Work and Outcome in Turkey

Building on the success of previous partnerships activities in China and Bangladesh, our work in Turkey focused on improving water management methods and policies in the Büyük Menderes river basin. The river runs from central Turkey to the Aegean Sea and is home to large-scale agriculture and industry, including textile operations, as well as rich biodiversity. Between 2017-2018, the partnership promoted water stewardship and Cleaner Production targeting the textile industry of the Büyük Menderes river. In a single year, these e orts led to some remarkable outcomes:

• By July 2018, 7 local textile producers had committed to the programme, in total 17 firms were interested in joining a voluntary Cleaner Production initiative.

• Relevant ministries, industry, governance and decision-making stakeholders engaged in the promoting process, aiming to contribute with training programmes, feasibility studies, favourable loan programmes and knowledge boosting activities for the participants, their suppliers and the textile industry in Turkey.
• Brands including Boyner Group, H&M and Inditex emphasized the importance of Cleaner Production to their supply chains at a textile engagement event in May 2018.
• The partnership jointly developed Cleaner Production Guidelines for the textile industry, launched in September 2018 together with the regional development agency GEKA. These guidelines will be used for GEKA and the partnership joint supplier training.