Smart Factory with Smart Products in Sustainability
Established in 1997, Realteks has been providing denim fabric for the global market. The company prioritises using recyclable cotton for most of its products. It is also a part of BCI project to help maximise the sustainability of cotton production. Marketing Director Aylin Akyildiz speaks to Fibre2Fashion about denim, sourcing and sustainability.
When and how did Realteks get into producing denim fabrics? Who are the founders of the company?
Since 1997, Realteks is a denim fabric supplier for Turkish and European brands. Murat Ozturk is the founder of the company. Realteks is part of the R Group of companies.
Our background is totally denim. Although we are a denim fabric mill, we have denim fabric washing laundry, denim print fabrics mill, garment factories and logistics, design, etc. Actually, 12 different companies in the Group belong to denim.
In 2022, Realteks decided on staying closer to its partners and their needs. It is because we value human health more than business. We believe in sustainability. This is the reason we added Bregla Denim mill to our group. The factory is fully sustainable. We see opportunity for Real Recycle in the midst of fast consumption. Next year is Realteks’ 25th anniversary. We should return a great “THANKS for GIVING” to the fashion industry with our amazing smart factory.
What are the long-term goals set at Realteks? What can be expected from your company in terms of new product offerings and capacity expansions in 2022?
Ours is a clever design recycle factory. We offer sustainability to our partners because we all have understood that there is no need to waste anything. We only need to recycle everything, so we have lands for breathing more and to play more. We are not only thinking of the present generation, but also the future and health of their grandkids.
What is the sourcing strategy at Realteks?
We are working close with our partners and following the trend very closely. However, you should also smell the streets and the real life, that’s why we say LESS IS MORE as a trend. New technologies are easily providing us an option in this mindset. But we decided to listen our partners and create together.
What is your USP as a denim fabric manufacturer?
Smart Factory with Smart Products in Sustainability. We could absolutely define ourselves only with these words!
What is the number of swatches that your library boasts of?
In our collection we have a wide colour range. The colours are shinny and bright. We have sulphur top, sulphur bottom and pure indigo shades, besides different recipe colours.
While sourcing, how do you focus on traceability along the supply chain?
In each roll we have a barcode system for easy traceability, including cotton, yarn, land, etc. We give all such details to our partners. Our major clients also ask for these details as they want to see where and what they are buying.
Traceability is indeed a great solution for giving full details. Times have changed so a lot of people need to learn more and more every day. If humans do not learn or create more for themselves, we cannot grow.
What is the impact of COVID-19, Brexit, etc on the business of sourcing in the short and long term?
I’m sure we all could put long sentences in here, but the reality is that the world is turning, and every day is a new challenge. To trust, to sacrifice and to support each other without checking our minus and plus is the new long-term language. The humanity learnt from the pandemic that life is short and delightful. Many people lost their loved ones. So, health is everything. How you live and eat naturally relates to the quality of the body. There is no B option in this. That’s why we all need each other in strong relations. We believe in ‘Relation’ as a company policy.
How many brands do you cater to? Which fabrics are popular with the brands?
We work with many brands all around the world and keep bringing new brands into our partnership. We believe there is no client but a friend, because we are all trying to do our best for humanity. Honestly, we are all waging a battle to do our best.
Speaking about denim, what is the competition like for you from within Turkey?
We are always in contact with our competitors to do our best for our country. We absolutely have a kind of competition based on speedy technology, as everybody is updating themselves. There are a minimum of 27 different denim mills in Turkey, but everybody’s specialty is different from other. So, instead of competition, we are enjoying the denim adventure altogether. We call this ‘sharing’.
Where do you majorly source the raw materials from and why?
We source our raw materials from Turkey because the product and the service here is good. Plus, lead times and transportation are definitely more affordable.
What are the challenges you face in sourcing?
Turkey has a big textile industry, and sourcing is always exciting if you work with colleagues/partners who also love to create together.
Which are your largest export markets?
Spain, UK, Scandinavia, and Germany are the biggest markets for us right now, but as you know sky is the limit. So, we are open to assist more and more companies. We are eager to work and talk with companies who are interested in recycling, as it is then that you can create and enjoy the success!
What is your minimum order size? What is the average lead time for delivery?
Our minimums are based on project. I do not want to put a target here. In general, our lead time is 3-4 weeks. Besides, we have our NOS line which fits perfectly with main street fashion, as the lead time here is ‘the next day’.
What is your annual production capacity?
It is around 15m.
What percentage of your products is for the domestic market and how much do you export?
Around 25 per cent of our products are for the domestic market, and the rest 75 per cent is for exports.
What futuristic and cutting-edge technologies is Realteks working on?
We are a unique denim mill with brand-new machinery to help a considerable efficient production and environmentally green manufacturing. All the equipment is mostly 2-3 years old and dedicated to produce the best quality of denims with varieties. The idea of this lifetime investment is to combine the wonderful abilities of Bregla with Realteks’s 25 years of experience in the denim industry. The machines are Karl Mayer as a slasher, Picanol (72nrs) as a weaving machine system (average 950/rpm which means double production per day when we consider any 10 years old mill), Kusters for dyeing (18 boxes, we could play on colours easily) – multiple action in one line with full dyeing range, and Monforts system for Sanforizing. We are one of the ‘water excellent’ mills (in general, mills which use 30-50 litres water are defined as ‘water good’) as we only use 23 litres. Bregla by Realteks works for the future with low carbon print.
What is the composition of the fabrics? Are they 100 per cent cotton or blended?
They are mainly cotton, cotton str and special blended fabrics.
The impact of chemicals in denim bleaching has become a serious health concern across the world. Is Realteks doing something about it?
We only follow ZDHC MRSL listed chemicals. Our target is leaving no carbon print to the world. We all need to target this for humanity.
What are the long-term sustainability goals set at Realteks? How circular is Realteks in its operations from seed to shelf?
Trust is everything in this new era and for that reason to ensure traceability we have a state-of-the-art department for all our partners. They could come over to the factory see all level of production with its barcode system, sustainability, etc. They can select the yarn, the weave, and even stitch their own style of garment. We believe sharing your data is enough to show the trust.
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