Türkiye mobilised to deliver the needed textile products to the region after the earthquakes of 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude, the epicentres of which were in Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş and affected 10 provinces in total. While the Turkish Red Crescent continues to produce tents day and night, retail and e-commerce companies deliver their customers’ orders of basic necessities to the earthquake zones under the coordination of AFAD without any commercial purpose within the scope of the Earthquake Relief Mobilisation. In addition, volunteers in different regions of Türkiye sew scarves, berets, blankets and winter clothes for earthquake victims in textile workshops and Public Education Centres.
Turkish Red Crescent doubled its daily tent production
The orders of AFAD are produced in the Tent Textile department, where disaster tents have been produced for 70 years at the Etimesgut Campus of the Turkish Red Crescent. Turkish Red Crescent Tent Textile Group General Manager Ömer Faruk Özgün, briefing the press members in the production area built for AFAD, said that 200-250 tents are produced per day in the regular period and that they doubled the production capacity immediately after the disaster occurred. Saying: “We are currently producing day and night, 24 hours a day. We can produce 500 tents a day. We can send 4-5 lorries to the disaster area every day,” Özgün shared the following details about the tents they produce:
“A family tent and a 16,5 square metre tent specially prepared for winter. It consists of two walls (surfaces). The outer wall and the inner wall. There is a layer of air in between. It provides a very good heat insulation thanks to the thick fabrics and the air layer between the felt inside. The most important feature of our tent is that it is flame retardant, water repellent and mould proof. These conditions are required by AFAD. If they (tents) do not pass laboratory tests, we cannot start production. There is an anteroom section at the entrance of our tent, which we built with Turkish families in mind. The family can enter with their shoes off. There is a living area inside. There is the area where the stove is installed. The places where the stove is installed are designed to be very resistant to heat.”
Retail and e-commerce companies joined the Earthquake Relief Mobilisation
LC Waikiki aid trucks continue to reach the disaster areas since the first day of the earthquake. So far, the company has donated a total of 1 million 600 thousand products in coordination with AFAD and Red Crescent. Today, additional support trucks are still on their way. 36 thousand additional blankets and 50 thousand additional scarves are being prepared to be donated to the earthquake regions. As of February 7, textile factories in the 1st and 2nd regions of Malatya OSB were opened to the earthquake victims for their food and heating needs.
Retail stores and e-commerce companies including LC Waikiki, Defacto, Amazon Türkiye, Trendyol and Hepsiburada, as part of the Earthquake Relief Mobilisation initiated by the Ministry of Commerce, deliver the necessary materials purchased by their customers to earthquake victims free of charge under the coordination of AFAD, without any commercial purpose. It was announced that LC Waikiki customers contributed to the campaign by purchasing 11 million TL worth of products.
Yataş is also delivering trucks containing products such as blankets, quilts and pillows needed in the earthquake zone to those in need under the coordination of AFAD in the region.
Textile workshops across Türkiye produce for earthquake victims
Women coming to the workshop prepared in the kindergarten within the scope of the activities initiated under the leadership of Dörtdivan District Governorship and Municipality in Bolu are sewing winter clothes such as fleece, tracksuits and berets for earthquake victims. A textile workshop operating in Yeniçağa district started to produce blankets for citizens struggling with cold weather conditions as well as the earthquake. The products prepared from the fabrics brought by donors are delivered to the provinces affected by the earthquake under the coordination of AFAD.
Edirne Public Education Centre trainees are also sewing winter clothes to protect earthquake victims from the cold weather. The trainees are preparing scarves, beanies, hats, sweaters, underwear, tracksuits, sweaters, children’s items and cloth toys at home and at the public education centre. The trainees of Kırklareli Public Education Centre sewing-embroidery course and Tekirdağ Süleymanpaşa Public Education Centre are using their sewing machines for the earthquake victims.