Conscious Garment Makers: How Taypa Does Good Denim
When it comes to sustainability, Taypa leaves no leaf unturned.
The Turkish conscious garment maker is very serious about keeping the environment as clean as possible as it produces its denim bottoms. The company is nearly 40 years old —what began as a little shop in Sultanhamam, the heart of Istanbul’s textiles trade, has evolved into a major global production.
Consciousness is at the heart of everything Taypa does in denim. The company believes in managing by values, because it’s the right thing to do and because doing so can make a more humane and efficient world.
Taypa boasts an alphabet soup of eco-friendly/green certifications, and that coupled with its emphasis on transparent manufacturing, has drawn the likes of brands like Zara, Levi’s and Uniqlo, to name just some. And when the company launches its new Sustainability Report in September, expect to see even more commitments made.
Carved in Blue caught up with Taypa’s sales and marketing director Banu Acun to have a glimpse on what it takes to produce conscious denim in Turkey.
Carved in Blue: Can you tell us a little more about your company?
Banu: Taypa is name of a half-century old tradition in the Turkish textiles and clothing business. It is the textile manufacturing company of the Tay Group. We basically produce jeans and pants. Tay Group holds one of the biggest denim and non-denim bottom capacity in the near EU zone: in Turkey with Taypa we produce 8 million units/year, in Egypt with T&C 5 million, in Algeria, by 2019 we’ll have additional 15 million units/year. The project of Algeria is still in the construction stage at the moment. The target capacity of all locations, including denim, non-denim bottoms, shirts and knitted garments will be 45 million units by 2020.
Carved in Blue: What type of equipment do you have in your facilities?
Banu: We have the laser systems, ozone systems and low liquid ratio washing equipment in our laundry. Also, at the moment we are assembling the automated chemical dosage system at the laundry. Our sewing facilities have supported with the automated sewing machines for back pockets, waistbands, overlocks…etc.
Carved in Blue: What is the company doing when it comes to sustainability?
Banu: We have investments at the laundry towards sustainability. We use laser, ozone and water bubble technology systems which enable us to use less chemical, less water and less energy in a worker friendly way. We also measure Environmental Impact (EIM) Scores to guide us to improve our recipes. We use the excess steam to heat our water tanks as well as central heating. We have changed all the chemicals used in our laundry to ‘Green Screen Chemicals’ and respect Restricted Substances Lists. We are also working for Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Initiative. We have joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (HIGG INDEX) platform with our two factories since 2015 and all factories since 2016. We are at the FEM (Factories Environmental Module). Just to give some numbers, last year we have cut the consumption of electricity by 9 percent and natural gas by 32 percent per garment. With all above investments, we can proudly say that, even using one glass of water, we can wash your jeans.
Carved in Blue: Who are some of your customers and where do you ship your garments?
Banu: We export to more than 50 countries in the world. Some of our customers are Levi’s (Levi’s, Docker’s, Levi’s Vintage Clothing and Made & Crafted), PVH (Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein), Mavi Jeans, Inditex (Massimo Dutti and Zara), Uniqlo, Street One, New Look and Jack Wills.
Carved in Blue: Why do you like working with fabrics using TENCEL® fibers?
Banu: We prefer fabric blends with TENCEL® branded lyocell fibers within our collection since it is seen as a sustainable and environmental friendly fiber within the fashion industry. It has such a soft, drapy and feminine look, and it’s easy to work with.
Carved in Blue: What is the market situation in Turkey right now? What do you expect in the future?
Banu: There is a huge potential in Turkey for the global garment industry. Turkey’s edge is being fast, flexible and fashion plus sustainable and friendly. For the future, we see more customized and environmentally friendly approaches. Whoever evolves its services and production lines from old conventional methods to new smart methods, will survive.
Carved in Blue: What innovations in garment making and laundry techniques do you see coming around the bend soon? In the next 5-10 years?
Banu: In near future, sustainability will be the key word for garment production. As per recent surveys, almost 30 percent of the consumers have said that they ‘put an effort’ into finding sustainable garments for themselves. We put the human and sustainability into the center and have set our future strategies towards this direction.
Carved in Blue: OK, now a little more about you—what is the oldest jean you still wear?
Banu: Personally mine is almost 10 years old Acne Jeans.
Carved in Blue: When does denim stop being denim?
Banu: I have been thinking the answer of this question for a while and I think I have found my answer. Denim stops being ‘denim’ when women start wearing jeans as a fashion item. Since then, the technology of making denim has been evolved just to satisfy the women with more comfortable stretch versions, lighter weights, softer hand feel, etc. Lenzing has seen the needs in this area and has introduced us with the high quality TENCEL® fiber.
Carved in Blue: What is your favorite city?
Banu: Istanbul, due to its energy.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Banu: It is a platform where we get the fresh news about the industry with a sincere view. We as a manufacturer would like to participate the platform more with our projects, such as Sustainability Report, which we will launch in September.