Turkish denim manufacturing giant Taypa Tekstil, supplier to brands including Levi’s and Calvin Klein, has made progress on a number of environmental initiatives, including lowering its water usage by 50% and its chemical usage by 40%.
New generation washing machines have helped Taypa reduce its water and chemical footprint, the company said in its 2016 sustainability report, despite production increasing in the last year.
Taypa, which produces for brands including Zara, New Look and Tommy Hilfiger, is one of the largest producers of denim in Turkey, exporting 80% of its production to around 50 countries. It recently announced an investment of US$800m in what it says will be the largest textile facility in Algeria, in a bid to double production capacity in North Africa and diversify its product offering.
Turkey denim giant Taypa investing $800m in North Africa
The company is working to lower its sustainability footprint, however, and says it has lowered its electricity consumption by 8.6%, and its natural gas consumption by 31.9%. The percentage of chemicals it uses with an environmentally friendly certificate is currently at 80%, but the company has a target of reaching 100%.
Work in its facilities has included reusing the steam from its laundry in its heating systems, the implementation of new generation moisture control devices to lower drying times, the use of UV glass systems, and the heating of water in its kitchens with solar energy.
Half of its sewing machine lines have also been equipped with servomotors for more precise control of angular or linear positions, velocity and acceleration.

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By GlobalDataIn the last year, Taypa says it has recycled 358.245 kilograms of textiles, 129.823 kilograms of paper and 65.939 kilograms of plastic waste through the licensed institutions. The company is also a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and uses EIM Score software to follow the impact of each design and determine improvements.