Gulden Ince Haskoy

Founded in 1951, the Turkish denim manufacturer Bossa is one of the big players in the denim industry. We spoke with Gulden Ince Haskoy, Asst. General Manager for Sales & Marketing from Bossa at the Denim Première Vision about the latest developments and its dedication to sustainability.

What news do you present at Denim Première Vision?
We have launched four important projects: our collaboration with BCI Cotton Initiative Organization, SaveBlue, Dye Art and Sustan.

Sustainability is an inevitable topic nowadays. How does Bossa commit itself to sustainability? What are the four projects about?
The most important one is the collaboration with BCI Cotton. We are the first denim producer that announced the commitment to use 90 percent of the cotton consumption from BCI by 2018, of which 10 percent will be entirely organic cotton. Thus, until 2018, we will no longer use conventional cotton in our factories. Many companies use a certain amount of sustainable cotton so they can charge higher prices from their customers. But we believe that sustainability should not be a marketing tool but a statement. It shows where you stand, as a company. This is our strategy and we will bear the additional costs without trying to negotiate with our customers about this.

What needs to change in the industry then?
Starting from year 2006, our Re-set collection was launched apart from the seasonal collection. Since then, with each season, Re-set evolved one step further: whether trough an increasing consumption of organic/BCI cotton, the usage of natural chemicals and dyestuff or the achievement of manufacturing a 100 percent recycled denim – all providing big contributions to a sustainable denim production. We know how important it is to reduce, reuse and recycle in order to not compromise the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Having this approach in mind, you have to have a holistic view. Sustainability cannot be done by halves. And our biggest input is cotton, which is why we have to start with sustainable cotton first.

What are the other projects about?
SaveBlue, our second project, aims towards zero water production. Anyhow, the textile industry is believed to be one of the biggest consumers of water. And although there have been many efforts to reduce the water consumption, it’s not sufficient. But our SaveBlue denims save 23 liters of water in dyeing one meter of denim.
Project number three is Dye Art: we solely use ecological dyeing processes that save water as well. You can think of it as the SaveBlue of the non-indigo.
And last but not least, project number four: Sustans is the latest generation of elastic staple fiber made from DuPont Sorona PTT polymer with bio-based ingredients instead of petrochemicals, reducing the dependence on petroleum and fossil fuels. Also: the Sustans textiles have a comfortable stretch and outstanding recovery as well as a nice touch and feel. And in case of disposal, it will biodegrade within three years.

But will there be a 100 percent sustainable fashion industry one day or is this just an utopian dream?
The answer lies within the consumers. I’m still optimistic concerning the future. People want to know more about the fabric’s source. Where do they come from and how has it been made? Therefore I strongly want to believe that this is just a question of when rather than if.

What denim trends will survive the next seasons and which ones will vanish?
People have a growing demand for denims with functionality. Still, I think collections without emphasizing any gender will be well received as the new generations don’t want anybody to dictate them how they should wear something. All genders can share the same items as they already share life, emotions, and memories. But this is more like a mind shift rather than the trend.

Thank you very much for the interview.