The Turkish technical textiles sector, which demonstrated a strong presence at Techtextil Frankfurt 2026 with 66 companies, attracted international attention with its innovative products. Sector representatives—among the world’s key suppliers of flame-retardant fabrics—emphasized the need to raise safety standards in hotels, hospitals, student dormitories and other shared-use spaces. In a statement at the exhibition, İTHİB President Ahmet Şişman said: “This is no longer a matter of choice; it is directly a matter of life safety. Necessary steps must be taken not after fires occur, but before risks escalate.”
At one of the world’s leading technical textile exhibitions, a total of 1,659 companies participated—1,475 at Techtextil and 184 at Texprocess. Türkiye recorded a strong presence with 66 companies at Techtextil and 12 at Texprocess, totaling 78 participants.
Emphasizing the strong presence of Turkish companies at one of the world’s most important technical textile exhibitions, Ahmet Şişman noted that innovative products developed by Turkish firms—from personal protective equipment textiles to automotive textiles, and from geotextiles to ecotextiles—drew significant interest from international visitors. He added that innovation, R&D and high value-added production are shaping the transformation of the textile industry, and that interest in flame-retardant textile products was particularly high at the event. “The fact that dedicated halls were created for this field at the fair is one of the clearest indicators of this,” he said.
“There are no clear legal requirements regarding flame-retardant properties of textiles in shared living spaces”
Underlining that the textile sector today stands out not only for fashion and traditional production but also for critical areas that directly affect human life, Ahmet Şişman highlighted the importance of expanding the use of flame-retardant properties in textile products used particularly in hotels, hospitals and shared-use spaces. He stressed that regulations encouraging the use of flame-retardant textile products would be an important step both for public safety and for accelerating the transformation of the technical textiles sector.
Pointing out that there are currently no clear legal requirements regarding flame-retardant properties in products such as curtains, upholstery fabrics and bedspreads used in hotels, student dormitories, hospitals and shared living spaces, President Şişman said: “Standards to be established in this area will both contribute to life safety and further accelerate value-added production in our technical textiles sector.”
“We must implement in our own country the safety standards we export to Europe”
Highlighting that Türkiye has a strong production infrastructure for flame-retardant and high-safety-standard technical textile products, Ahmet Şişman noted that approximately 90–95 percent of such production is exported to markets such as European Union countries and the United States. He added that domestic demand remains at around 5 percent, despite the sector having more than sufficient production capacity and technology to meet this need.
İTHİB President Şişman continued: “We must implement in our own country the safety standards we export to Europe. Türkiye produces these goods and sells them to the world; however, their use is not equally widespread in the domestic market. Cost is often cited at this point, yet the impact of using flame-retardant fabrics on total investment costs is not as high as assumed. Establishing standards to encourage the use of these products—particularly in hotels, hospitals, student dormitories and shared living spaces—is no longer an issue that can be postponed.”