Unsung Hero: ORTA’s Orhan Herdem on Being Part of the Denim Family
Spending 21 years with a company is bound to profoundly impact anyone. For spinning manager Orhan Herdem, working at ORTA for that long means two decades of family togetherness.
As the lead for the company’s spinning department, Orhan guides his team through one of the most crucial steps in the denim lifecycle: yarn production. It’s a role he holds with pride, remaining equally excited and fascinated by the promise of the denim world.
Carved in Blue chatted with Orhan to learn more about life on the front lines of denim making—including the fabric’s overarching accessibility.
Carved in Blue: How long have you been doing this job? What keeps you there?
Orhan: I joined ORTA in 1998. In these 21 years, I have worked at different positions in various departments: utilities, weaving preparation, weaving and spinning. On my first day, I felt ORTA’s unique corporate culture that gives you the freedom of creating value-added results in your job. At ORTA, we feel at home; we feel as ORTA is our own company.
Carved in Blue: What does the denim industry mean to you?
Orhan: Denim has a long journey, from cotton to garment making to consumers. There is a lot of work behind the scenes that gives this legendary fabric a unique look and today’s sustainable choices.
Carved in Blue: How important is your role to the greater business?
Orhan: Today I am leading the spinning department, a team that produces yarn for denim. One of the most important elements of achieving good, quality denim is to produce correct yarn. My team’s role can be described with these words: quality, on-time delivery, flexibility and innovative yarn patterns.
For the last five years, new sustainable fiber use has been added into this list. We’ve been using organic cotton since the beginning of the 2000s. BCI and recycled cotton followed organic cotton. Now the span has enlarged. New recycled materials and bio-based solutions—and different combinations of these—are what we are after.
Carved in Blue: What do you love most about the job that you’re doing?
Orhan: I am working with a very dynamic team. We produce different types of yarn from different fibers and blends according to customer demands. It is very important working as a systematic team, and I’m very proud to be a member of ORTA family. At ORTA, we are creating the future of denim, and it’s fascinating.
Carved in Blue: What do you love most about denim?
Orhan: Though it all started with the look for durable clothing, denim evolved over time and became a cultural icon. From high fashion to sportswear, it’s possible to find denim for each segment. Today denim is reachable for everybody, and it’s a very strong part of society that views people as equals.
Carved in Blue: What’s the best perk about working in your role?
Orhan: Denim production has many variables, and denim itself has a lot of potential innovation in both production and the garment-finishing side. For me and for my team, it is very exciting to see how our innovations on yarn production create differences in denim and also in garments.
Carved in Blue: What’s one idea you have for the denim industry that you don’t think enough people are talking about?
Orhan: As a consequence of various reasons, the textile business is getting more expensive globally. Creating equal conditions in every step and every aspect of denim production, environmental and social would create an economic balance in the sector. Every garment has a true cost, and we should talk about this more.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Orhan: Carved in Blue is the fresh voice of the denim world.