Isko has made significant headway towards its sustainability goals.
In its just released Sustainability Impact Report the Bursa, Turkey–based denim mill outlines how it has been and intends to be planet-friendlier. The report covers results achieved through December 2021.
“This new sustainability report isn’t created to celebrate our achievements, but to remind us of our ongoing goals and our continued commitment to improvement. That said, we are indeed proud of our diverse approaches to addressing sustainability–in the full sense of the word,” Fatih Konukoglu, Isko CEO, stated in the report.
With a production capacity of 300 million meters of fabric per year with 2,000 automatic looms and 3,200 employees, the mill is the first in the world to be recognized with the Nordic Swan and EU Ecolabel certifications. Isko’s other green-based partnerships include those with certification bodies Bluesign, Oeko-Tex, Global Recycled Standard and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
Isko plans to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
In addition, Isko has committed to eliminating the use of virgin fibers by 2023 and will use 85 percent recycled materials by the third quarter of 2022, several months ahead of its target. Its new recycled polyester facility opened in August 2021 and produces 25 tons of recycled polyester per day.
The mill has also vowed to use 100 percent Bluesign approved chemicals by 2025 and has already achieved its goal to eliminate harmful chemical discharge. It did so last year, four years earlier than originally planned, and recently received Bluesign approval for its Reform XP stretch denim, which is currently being used by Madewell for a new women’s jean.
It also continues to develop products with a lower environmental impact such as the CTRL+Z fabric, which contains no first-generation cotton but has an appearance identical to traditional denim. This textile’s key ingredients are recycled materials or regenerated fibers, which eliminates drinking water from the cotton production process.
Another advanced product is its R-Two platform that uses a mixture of reused cotton and recycled fibers. The reused cotton comes from Isko’s own production loss, which is tracked, traced and has the Content Claim Standard (CCS) certification. The reused cotton is then blended with recycled polyester derived from PET bottles. Fabrics can have the Recycled Claim Standard (RSC) certification or Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification depending on the percentage of materials contained.
Isko has also taken on six of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by United Nations Development (UNDP) agency in 2015 including providing clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, climate action and partnerships for the goals. The report said it will continue to abide by and monitor them.
Lastly, Isko also follows several certified management systems, including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 for environmental management,ISO 50001 for energy management, ISO 45001 for health and safety and ISO 9001 for quality.
“Among many other things, we have committed to reducing our carbon emissions beginning this year, aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)–and we are sharing our targets with our partners and customers. Collaboration is essential for success, particularly in an endeavor as large as sustainability,” Konukoglu added in the publication.