Kipas Textiles has a vision, and it is to lead the change towards a truly sustainable and circular future.
Last month, Sustainability Talks İstanbul brought pioneers of the fashion and textile industry together for a global discussion on sustainability. The conference featured prominent speakers from the industry who shared innovative projects, ideas and goals for a sustainable future.
“As sustainable investments and embracing innovative technologies become increasingly important elements within the industry, this hybrid event aimed to raise awareness of what we can achieve in terms of sustainability and circular economy,” said Halit Gumuser, board member, Kipas Textiles.
Organized in collaboration with Kipas Textiles, Orbit Consulting and Turkey Exporters Assembly (TIM); Sustainability Talks Istanbul was held on Nov. 25 at Zorlu Center. More than 650 physical and 1,000 virtual participants attended the conference.
The event featured 39 prominent speakers from the industry including Nicolas Propthe of PVH, Andrew Olah of Kingpins, Liesl Truscott of Textile Exchange, Emrah Eşder of Archroma, and many others. Main topics were circularity, raw materials, traceability, cleaner production and digitalization.
Overall, the talks stressed the need for the industry to work together.
“Complex challenges from the climate emergency to responsible sourcing of raw materials, as well as minimum resource usage in water and energy, can be overcome with collaboration, embracing transparency and sharing information between global textile industry actors,” Gumuser said.
Calvin Woolley shared IKEA’s renewable energy goals, which include 0 percent coal/oil on site by 2025.
Andrew Olah mentioned Transformers Foundation—the unified voice representing the denim industry and its ideas for positive change. He explained, “to help share expertise and opinion on industry threats and solutions, we help brands and retailers to transform their jeans into a better, more sustainable product.’’ He also brought attention to misinformation about cotton consumption, advising attendees to “become critical consumers of misinformation.”
Eşder shared Archroma’s Impact calculator which can be used for any product, allowing companies to track “water, electricity and gas consumption in one tool.”
The event dovetailed with Kipas Textiles’ overall mission. “We focus on preserving finite resources by adopting sustainable materials and industrial water and energy management processes to achieve our targets for a sustainable and circular future,” Gumuser said.
“Since 2019, 100 percent of our energy comes from renewable sources,” Gumuser added. “We take a step further with our aim to become carbon neutral by planting half a million trees by 2025.”
For more information on Kipas Textiles, click here.