Turkey has the largest machine park for the production of both embroidery and guipure in the world. Europe’s largest factory producing quilt covers is in Turkey. The Turkish home textile industry has also acquired the latest technology with a high production capacity, a highly skilled labor pool, and design and fashion capabilities.
The Turkish home textile industry has a significant role in world trade and capacity to meet the high standards of ali sophisticated consumers.
Almost all kinds of home textiles are produced in Turkey and may be listed by export value as follows: towels, bed sheets, bed spreads, curtains, blankets, pillows, quilts, cushions, eiderdowns, table linens, tulle, lace, goblen, flander, aubusson, wall hangings and sleeping bags. The Turkish home textile industry is one of the world leaders with its wide range of products and superior quality in home textile production, especially in the production of towels, bed sheets and covers, curtains, tulle, embroidery, guipure and quilt covers. Turkey has the largest machine park for the production of both embroidery and guipure in the world. Europe’s largest factory producing quilt covers is in Turkey.
The Turkish home textile industry has also acquired the latest technology with a high production capacity, a highly skilled labor pool, and design and fashion capabilities. in addition, the industry has managed to reduce the cost of production below the world average while it has increased the quality of its products. Therefore, with a huge production capacity, high quality and strong competitiveness, Turkey is among the world’s top three suppliers of towels, bed sheets, bedspreads and curtains. in the same way, Turkey is the largest supplier of EU in towels, bed sheets, table clothes, bedspreads and curtains.
In Turkey, the towel sector has traditional roots and its towels are known as “Turkish Towels” worldwide. Today the Turkish towel sector has competitive power in international markets in terms of jacquard and embroidery technologies. Lace, which is commonly used in many textile applications, especially in home textiles, is originally a Turkish handicraft. It is an embroidery art reaching back to the mid 1500s and crowned by the labor of Turkish women. it is an outstanding handicraft with its traditional taste and motifs in different colors and lines, which are now reflected in modern home decoration. Turkish home textile producers are mainly located in Istanbul, Denizli, Bursa, Tekirdag, Izmir, Gaziantep, Kayseri and Usak.
Towel and bathrobe producers are concentrated in Denizli and Bursa, voile producers in Istanbul and Bursa, and blanket producers in Usak. Many of the producers in these cities have integrated their production process from yarn and fabric production to product design, dying finishing and sewing in order to obtain the best quality in every stage of production.
Denizli is the manufacturing center of toweling sector city is mostly concentrated on toweling sector. 187 companies in Denizli manufacture cotton towels and bathrobes. Such a manufacturing facility on one product group in the same area is a success story and a good example of the cluster development. In Denizli, towels and bathrobes are manufactured from Aegean cotton which is the finest cotton in the world. These towels and bathrobes are well known throughout the world with their extraordinary softness, absorbency and warmth. Their extraordinary pile thickness and density give towels and bathrobes these superior features. In addition, the more these towels and bathrobes are washed, the softer and more absorbent they become, contrary to the ordinary products. That’s why Denizli on its own has a major share in world’s cotton towel and bathrobe exports.
About 90% of these products are exported to all over the world. ” Turkish Towels and Bathrobes ” , especially the ones from Denizli , are not used only at homes but also presented by 5 or 4 star hotels in all over the world as a quality service sign . Moreover , visitors of these hotels would consider a negative point in their services if “Turkish Towels and Bathrobes ” were not kept in bathrooms , sport centers , saunas and Turkish baths .
Bursa is one of the most important manufacturing centers in the textile field in the world and it is mostly concentrated on the manufacturing of curtains, curtaining and upholstery fabrics, decoration fabrics, bedding products, towels and bathrobes as well as other textiles. There are hundreds of companies which are active in manufacturing and trading on all kinds of textiles in Bursa. Many of these companies have been organized very well and come together in “Bursa International Textile and Shopping Centre”, called Buttim in short.
In Buttim, there are about 850 textile companies, most of which are active in the sector of home textiles, curtaining and upholstery fabrics. In Buttim, there are about 320 showrooms where every kind of home textiles and textile products are presented to thousands of national and international visitors. Buttim is such a huge center that it has a daily visitor capacity of 20 thousand. Therefore, visitors abroad looking for upper quality and a wide range of home textiles, curtains, curtaining and furnishing fabrics etc. should not go back home without visiting Buttim.
Besides large-scale firms, there are many small and medium sized companies scattered all around the country. in the rural areas around some cities like Denizli, Mugla and Kastamonu, the production of traditional fabrics is still widespread, and recently they have been used in the production of home textiles. One of these traditional fabrics having worldwide fame is the “Buldan Fabric”, from the Buldan province of Denizli. With its characteristic designs, it is unique and carries the heritage of the past into the present as it is woven on traditional handlooms. This fabric, which has a completely natural look and basic textile characteristic due to its being made of pure cotton, is widely used both in traditional and modern home decoration.
Today the Turkish home textile industry is aware of the trend in international markets towards the increasing demand for healthier and more environmentally friendly products and quickly adapts itself to developments in legal and technical regulations. Many manufacturers in the sector are able to produce with quality and environment management systems, e.g. ISO 9000 series. Additionally, some companies in the home textile sector have private Eco labels.
In a rapidly changing world, the home decoration field is very sensitive to all changes. That’s why the creation of collections with innovative and modern designs and motifs in addition to the quality of the product is essential. Turkish home textile manufacturers are very conscious about fashion creation and design, which enables them to gain a special place in international markets. New and modern designs and unique motifs, all developed by Turkish designers keep a finger on the pulse of world home decoration fashion and meet most tastes and preferences.
Exports
Besides meeting domestic demand in Turkey, the Turkish home textile sector with its high potential in the export market and its wide range of products and superior quality is an important export earner for the country. The sector exports about 60% of its production.
According to the International Trade Center’s (ITC) statistics, Turkey was the fourth largest exporting country in home textiles with a value of US$ 2,7 billion in 2010. With its fashion products, the advanced technology of production and quality of products,
Turkey has been increasing her share in the main markets, especially in the European market. Therefore, prominent world suppliers have started to cooperate with Turkish manufacturers for joint production in the home textile field.
In recent years, Turkish companies in many consumer goods sectors such as clothing, home textile, carpets, footwear, leather clothing and goods, furniture and jewelry have been very active in retailing sector abroad and had stores over 1,700 worldwide. The number of newly established stores abroad has been increasing day by day and expected to reach 5,000 until the year 2012. Home textile sector ranks second with 280 stores in terms of the number of stores abroad, following the clothing sector which has 1,350 stores.
The main export products in 2011 were towels, bathrobes, dressing gowns, bed linens, furnishing and curtain fabrics, and bed spreads. The European countries are the most important markets for Turkey’s home textile exports. A large quantity of home textiles is exported to Germany. The other main markets are Russia, USA, France, Iran, the U.K., Italy and the Netherlands .
