Organized by BTC Bilgi Teknolojileri, one of the most important solution partners of the Turkish textile industry, at the Polat Renaissance Hotel on November 14th, the 1st Water Intelligence – Towards Dry Textile Conference, which focused on water management, sustainable and clean production in the textile industry, was a great success. Held with the support of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB), Turkish Textile and Finishing Industrialists Association (TTTSD) and a wide participation from industry, the conference laid the environmental problems in textile production on the table and showed sustainable solutions under the slogan ‘Towards Dry Textile’.
The conference was held with 130 participants from 75 leading companies in weaving, finishing, dyeing and printing segments of the textile industry, and was fully supported by both the industry and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The conference was attended by TTTSD President Vehbi Canpolat, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, General Directorate of Environmental Management, Water and Soil Management Department Official Hakan Balman, and Textile Machinery and Accessory Industrialists’ Association (TEMSAD) President Adil Nalbant.
Natural resources will be preserved through clean production
Nurten Ergün, General Manager of BTC Bilgi Teknolojileri, made the opening speech of the 1st Water Intelligence – Towards Dry Textile Conference, and thanked all institutions and organizations for their support. Ergün stated that their goal is sustainable production and sustainable life within the framework of clean production practices, and continued her words saying; “The focus of this first conference is the conservation of natural resources, especially water. New technologies and solutions that enable water to be minimized with clean production and reintegration of water used in the production process will be discussed today. The conference has 3 main topics; water management, water recovery and dry technologies”.
Expressing that BTC Bilgi Teknolojileri has left behind 25 years in the industry, Nurten Ergün said that the company has transformed into a solution provider for consulting, digital printers and finally sustainable, clean production technologies. Ergün; “This conference focuses on sustainable production and sustainable living. We aim to raise awareness about textile molecular chemistry and integrated water management with all key stakeholders of the industry”.
Textile industry remodels into a sustainable structure
TTTSD President Vehbi Canpolat said that the Turkish textile industry today has a production capacity of 80 billion dollars; and that they aim to increase this value to 120 billion dollars in the next 10 years. Stating that the development will continue by adhering to global trends and consumer demands, Canpolat noted that production methods have changed and environmental sensitivity has increased in the world and continued commenting;
“Sustainability and recyclable products are more important in our lives. We have polluted the world along the industrialization in general. This had to change and one of the most sensitive industries was the textile industry. With recycling, we minimize the use of raw materials; reuse the product in the production cycle and pollute the world in a lesser extent. With the development of new technologies, the use of less water in the production process; and the reuse of the water used in recycling are now in our lives”.
Turkey is on the way to become poor on water
Saying that developing technologies make life easier and increase our comfort; while creating serious pressure on the environment; Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, General Directorate of Environmental Management, Water and Soil Management Department Official Hakan Balman said that; these technologies sometimes cause irreversible environmental problems. “Factors such as rapid population growth, excessive wrong industrialization, drought; and excessive consumption severely threatens worldwide all natural resources but especially water resources” said Balman; and emphasized that Turkey is not a water rich country, and even has been moving towards becoming poor on water.
Stating that water resources should be protected both in terms of quantity and quality; Balman explained that an integrated perspective is needed to protect the environment. Balman added that the first works for clean industrial production started in textile industry; and there is a high awareness throughout the industry.