-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-Özetini-Yayınladı-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
Textile Waste is First Transformed into Raw Materials and Then into Products
30 May 2022Kipaş, operating in Kahramanmaraş, transforms textile waste from garbage to raw material and then into fabric, while Blue Matters company, operating in Tekirdağ, transforms these fabrics into products and brings them into the economy.
The importance of recycling in the textile industry, where consumption increases day by day, is also increasing due to reasons such as the protection of textile resources, waste costs and the need for cheap raw materials for production.
Cotton, one of the most important raw materials for textiles, causes significant water consumption from the field to the final product. According to the data of the Netherlands-based non-governmental organization "Water Footprint Network", approximately 10 thousand liters of water are used for 1 kilogram of cotton textile products. One kilogram of cotton fabric produces only one pair of jeans or four T-shirts.
In the textile recycling industry, colored recycled fibers are not subject to any chemicals or dyeing, so there is no need to use water again, and thanks to the recycled fibers, water is saved.
According to the information compiled by the AA correspondent from the data of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Commerce and Industry, when looking at the number of companies recycling textile solid waste as of 2019, the province with the most producers is Uşak with 67 registered companies, while Kahramanmaraş ranks second with 33 companies.
Kahramanmaraş, which is also Turkey's 4th largest textile exporter with textile exports of approximately 1.5 billion dollars, produces 36 percent of yarn production, 25 percent of denim fabric production, 15 percent of woven fabric production and 15 percent of knitted fabric production in Türkiye.
"We are trying to contribute to sustainability with near-zero waste"
Ali Ardıç, Group Manager of Kipaş OE and Recycling Facility operating in Kahramanmaraş, explained that they first started the process of transforming textile waste into fiber by sorting the products that reached them. Ardıç said:
"We first select the incoming products. We even try to educate the place where the waste is generated before they come here. They separate the 100 percent cotton ones according to their colors and send them to us. Here we sort them again, then we bale them. After baling, we give them to our production lines. In our production lines, we first cut them with a guillotine. Then we have an oiling process to soften them, then we fill these wastes in the rooms we call boxes. In the box rooms. After resting for 8-10 hours, we open them in the chiffonise machine and turn them into fiber. Then, we send them to our automatic baling process and bale them into fiber.
Ardıç stated that they classify the waste generated both during production and after consumer use and bring it into production, adding that they not only recycle these wastes but also use the waste generated during the production phase in different areas. Ardıç said, "While spinning yarn in the spinning mill, we produce some waste and dust waste. We use most of them separately. We make threads from our waste waste at a lower level and use them there. We press our dust into wedges, send it to the cement and use it as fuel there. Therefore, we are trying to contribute to sustainability with close to zero waste by using business waste at different points without leaving it to nature." he said.
"We bring as much cotton as the Kahramanmaraş plain to the economy"
Kipaş İplik R&D Manager Gökhan Tandoğan also stated that they significantly reduced the burden of waste on the environment by recycling cotton waste in recycling facilities and said, "In fact, we are bringing cotton as much as the Kahramanmaraş plain back into the economy through recycling, with a kind of waterless production, fieldless production, without using diesel fuel, without using energy." he said.
"Denim is moving towards a more environmental product"
Underlining that Turkey is one of the leading countries in textile recycling and that only two facilities operating in the textile field in Kahramanmaraş can recycle over 30 thousand tons of waste annually, Kipaş Denim General Manager Mustafa Güleken emphasized that denim is on its way to becoming a more environmental product with new developing technologies and new methods. Güleken continued as follows:
"We produced denim fabric by reducing water consumption to zero. We also reduced our ongoing use of chemicals. In recent years, we have been producing fabrics with recycled cotton, polyesters and fibers. We have already been using certified chemicals that are environmentally friendly for many years, and with these projects I mentioned, we moved towards a greener transformation."
"We continue to use 90 percent of the water we use every day in a closed cycle"
Kaan Şen, Business Development, Sustainability and Circularity Manager of Blue Matters operating in Tekirdağ, explained the stages through which fabrics produced from recycled raw materials become final products after arriving at a denim production factory:
"After the fabrics come to us, first the cutting process is carried out and then the sewing process. After sewing, sample recipes are created during the product development phase and then we carry out the washing process in production. After our washing process is completed, we send the products to our ironing package department and after the product finishing process, we supply them to the relevant brands we work with."
Şen underlined that they developed a sustainability strategy on the four main hot points they identified in the washing processes: water, energy consumption, chemical use and pumice stone, and said:
"Let me start with water. First of all, we collect rainwater and use it in our common areas, then we carry out our washing processes by ensuring low water consumption with our machinery. After the washing processes, we recycle up to 90 percent of our waste water and use it in our production with a cyclical business model. In other words, we continue to use 90 percent of the water we use every day in a closed cycle. This is an important step we have taken in the water management system."
Şen also gave information about how much they reduced water consumption in jeans production with their water management strategies and said, "Today, in the average textile industry, a pair of jeans consumes 3700-3800 liters of water, starting from fiber production to the end of its life. I can say that the Turkish average in washing processes is between 50 and 120 liters, but here we have reduced our water consumption to 15-20 liters with a 3-step water management strategy." he said.
"It is very important to check the chemical at the entrance"
Şen also stated that they purchase electricity from 100 percent renewable sources in order to make their energy consumption more sustainable, and stated that they have strict regulations on chemicals and that they check the certificates of the products through suppliers even at the sample stage. Şen said, "Afterwards, we test the product, make sure of its quality, give the green light to the purchasing department and purchase the chemicals. It is very important to check the chemical at the entrance because the same chemical can mix with the nature in your wastewater after the process, and at the discharge points after the wastewater." He said.
Stating that pumice stone has become a structure that needs to be disposed of due to the way it is used in jeans production, Şen said, "We are developing some projects to completely eliminate pumice stone from our operations. We work with eco stones. We introduce longer-lasting, more durable and certified products into our business. At the same time, we are pursuing studies such as how we can reintroduce this sludge into the circular economy through certain universities and laboratories, how a waste becomes a raw material, how its journey changes." he said.
"We should consume less, we should keep our clothes in cycle much more"
Noting that an average of 150 billion clothes are produced annually for 8 billion people in the world and that only 1 percent of these clothes can be turned into products of their own value or more valuable, Şen commented that consumers should also act responsibly to ensure sustainability in the textile industry and used the following statements:
"The main concepts of sustainability are consuming less, keeping products in the cycle as much as possible, repairing the products, giving them a new life and, as the last step, recycling. If we get to the bottom of it, we should consume less, we should keep our clothes in the cycle much longer. As consumers, when we go to the store, we choose a pair of jeans just by looking at the color or how they look on us, but there is a very serious story behind this."
Blue Matters employee Türkan Kaçka also asked consumers to use the products they buy for a long time and said, "We work hard here. There is a great deal of effort at every stage of denim. I am even surprised when I see it cheap. It is not like a sweater; cotton comes out in a sweater, it is knitted, but jeans are not like that. It has to be worn for a long time." He advised.
Source: www.aa.com.tr
Latest
News & Updates
