Türkiye

Environmental permitting systems across ten major textile-producing nations contain significant gaps in how industrial pollution from spinning mills, dye houses and garment factories is regulated, a new UNEP report has found. Most national legislation fails to classify textile activities as environmentally significant or to consider gendered impacts on workers.

A newly published archaeological study has identified a blue-dyed textile fragment from Beycesultan Höyük in western Türkiye as the oldest known blue fabric discovered in a Bronze Age context in Anatolia and its periphery. The research analyses the fragment, identifies it as early evidence of nålbinding, an early single-needle knitting technique, and confirms the use of indigo in the region.

Gender pay disparities remain embedded in Türkiye’s fashion manufacturing sector, according to a new insights paper published by Global Fashion Agenda (GFA). Drawing on factory surveys, union interviews and social compliance data, the study examines structural drivers of wage inequality and outlines coordinated actions for policymakers, brands, other buyers and suppliers.

Türkiye’s textile sector, heavily dependent on European markets, faces mounting regulatory demands that threaten the viability of smaller firms. A recent study tested a stakeholder-driven framework across four SMEs, producing actionable sustainability priorities and targets. The findings reveal how small manufacturers can chart realistic pathways in a challenging compliance environment.

The European Union has awarded the first Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) registration for cotton to Turkiye’s ‘Söke Pamuğu’, in recognition of its special characteristics tied to the region’s environment and its traditional cultivation methods which will in the long run enhance the product’s economic value for local producers.

The Cotton Association of India has joined the nationwide call to boycott Türkiye and urged the cotton trading community “to consider stopping” all trade with Türkiye and explore alternative options to suit “our nation's interest.”

The lesson of the current US tariffs crisis roiling the trade world is this: you cannot keep relying on one country as your export destination. From now on it has to be ‘US Plus One’.

As part of International Labour Organization’s (ILO) work in driving advancement of formal and inclusive sustainable textile practices within Türkiye's green economy, the former has partnered with a women’s cooperative to promote eco-friendly textiles and raise awareness about the detrimental impacts of fast fashion.

It was a seismological shift for workers post the February 2023 quake in Turkiye as the majority of those impacted were left to fend for themselves both by the factories and brands they laboured for, alleges a report by advocacy group Clean Clothes Campaign. 

At least 16 global fashion brands were mute observers to the February 2023 tremblor that devastated parts of Turkiye with only 2 taking some steps to ameliorate working conditions from the 200+ suppliers they source from.