Fabrics in Turkey: Who Makes What and How to Brief a Mill
Which Turkish cities make towels, upholstery, yarn and nonwovens, in the sources’ own words, and a fabric brief you can send a mill in Turkish.
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Buying fabric in Turkey. Find the city, then brief the mill in its own words. See where it is made · 2025 exports, million dollars. Towels and bathrobes: 309.8. Curtain and upholstery fabric: 561.9. Cotton fabric and yarn: 2,259. Knitted fabric: Single jersey, interlock and rib, 1,631. Write it the way mills write it. Example brief: single jersey in 3 colours. kompozisyon (composition): 95% cotton, 5% elastane; gramaj (weight): 180 g/m². en (width): 180 cm, open width; renk başına minimum (minimum per colour): 500 m. lab-dip (dyed to your colour): before the order; termin (lead time): 6 weeks. Sample first, then a lab-dip. The mill dyes small samples to your colour. Approve one before the bulk. Myth: A certificate logo is enough. Do this: Ask for the certificate or label number and look it up yourself. Cities by fabric, a Turkish mill-brief builder and the fairs in the full guide: turkpidya.com.
Türkiye exported 9,354 million dollars of textiles and textile raw materials in 2025, by the Ministry of Trade’s count. Its home-textile report names Bursa, Denizli, İstanbul, İzmir and Uşak as the main provinces for home textiles, and Gaziantep’s industrial zone lists yarn, machine-made carpet and nonwoven fabric. To buy, write to a mill in the words it uses itself: kompozisyon, gramaj, en, renk başına minimum, numune, lab-dip and termin.
In short · checked 18 October 2026
Find the city for your fabric, then brief the mill in its own words.
- Towels and bed linen – Denizli and Bursa; İstanbul for tulle and sheets, Uşak for blankets, the Ministry of Trade says.
- Upholstery and curtain fabric – Bursa, in the Uludağ exporters’ 2017 report; Bursa and İstanbul for tulle.
- Yarn and nonwovens – Gaziantep’s industrial zone lists cotton and synthetic yarn, machine-made carpet and nonwoven fabric.
- Certificates – ask for the certificate or label number and look it up yourself.
- Prices – none here: mills quote per metre, and greige knit is often sold by the kilo.
Fabric families · checked 18 October 2026
Open the swatch book, see where it is made
Each family shows its 2025 export line from the Ministry of Trade’s reports and the cities a ministry, association or industrial-zone page names for it. A city lights up only where a page says so.
havlu, çarşaf, battaniye
Towels, bed linen and blankets
Home textiles that the Ministry of Trade counts in its own report: bed sheets, towels and bathrobes, blankets.
- Bed sheets, 2025 exports
- 617.1 million dollars
- Towels and bathrobes
- 309.8 million dollars
- Blankets
- 62.4 million dollars
- Denizli towels, bathrobes, sheets and duvet covers DENİB; the Ministry names towels and sheets
- Bursa towels, tulle and sheets Ministry of Trade
- İstanbul tulle and sheets Ministry of Trade
- Uşak blankets Ministry of Trade
- İzmir home textiles, no product named Ministry of Trade
In your brief Give the weight in g/m² for towels too, and the sizes you need.
pamuklu dokuma
Cotton fabric and yarn
Denim, shirting, canvas and cotton yarn sit in HS chapter 52, the biggest chapter in the Ministry’s 2025 table. Texhibition İstanbul gives denim an area of its own. Buying finished jeans instead? See Turkish jeans: brands and factories.
- 2025 exports, HS chapter 52
- 2,259 million dollars
- Gaziantep cotton yarn: open-end, combed (penye) and vortex GAOSB
In your brief Denim buyers often think in oz/yd²: the brief below converts it to g/m², the unit mills write.
örme kumaş
Knitted fabric
Single jersey (süprem), interlock (interlok) and rib, the fabrics of T-shirts and sportswear: HS chapter 60.
- 2025 exports, HS chapter 60
- 1,631 million dollars
No ministry, association or industrial-zone page names a city for this one, so the map leaves it unmarked.
In your brief Say open width (açık en) or tubular (tüp). Greige knit is often sold by the kilo: the brief below shows metres per kilo.
sentetik, polyester
Synthetic filament fabric
Polyester and other synthetic and artificial filaments, as yarn and as fabric: HS chapter 54.
- 2025 exports, HS chapter 54
- 1,683 million dollars
- Bursa large synthetic-yarn makers Uludağ exporters, 2017
- Gaziantep polyester, polypropylene and acrylic yarn GAOSB
In your brief Ask for the composition in full: mills write polyester as “polyester” or “PES”, as in %100 PES.
perdelik ve döşemelik kumaş
Curtain and upholstery fabric
Fabric for curtains, sofas and chairs, plus tulle; one line in the Ministry’s home-textile table.
- Curtain and upholstery fabric, 2025
- 561.9 million dollars
- Tulle
- 96.1 million dollars
- Bursa upholstery and curtain fabric; tulle Uludağ exporters, 2017; Ministry of Trade
- İstanbul tulle Ministry of Trade
In your brief Upholstery sheets give a rub-test figure (sürtünme): ask for it, and for the test it comes from.
non woven, dokunmamış
Nonwoven and technical textiles
Wadding, felt, nonwovens, twine and rope (HS 56), and coated or laminated fabrics (HS 59).
- 2025 exports, HS chapter 56
- 1,255 million dollars
- HS chapter 59
- 344 million dollars
- Gaziantep nonwoven fabric, polypropylene sacks and yarn GAOSB
In your brief Name the end use and the weight in g/m².
Who makes what city by city, in the sources’ words
Each card says only what a ministry, exporters’ association or industrial-zone page states about its city, with the year where the page gives one. None of them ranks mills, and neither does this page.
Bursa
The Ministry names Bursa for towels, tulle and sheets. The Uludağ exporters’ 2017 home-textile report adds large synthetic-yarn makers and says Bursa leads in upholstery and curtain fabric. UTİB, the city’s textile exporters’ association, was set up in 1986 and had 3,937 members at the start of 2026.
Denizli
DENİB, the Denizli exporters’ association, says the city’s modern plants make mainly towels, bathrobes, sheets and duvet covers, and export them to nearly a hundred countries. The Ministry names Denizli for towels and sheets. The city’s first yarn and cloth factory was set up by the state in 1940.
İstanbul
The Ministry names İstanbul for tulle and sheets. İTHİB, the İstanbul textile and raw-materials exporters’ association, leads Texhibition İstanbul, the fabric fair in chapter 5.
Gaziantep
Gaziantep’s organised industrial zone says textile work there is mostly raw materials and semi-finished goods. The lines with the most firms: acrylic, polypropylene, polyester and cotton yarn (open-end, combed and vortex), machine-made and tufted carpet, polypropylene sacks, nonwoven fabric, and knitwear.
Uşak and İzmir
The Ministry names Uşak for blankets. It lists İzmir among the main home-textile provinces without naming a product, so this page names none either.
How big the trade is 2025, by the Ministry’s count
The Ministry of Trade counts textiles as HS chapters 50 to 60, carpets left out. In 2025 that came to 9,354 million dollars, 0.7 % less than in 2024, in its textile sector report. Ready-made clothing is counted apart: for finished clothes, see our guide to wholesale clothing in Turkey.
Textile and raw-material exports · 2025
9,354 million dollars, HS chapters 50–60
Carpets (chapter 57) are not in this figure. Checked 18.10.2026.
The five biggest chapters, million dollars
Write to a mill in the words mills use
Turkish mills describe a fabric with the same few words on their own product pages. The builder writes your request in those words, with an English copy, and converts the units as you type.
The mill brief · terms checked 18 October 2026
Write it the way mills write it
Change any field: the Turkish brief and its English copy rewrite themselves, and the units convert as you type. Nothing you type leaves this page.
·,
Your brief · Turkish · example
Merhaba,
Aşağıdaki kumaş için fiyat teklifi rica ederiz.
Kumaş: Süprem
Kompozisyon: %95 pamuk, %5 elastan
Gramaj: 180 g/m²
En: 180 cm, açık en
Renk sayısı: 3
Renk başına minimum: 500 m
Sertifika: OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 (sertifika numarasını paylaşır mısınız?)
Numune: siparişten önce lab-dip ve numune
Termin: sipariş onayından sevkiyata 6 hafta
Teşekkürler.
English copy
Hello,
Please send a price quote for the fabric below.
Fabric: Single jersey
Composition: 95% cotton, 5% elastane
Weight: 180 g/m² (5.3 oz/yd²)
Width: 180 cm (71 in), open width
Colours: 3
Minimum per colour: 500 m (547 yd)
Certificate: OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 (please share the certificate number)
Samples: a lab-dip and a sample before the order
Lead time: 6 weeks from order confirmation to shipment
Thank you.
| Turkish | What it means | As a mill writes it |
|---|---|---|
| kompozisyon | composition, the fibres in per cent | “%88 PES, %12 EA (elastan)” |
| gramaj | weight per square metre | “185 gr/m²” |
| en | width; for knits, açık en (open) or tüp (tubular) | “En: 150 cm” |
| renk başına minimum | the smallest order per colour, in metres or kilos | “renk başına … metre” |
| numune | a sample of the fabric | “Numune talep et” |
| lab-dip | small samples dyed to your colour, to approve before the bulk | “lab-dip onayı” |
| termin | lead time, from order to shipment | “sipariş onayından sevkiyata … hafta” |
The units: one ounce per square yard is 33.906 g/m², a yard is 0.9144 m and an inch 2.54 cm, by NIST’s conversion tables. Metres per kilo come from the weight and the width: 1,000 divided by g/m² times the width in metres.
Samples, colour and certificates before the bulk order
Get the fabric itself and your colour on it before you pay for the bulk. Then check any certificate yourself: both systems below have a public lookup.
- Ask for the numuneA sample of the fabric itself, with its kompozisyon, gramaj and en written down.
- Approve a lab-dipFor a colour of your own, the mill dyes small samples to match it. Approve one before the bulk is dyed.
- Look up the certificateOEKO-TEX: type the label number into its Label Check (the numbers are case-sensitive). GOTS: search the Certified Suppliers Database by company and country.
- Then the paperworkThe pro forma invoice and the bank transfer work as in our wholesale clothing guide.
OEKO-TEX says a Label Check that finds nothing is a reason to contact it. The GOTS database notes that certification bodies are still moving their data into it, so ask the mill’s certification body about a missing entry.
Associations and fairs where to meet the mills
Exporters’ associations run fairs and trade trips, and the fairs gather many mills under one roof. Dates change, so check the next one on the fair’s own site.
Exporters’ associations
- İTHİB İstanbul textile and raw-materials exporters; leads Texhibition İstanbul. ithib.org.tr
- UTİB Bursa, founded 1986; national stands at fabric fairs abroad. utib.org.tr
- DENİB Denizli; home-textile trade delegations and a design competition for home and bath textiles. denib.gov.tr
Fairs in İstanbul
- Texhibition İstanbul fabric and textile accessories: woven, knitted, yarn, denim, embroidery, print and faux leather. Twice a year, in March and September, at İstanbul Fuar Merkezi; organised by İTKİB Fuarcılık under İTHİB. Check the next date there
- Hometex home textiles: curtains and tulle, upholstery fabric, bed linen, towels and bathrobes, at İstanbul Fuar Merkezi; the fair of TETSİAD, the home-textile makers’ association. Check the next date there
Buying for an EU business the customs union in short
Türkiye and the EU have had a customs union since 1 July 1996, for goods other than agricultural products and coal and steel. Goods produced in Türkiye, or put in free circulation there, move into the EU free of customs duties, and the A.TR movement certificate is the proof of that status, the European Commission says. Since 8 July 2024, EU countries also accept A.TR certificates issued electronically with a QR code.
What the A.TR doesn’t do
The A.TR covers goods in free circulation. It doesn’t decide the VAT or the import formalities. This note is for business freight; your customs broker checks the tariff code in TARIC, and this page gives no duty rates.
Questions buyers ask
Where is textile production in Turkey?
By the sources on this page: Bursa, Denizli, İstanbul, İzmir and Uşak for home textiles (Ministry of Trade), and Gaziantep for yarn, machine-made carpet and nonwoven fabric (its industrial zone). The swatch book near the start of this page shows them fabric by fabric.
Is textile production in Turkey sustainable?
That depends on the mill, so don’t take a logo on trust. Ask for the certificate or label number and check it: OEKO-TEX’s Label Check shows whether a label is valid, and the GOTS database lists certified companies by country.
What does fabric from Turkey cost?
This page gives no prices: they move with the yarn, the weight, the width and the order. Mills quote per metre, and greige knit is often sold by the kilo, priced by yarn count, weight and elastane share. Send the brief above to a few mills and compare their quotes.
Sources and limits
Sources: the Ministry of Trade’s two sector reports, the exporters’ associations’ and industrial zones’ own pages, the fairs’ pages, OEKO-TEX, GOTS, the European Commission and NIST, all checked on 18 October 2026. This page names no mill and ranks nothing. It gives no prices and no duty rates. A city is named for a fabric only where one of those pages says so; where none does, the city is left off.
- Tekstil ve Hammaddeleri Sektör Raporu (in Turkish, PDF; 2025 exports) – Ministry of Trade, checked 18.10.2026
- Ev Tekstili Sektör Raporu (in Turkish, PDF; provinces and 2025 exports) – Ministry of Trade, checked 18.10.2026
- Denizli hakkında: ekonomi (in Turkish) – DENİB, checked 18.10.2026
- DENİB home page (in Turkish) – DENİB, checked 18.10.2026
- Ev Tekstili Sektörü Raporu, April 2017 (in Turkish, PDF) – Uludağ İhracatçı Birlikleri, checked 18.10.2026
- About UTİB – UTİB, checked 18.10.2026
- Turkish Fashion Fabrics – UTİB, checked 18.10.2026
- Gaziantep sanayisi (in Turkish) – GAOSB, checked 18.10.2026
- İTHİB home page (in Turkish) – İTHİB, checked 18.10.2026
- Texhibition İstanbul, about (in Turkish) – Texhibition İstanbul, checked 18.10.2026
- Hometex (in Turkish) – Hometex, checked 18.10.2026
- Label Check – OEKO-TEX, checked 18.10.2026
- Certified Suppliers Database – Global Standard (GOTS), checked 18.10.2026
- Turkey: customs unions and preferential arrangements – European Commission, checked 18.10.2026
- Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8: conversion factors – NIST, checked 18.10.2026
The illustrations and the map were made for this page; they show no real company or person.
