New Era in Technical Textiles: Recyclable Fibers

A New Era in Technical Textiles: Recyclable Fibres TEKSMER presented functional, sustainable and recyclable fibres it has developed since its founding in 2014 at a launch event titled "Discover the Power of Technical Textiles. Add Value to Textiles" held at Aegean Exporters Unions. Cumhur İşbırakmaz, General Secretary of Aegean Exporters Unions, said: "TEKSMER - Technical Textiles Research and Application Center was established in 2014 with the support of the Izmir Development Agency and through a partnership of the Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Union, Aegean Ready-Made Garments and Apparel Exporters Union and Dokuz Eylül University, with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of the textile and ready-made garment sector in the technical textiles field and enabling the development of research projects through university-industry cooperation that would meet the needs and expectations of the industry." Aegean Region Becoming a Center for High-Value-Added Textile Products İşbırakmaz added: "Following the completion of the project, TEKSMER gained legal status in 2017 under the name TEKSMER Training Consulting Research and Laboratory Services Inc., in partnership with the Textile and Apparel Unions within our Aegean Exporters Unions. From that date onwards, while providing numerous technical training and consulting services, important technical reports were prepared and presented to our sector that could respond to or guide the sector's needs. I believe that with the know-how created at TEKSMER, the contributions of academia and the interest and support of the textile and ready-made garment sectors, stronger projects will be created, and as a result, high-value-added textile products will now be produced more extensively in our country and especially in our region." TEKSMER Founding Board Chair Sabri Ünlütürk stated: "The most important material in our possession is polyester synthetic fibres. Beyond that, there are many polymers we haven't yet discovered. We don't fully understand the mathematics of these polymers. We don't yet know many functional properties of polyester and other polymers. Research and development activities are very important. It is possible to create a value-added product from a two-dollar polyester yarn. We established TEKSMER to create added value. Today it is very easy for conventional companies to transform into technical textile companies. But what matters is R&D support. Owning fibres with properties means owning real added value." Turan Göksan, TEKSMER Board Chair and Deputy Chair of the Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Union Management Board, said: "In the global competitive environment, for our textile sector to maintain its presence, the field of 'technical and functional textiles' stands out as an exit point and an area highly open to development due to the added value it creates. TEKSMER, established through the partnership of our Textile and Ready-Made Garment Unions, was also founded to direct our sector towards this goal. We should view TEKSMER, which conducts research and development activities in the field of technical textiles, especially in the development of functional fibres, as an opportunity to further strengthen our position in the sector and increase our competitiveness in the market. We invite all stakeholders in the sector to undertake joint projects with TEKSMER." R&D Activities Advancing with TEKSMER Göksan added that the TEKSMER Center, which has accredited laboratory infrastructure capable of testing technical textiles and possesses a laboratory-type bicomponent fibre spinning system, enables continuous and rapid implementation of R&D activities. "TEKSMER provides us with serious contributions in developing functional, sustainable products through innovative solutions starting from the fibre stage, diversifying our product range. In the launch area you can see numerous TÜBİTAK-supported R&D projects based on circular economy spanning many fields from protective textiles to medical applications, from automotive to home products. The projects TEKSMER has developed and continues to work on will reach higher levels with support from our industry and will provide larger contributions to our region's and country's exports through the added value they provide to our exports." Turkey Ranks 8th Largest Technical Textile Exporter in the World Dr. Devrim Göktaş Başer, Coordinator of TEKSMER-Technical Textiles Research and Application Center, announced that according to production data from the last 10 years, global technical textile exports which were USD 96 billion in 2010 reached USD 113.5 billion in 2020, representing a 6.1 percent increase. "Looking at export sub-product groups, we see technical textile materials at 21 percent share in ready-made garments, nonwoven fabrics at 16.7 percent share, and glass fibre at 10.1 percent share. China ranks first with 32.8 percent share, Germany second with 7.5 percent share, and the United States third with 6.6 percent share. Turkey ranks 8th largest with 2.4 percent share in technical textile exports. Turkey's share in world technical textile exports has risen from 1.6 percent to 2.4 percent. In 2020 it reached USD 2.8 billion in value. It has risen from 19th position to 8th position." Emphasizing that major exporting countries began their R&D activities before 1980 and that Turkey started considerably later than these countries, Başer continued: "We can see clearly here that the budgets countries allocate for R&D determine their export levels. Germany allocates 3.2 percent share, the United States 3.1 percent share, China 2.2 percent share, the United Kingdom 1.8 percent share, and Turkey 1.1 percent share. Technical textile production is a high-capital sector that largely requires R&D. According to TÜİK data, Turkey's gross domestic R&D spending is still at 1.1 percent, below the EU average. Countries allocating more than 2 percent of resources for R&D spending are classified in the developed country category. This result shows that R&D activities conducted in Turkey are insufficient." Devrim Göktaş Başer stated: "Each newly developed project will contribute to increasing the R&D activities of textile companies; through R&D activities, high-value-added products will be produced, reducing dependence on imports, and thus increasing the power to compete on international platforms and improving living standards. By producing R&D projects, opening space for technical textiles alongside conventional textile production, closely following developments in technical textiles globally and reacting accordingly, commercializing value-added products and gaining market share, it is possible to catch up with the world pace in technical textiles. We can point to this as the main reason for low technical textile exports. Our aim is to bring Turkey's percentage to higher figures. We provide every kind of support to our companies in this regard." In Contact with the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Taiwan Simla Şahin, Specialist at TEKSMER-Technical Textiles Research and Application Center, provided information about projects developed by TEKSMER, stating: "What is now expected from textiles is functionality, recyclability, sustainability. There is a transformation towards a circular economy. Nature-friendly, biologically new generation polymers are being used. We have developed 10 different sustainable projects/fibres. We can develop new projects with our companies as well as reshape existing ones. We are in contact with fibre-developing entities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Taiwan." Products displayed at the launch include: flame-retardant recyclable fibres, thermochromic fibres that change colour with temperature increase, infrared radiation-capable fibres, lightweight breathable quick moisture-transfer recyclable hollow fibres, antiviral and antibacterial fibres that eliminate coronavirus by 94.38 percent within 2 hours, lightweight breathable quick moisture-transfer recyclable trilobal fibres, blood circulation-enhancing antibacterial and negative ion-releasing recyclable fibres, recycled raw material fibres, and luminescent light-absorbing and glowing fibres.