We are going through a period in which we feel the increasing effects of climate change on our planet and in our country more and more every day. While the researches are evaluating that the climate of our Black Sea coasts will be like our Mediterranean coasts, the European Commission, which aims to make the European Union, which has a significant share in the exports of the Textile and Ready-to-Wear Sector, climate neutral, continues to take actions regarding new measures and regulations within the scope of the Green Deal. The Eco Design Directive (ESPR), one of the packages of measures expected to enter into force in 2025, is expected to have a profound impact on our country’s industrial manufacturers.
The Eco Design Directive, which is one of a series of measures to be taken within the scope of the European Green Deal (ECD) and for which a political agreement was reached on December 5, 2023, introduces regulations on two issues that will deeply affect the Textile and Ready-to-Wear Sectors of our country:
- Product performance and information criteria,
- Digital product passport.
The Directive includes product performance criteria such as durability, repairability and other environmental footprints, especially carbon footprint. With the digital product passport, the European Commission plans to create a digital database covering the entire life cycle of products. In addition to information such as instructions for use, the digital product passport will include information such as resources consumed, waste generated and environmental footprint at all stages of a product’s life cycle, from production to use and disposal. With the QR and RFOD tags in the digital passport, it is planned that all stakeholders in the value chain will be able to access this information in an open and transparent manner.
According to the results obtained within the scope of the “Istanbul Turkish Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Sector Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan” project prepared by the Mediterranean Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association (AHKİB), Uludağ Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association (UHKİB), Denizli Exporters’ Association (DENİB), Aegean Exporters’ Associations (EİB) and Istanbul Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association (İHKİB), 54% of the textile and apparel enterprises,While 1% have OEKO-TEX and 45.9% have BCI labels, very few have taken action on Carbon Footprint, Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). While 9% of companies have projects to reduce carbon emissions, only 5% develop projects for product life cycle.
It is extremely important for the sustainability of the sector that the Textile and Apparel Sector takes steps in line with the new developments in climate change. In order not to be negatively affected by the Directive and not to be caught unprepared, textile and apparel organizations should determine their position compared to their competitors in the sector by conducting Carbon-Water Footprint studies, especially Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, also known as LCA, and start eco-design projects for the European Union market.
It is important for companies to see sustainability studies such as Carbon-Water Footprint Calculations, Product/Process Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Sustainability Reporting etc. not only as a service to be outsourced, but also as an operation of all production stages from procurement to production, R&D and P&D, including the governance of supply chains, production stages and post-production processes. Which parameters are followed in sustainability calculations and RDD studies, which calculations are made, which calculations are made, and monitoring the environmental sustainability of the supply chain are processes that the company needs to comply with, and therefore take longer than expected. In this context, organizations that start their sustainability calculation, reporting and strategy formulation activities before the carbon tax is mandatory will have the advantage of entering the market, while organizations that plan to quickly get involved in the process based on customer demand and legal obligations will be left behind in this competition. Companies that are unable to follow metrics in production management and work in a black-line will not be able to adapt to this process and will be out of the game.
It is clear that the directives and practices that will enter into force within the framework of the ECC will seriously transform the economies of countries like Turkey, which exports a significant portion of its exports to the European Union countries. The organizations that adapt to these processes the fastest will be one step ahead of the competition, while those that fail to adapt will be left out of the game. Companies that develop more sustainable and high standard products will get a bigger share of the pie, while companies that fail in this area will get a smaller share, and companies that want to get a bigger share of the pie will take the competition to another dimension by developing new business models.
