Istanbul hosted a fashion conference organised by the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TGSD). The Istanbul Fashion Conference, organised for the 11th year, has become an important platform helping the Turkish ready-to-wear sector’s transformation into a global brand.
This year’s theme was: responsible fashion. Some 2,700 liters of water is estimated to be wasted for the production of one t-shirt. Polyester, one of the materials most used in the fashion industry, is insoluble in nature. That contributes to the rise in plastic waste in the oceans. From washing machines they go to the seas, where fishes eat them.
Hadi Karasu, President, TGSD, talked about the growth strategy of the sector. TGSD defined three pillars for a five-year growth strategy: Hot pursuit, branding, sustainability. He believes responsible fashion needs to involve the human factor in addition to the environmental dimension. Informal labor, child labor, and work safety should be part of this understanding.
