tons. Turkey, the world's largest producer of improve the skills of students in textile engineering and
non-GMO cotton, The promotion of the cotton it produces workers in the sector through cross-sectoral cooperation in
is an important factor in both environmental health, the higher education institutions in order to tackle the main
development of the agricultural sector and raising the per- pollution problem in the textile industry and reach a more
ception of the Turkish brand. Our ultimate goal in our project, sustainable sector.
together with our stakeholders from the Izmir Commodity
CLEANTEX resulted in two major outcomes: a MOOC (mas-
Exchange and the National Cotton Council, is to show that
sive open online course) and a guide for the implementa-
our textile and ready-made clothing products are sustain-
tion of life cycle analysis and eco-design in the textile in-
able, in line with corporate social responsibility principles,
dustry.
have a traceable and transparent structure, and increase
the added value of our industry.” said. The MOOC includes seven modules: introduction to circu-
NCM-DECEMBER 2022
69