Global Fashion Agenda Grows Efforts to Combat Textile Waste through New Initiative in Türkiye

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) announced the launch of the Circular Fashion Partnership: Türkiye, a new initiative that aims to support the development of a circular textile system in the country by capturing and recycling post-industrial textile waste. Announced during Sustainability Talks Istanbul, the partnership is led by GFA in collaboration with national lead Rematters, supported by implementation partners Reverse Resources, Closed Loop Fashion, and Circle Economy Foundation and funded by H&M Foundation

Set to commence in early 2026, the Circular Fashion Partnership: Türkiye aims to establish textile waste management systems within factories, enhance traceability through digital tools, and connect manufacturers with recyclers to ensure higher-value recovery of post-industrial textile waste. The programme will also provide supplier support on compliance with evolving policy frameworks and foster national collaboration to drive systemic change. GFA is now calling on brands producing in Türkiye to participate in the programme.

As one of the world's leading apparel manufacturing hubs, Türkiye is uniquely positioned to scale textile-to-textile recycling due to its vertically integrated industry, proximity to the EU, and increasing regulatory pressure to reduce waste and emissions. The Circular Fashion Partnership: Türkiye will build on these strengths by developing scalable models for improved waste segregation, fibre-to-fibre recycling, and domestic recovery routes that reduce dependency on virgin materials and landfill.

The programme is part of the Global Circular Fashion Forum (GCFF), a wider initiative led by Global Fashion Agenda to advance post-industrial textile recycling through local partnerships in manufacturing regions. Building on successful implementation in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia, the Circular Fashion Partnership: Türkiye becomes the fourth national programme to deploy this model — which has already digitally traced over 21,000 tonnes of textile waste and connected more than 100 factories and 20 global brands to recycling partners across its programmes. The locally owned and led partnership in Türkiye will be customised to the regional context, while drawing on best practices from other countries. Throughout 2026, the Circular Fashion Partnership: Türkiye will engage stakeholders across the value chain via targeted activities including on-site waste management assessments, training and capacity building through a Train-the-Trainer model, recycling pitch sessions and matchmaking events, as well as roundtables and policy dialogues with key national actors. In doing so, the partnership aims to support Türkiye in futureproofing its textile ecosystem, unlock economic value from waste, and contribute to a just, circular transition in one of the industry's most influential sourcing regions.

Federica Marchionni, CEO, Global Fashion Agenda, said: "Türkiye represents a critical opportunity to accelerate circularity at scale. Through the Circular Fashion Partnership: Türkiye, we aim to foster local collaboration and unlock innovation that can serve as a model for textile-to-textile recycling globally.  Such partnerships can establish scalable systems that not only address textile waste, but also contribute to climate goals, regulatory alignment, and long-term competitiveness. This is a vital step in our mission to support a just and circular transition."

Learn more about the Global Circular Fashion Forum and the Circular Fashion Partnership: Türkiye at https://globalfashionagenda.org/circular-fashion-partnership/circular-fashion-partnership-turkiye/

Brands producing in Türkiye and interested in exploring how they can better manage post-industrial textile waste are invited to register their interest here.

CONTACT: 
press@globalfashionagenda.org 

To register your interest in learning more about, and/or participating in the Circular Fashion Partnership Türkiye, please contact: impact@globalfashionagenda.org 

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/global-fashion-agenda/r/global-fashion-agenda-grows-efforts-to-combat-textile-waste-through-new-initiative-in-turkiye,c4278718

The following files are available for download: