Stunning Home Textiles of Turkey US$2+ Billion Exports Sector

HOME TEXTILES

PRODUCTION

The Turkish Home Textiles industry as a sub-sector of the Turkish textile industry, which is the world’s fourth largest supplier and the EU’s second largest supplier, has now a significant role in world trade and capacity to meet the high standards of all 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 Textiles 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 Textiles 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 was the world’s third supplier of bed sheets, fourth supplier of towels and bathrobes and fifth supplier of bedspreads in 2018.

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.

Over 190 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. 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.

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 hand looms. 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.

Another traditional fabric is “Selalmaz Çemberi” which takes its name from Selalmaz, a region in Kastamonu. This fabric is also obtained from pure cotton yarn and woven on hand looms. It is a very thin fabric like tulle. It is a difficult fabric to weave that one can only weave one meter per day. Due to its outstanding originality it is used widely in-home decoration as well as in clothing. “Azdavay Çemberi” is another famous fabric woven in Azdavay, a town of Kastamonu.

It is made from linen or pure cotton and it is a very original hand woven fabric. This fabric like Selalmaz Çemberi, is woven loose or dense. It is used widely in home decoration and clothing production. Since all of these traditional fabrics are natural, made of pure cotton or linen without using any chemical dyes, they are environment friendly. Therefore, there is considerable demand for home textiles made of these fabrics in international markets.

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 Textiles 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 created 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. 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 Textiles field.

The main export products in 2019 were towels, bathrobes, dressing gowns, bed linens, furnishing and curtain fabrics, and bed spreads. Total Home Textiles products export volume decreased by 2,3 percent compared to the previous year in 2019 and reached to 2 billion dollar.

The European countries are the most important markets for Turkey’s Home Textiles exports. A large quantity of home textiles is exported to Germany. The other main markets are USA, Italy, France, U.K., and Netherlands respectively