Guest Column:
“Turkey: The right place for strategic and sustainable sourcing” Columnist’s Note: One month ago, a trustworthy contact of mine from Turkey sent me the request of her ex-colleague from Hong-Kong who was searching for Turkish home textile producers. Their strategy is to supply and send the goods from Turkey to their clients in the USA. In Hometex, I will meet this sourcing companies’ Indian representative and we will visit the producers together (not only for home textiles, also for outdoor carpets..) by: Pinar Okal, Principal, Tessidea, Como, Italy
Covid-19 changed our lives, and is still changing. In the past two years, consumer behaviours have changed in all sectors as well as home textiles, and the search for health and well-being has become an important focus. People want significant changes to make the world a better place through social and
environmental responsibility. Besides, companies faced many challenges in sourcing that led them re-evaluate their sourcing practices to increase flexibility, to spread the risk of supply chain disruptions, and to reduce the environmental impact. Under these changing circumstances, Turkey, with its nearshoring advantage, is considered as a reliable partner that is able to provide faster, sustainable and quality production for European and US markets due to its well-organised services, manufacturing capabilities, vertical integration and wide raw material sources. Turkish manufacturers also have the ability to meet lower MOQ demands and the necessary certifications for green production and sustainability. The Home Textile industry in Turkey closed the year 2021 with a record increase in export to Europe and the USA. In order to keep this interest constant the Turkish companies are more focused on branding and green production. F&FI
Raymakers Sales, Sustainability Effort Increases F&FI News Network
H
ELMOND, The Netherlands— J.A. Raymakers & Co. reports moderate growth in sales in 2022 over 2021 but it is making a major push into Back row: Richard Oussoren, recycled fibers and sus- Managing Director, Raymakers & tainability as a manufac- Co., Helmand, The Netherlands turer as it heads into its with Thibaut executives: Tim 250th anniversary year Sunden, Vice President, Global Product Manager, Thibaut and in 2023. Stacey Senior, Creative Marketing “We are steadily Officer; Patricia Hoffman Vice moving into recycled President Textile Innovation; fibers and a better cot- Jessica Newman, Associate ton initiative according Director, Wovens and Margaret Blum, textile agent from New York. to Richard Oussoren, Thibaut is based in New Jersey. Managing Director. “Our cotton velvets contain a minimum of 20 percent recycled fibers and all of Raymakers FR polyester velvets contain 2/3 recycled fibers,” he says. Raymakers now uses only unbranded polyester as of September 2021. “Virgin cotton or bci cotton is purchased from farmers who use drip irrigation only. Also, we buy cotton from farmers who spray efficiently only for certain insects—not all! Insecticide is designed for specific fields. “The balance of our production is modal, viscose (about 20 percent of production) and linen and wool.” In terms of price increases, Raymakers reports a 7 ½ percent price increase but there is now a variable surcharge every quarter to keep up with supply chain adjustments. F&FI
(continued from Page 8)
Backhausen/Circular Economy He points to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union through 2024 as the champion of Circular Economy when she announced the ‘Green Deal’ as the number one goal of the future economy. “We must save our resources or there won’t be enough to go around,” Backhausen emphasizes. He points to the fact that the USA and the Chinese are starting to do something about saving resources. He mentions that JAB, the large fabric wholesaler in Bielefeld, Germany as an example of successful resource management in terms of its ‘Climatex’ product line. “We must con24 • www.FandFI.com • Summer 2022
vince more companies to follow JAB’s lead on Circular Economy. In fact, several of Backhausen’s clients are starting to produce quality products which last longer and use recycled material in their production. Backhausen himself is fighting to convince people to change to a new system where saving is paramount. “Every industry is the same. Reusing material is a transformation of thinking.” “I’m so angry when we talk about putting people on Mars when we have to invest in the Earth!” “If we don’t invest in our planet, we won’t be able to live here in
the future. Our real strength is the private economy. We must do this ourselves. Every product—not just a few—must be put into the reusable loop. Eco design in loops. It is too hard to make new fiber from too many mixtures of fibers. Pure poly or pure cotton is easier to produce again. It can be used as insulation material. “Cradle to Cradle is a certification program. We can help you qualify for it if you want to change the way you do business,” Backhausen points out. “Don’t just take from our planet because one day, there will be no resources left.” F&FI