On 24–25 September 2026, Egedeniz Textile and Mayteks hosted HempTex Türkiye V.01 in İzmir — the first event in Turkey officially dedicated to hemp textiles. Over two days, farmers, researchers, spinners, knitters, technology providers, certification bodies and international brands met to discuss one question: how can Turkey turn hemp into a reliable, traceable and commercially viable textile fibre?

Day 1 — At hemp field, İzmir, Turkey

We began where every fibre begins: in the field. Our guests visited the hemp field of Powerseed in Menderes, İzmir, hosted by Burcu Filebelli, who shared Powerseed’s first-hand experience of growing hemp in the Aegean. Seeing the crop standing in the field gave everyone a shared starting point for the conversations that followed.

Day 2 — From field to yarn, knit, market and certification

The conference day at Chamber of Architects followed hemp along its entire value chain.

Opening

Mehmet Ünsal (Egedeniz Textile) opened the day, framing HempTex as a response to economic pressure, supply-chain disruption and new sustainability requirements — and as a first step towards a larger international event. Faruk Giray Deputy General Manager of Egedeniz Textile, told Egedeniz’s fibre journey from organic cotton to hemp. Nebahat Kılıç presented Mayteks’ research path into hemp, from yarn to knit.

International perspectives.

Rolf Heimann (Apsus) gave a brand’s view of the hemp market and argued that hemp will complement cotton rather than replace it. Michael Bieder (Hanfwerker Consulting) presented what is new in European hemp-fibre processing technology. Ursula Mock (Hanfliebe) described hemp as a holistic fibre — seed, stalk and textile — and made the case for decentralised, regional processing.

Growing and processing hemp in Türkiye

A panel moderated by Nebahat Kılıç brought together Selim Aytaç (Ondokuz Mayıs University), Serdar Erol (Karsu) and Ömer Özden (Akel Tekstil). They covered Türkiye’s production figures, the January 2026 regulation, authorised provinces and the first registered Turkish varieties, Narlı and Vezir. Ahmet Oruç (Memteks) followed with the investment case and market demand for spinning hemp blends.

Technology, Japan and investment. 

Galina Elchaninova (Smart Consult) explained bast-fibre processing from field to industry, including decortication lines and markets for both fibre and hurd. Joining online, Masaharu Takano (JIHE) mapped Japan’s hemp industry in 2026 — a small, premium, documentation-heavy market where Turkish suppliers are not yet present. Uğur Balkuv (Keneviro) presented an integrated model of contracted farming and processing in Samsun.

Market and buyers

A second panel moderated by Nebahat Kılıç discussed customers, price and positioning with Faruk Giray (Egedeniz Textile), Tahir Mert (Mert İpek), Ergin Turanlı and Selçuk Karagözler (Astab) . Füsun Örgen (Maas) then delivered the clearest buyer message of the day: comfort, quality, design and price must work first — only then does the sustainability story add value.

Certification

The closing panel, moderated by Uygun Aksoy, looked at regulation, gaps and global standards with Selin Islakça (Control Union), Güzin Foglino (ICEA) and Ali Ertuğrul (USB) — from the Responsible Hemp Standard, GOTS, OCS and ROC to the upcoming EU Digital Product Passport.

What we took away

• Türkiye has the ingredients: suitable regions, registered local varieties, early processing capacity, a mature textile industry and proximity to Europe.
• Hemp complements cotton. Its strongest uses are blends, premium products, workwear, interiors and technical applications.
• Blends are the practical way in. Around 15–25% hemp uses existing cotton infrastructure while keeping hand feel and price under control.
• The product has to sell itself. Softness, fit, design, consistent supply and a fair price come before the fibre story.
• Traceability and evidence matter. Lot-level records from field to bale to yarn, and verified data behind every environmental claim, will decide who can sell to European and Japanese buyers.

The challenge is no longer proving that hemp can be grown or processed in Türkiye. It is proving that Türkiye can deliver the same quality every season, turn it into products people want, and back every claim with evidence.

Thank you

Our sincere thanks to every speaker, moderator and panellist for sharing their knowledge so openly, and to everyone who travelled to İzmir to join us. Special thanks to Burcu Filebelli and Powerseed for opening their hemp field to our guests, and to our co-organiser Mayteks for building this first edition with us.

HempTex Turkey V.01 was a first step in answering the growing demand for hemp and showing what Türkiye can offer, from the field and the fibre to the finished fabric. We look forward to growing this platform in the years ahead and bringing together more of the partners who are shaping Türkiye’s hemp industry.

HempTex Türkiye V.01 brought together more than 100 participants from across the hemp and textile value chain. The event opened with a field visit for 30 participants to the Powerseed hemp field in Menderes. On conference day, farmers, spinners, knitters, brands, machinery and technology providers, certification bodies, universities and the Aegean Exporters’ Associations came together. The programme featured 21 speakers from Türkiye, Germany, Russia and Japan, with 12 talks and three panels on the key stages of the chain: cultivation and processing, market and positioning, and certification.

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Alongside our esteemed partners, the Association of Ecological Agriculture (ETO) and the International Agricultural Research and Training Center (UTAEM), we presented the groundbreaking scientific findings from the first three years of our project, “Development of Regenerative Farming Practices on Cotton Production in the Aegean Region.”

This project is at the forefront of transforming cotton cultivation with regenerative fundamentals. Our regenerative cotton farming practices, including no-till farming, the strategic use of cover crops, and diverse crop rotation, are not just buzzwords; they are fundamental to carbon farming and lead to remarkable improvements in soil health. We’re even utilizing advanced tools like the CO2 Flux tool to measure our impact meticulously.

The Congress provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with highly valuable researchers and farmers from around the globe. It was inspiring to share our achievements and witness the collective commitment to a more sustainable agricultural future. Egedeniz Textile is incredibly proud to be a driving force in bringing awareness to the critical importance of soil health and regeneration within organic cotton production.

Our work is ongoing, and this journey towards sustainable and regenerative cotton is an exciting one. We are committed to sharing further results as our project progresses, demonstrating the power of regenerative agriculture in creating a healthier planet and a more resilient future for farming.

The post Egedeniz Textile: Pioneering Regenerative Cotton at Mediterranean Agroecology Congress appeared first on Egedeniz Textile.

If you would like to meet our team and check out our natural-based fabrics and garments qualities, our fabrics and garments, you are most welcome to visit us at our exhibition area together with our products.

We will proudly present our new living wage project. Please meet us at the “Member Human Rights in the Global Supply Network” Breakout Session on Tuesday, October 10th.

Read our blog published earlier about the Living Page project here.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

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