EFFORTS TO PROMOTE A NEW COTTONMARK: AEGEAN COTTON. Barı KOCAGÖZ Izmir Mercantile Exchange Vice-President of Board of Directors In the world of today, it is not enough to supply good to the market only with the cheapest price for national and international competition, but conceiving trademarks that brings the quality to foreground and that is known by customers, is also important. In brief, for sustainability and continuity of markets, to have a trademark has become a precondition. Textile and apparel sector using cotton as raw material is one of the sectors in world living an intense and destructive competition. Especially removing the textile quotas in 2005 caused that this competition is felt more intensely. The main conditions of creating a trademark demanded and known in textile and apparel sector are having trained manpower and raw material with high quality and creating a fashion. Competing with cheap and lower quality products is only possible with such manner and more profit can be obtained from a unit product. Turkey is among the leading textile and apparel producing countries. In 2005 Turkey was the second supplier of textile and apparel in EU and fourth apparel supplier and sixth textile supplier in the world. One of the reasons that Turkey is such developed country is that cotton used as raw material is cultivated in our country intensely and with high quality. Turkey is the seventh cotton producer nation in the world. Cotton is produced in Aegean Region, Çukurova, South East Anatolia and Antalya in Turkey. Aegean Region cotton is evaluated as A quality cotton in classification done which long fibered cottons are not included and it is widely demanded from national and international textile and apparel producers. Many textile and apparel producers demand Aegean Cotton or intermediary good produced by Aegean Cotton. In this demand, superiority of fiber properties of the cotton produced in Turkey plays an important role. The cotton of Aegean region is preferred because of its ability to retain paint and its softness. Besides, Aegean Cotton is a GMO free cotton. Many textile and apparel producers market their products with the print as produced from Aegean Cotton. The related examples can be seen from trade websites of the internet. This situation is the proof of conversion of Aegean cotton into a natural cotton-mark because of the climate and soil conditions owned by the geography of region. Because there was no study intending to conceive trademark of Aegean Region cotton until the project developed by Izmir Mercantile Exchange. In the studies that we started since 2003 it is found out that a regulation should be brought for protecting high quality and fame of the region cotton and using the Aegean Cotton expression. To
this end, it was learned that geographical sign registry certificate given by an official institution for the region cotton and was made an application in 2003. Being in a position between cotton producer and industrialist and in a region where Aegean cotton is marketed, it is a fact that Izmir Mercantile Exchange was necessary for leading this study. Geographical sign is a sign indicating a product identified with region, area, zone or a country where it is resided in with respect to its specific feature, fame or other properties. Geographical signs can be registered by two ways; designation of origin and geographical indication. Geographical sign of the cotton was registered as designation of origin by zmir Mercantile Exchange. In order to obtain such kind of signing; a product: should originate from region, area, zone or in very exceptional cases from a nation that geographical boundaries are specified. should have properties and specifications all originating from natural and humanist elements of that specific region, area or zone. should have production, processing and all other operations all realized within the boundaries of that region, area or zone. Following objectives are considered with registry of geographical sign of Aegean Cotton: Protection of saflık and properties of Aegean Cotton Realization of production in a disciplinary way Protection of rights of cotton producers in our region Increasing the raw material quality of textile industrialists Prevention of misleading of the consumers Increasing the recognition of our region cotton nationally and internationally. Geograhical sign approval studies of Izmir Mercantile Exchange are tried to be realized by taking advices and consents of institutions related with cotton. These institutions can be listed as Mercantile Exchanges, Chambers of Agriculture, Agriculture City Managements, Universities, Agricultural Selling Cooperatives, Cotton Research Institute, and Undersecretary of Foreign Trade the West Anatolia Management. 30 establishment and institutions have signed cooperation protocol in this study with Izmir Mercantile Exchange. The official application was made to the authorized official institution Turkish Patent Institute on Geographical Sign subject in 06.02.2003 and registry procedure was realized with expression of Aegean Cotton expression with enforcement started on that date. Furthermore, it is registered officially the figure of cotton on Aegean Region at the logo. With this study cottons produced in cities and towns of Aegean Region have been registered as Aegean Cotton.
After registry of the application, studies have been started for implementation and two regulations and one agreement has been prepared. Usage right of Aegean Cotton as geographical sign is given to the gin plants which signed an agreement with our Exchange at Aegean region open to uninformed inspections by a team formed by our Mercantile Exchange. Prohibition of transportation of seed cotton in Turkey provides an important facility for the application of geographical sign. With the signed agreements, gin plants have accepted to have serious penal actions in case they act contradictory to the agreement and/or they do mixtures in their production. Geographical sign registry is the first and most important attempt in order to have marking of Aegean Cotton. At the same time it is a sample study realized with cooperation of concerned institutions for a common product of our region. However, it is not sufficient for the idea of conversion of cotton to a trademark planned by Izmir Mercantile Exchange. Aegean Cotton Certificate implication forms the second step of the long way started with geographical sign study with expression of Aegean Cotton. The front face of certificate shows information related with production season of cotton, serial number of certificate, and quantity it represents and back of the certificate has map from gin plant-textile to apparel and responsible signatures. Certificates consisting of 5 and 15 coupons shall be prepared by Izmir Mercantile Exchange and shall be given to gin plants in the geographical sign system with expression of Aegean Cotton. Certificate shall move from the quantity of cotton sold by gin plant to yarn manufacturer, from yarn manufacturer to fabric manufacturer against yarn produced from the concerned cotton, from fabric manufacturer to apparel manufacturer plant which manufactures the final product. Each time the product is delivered, the certificate is exchanged by signing of stamping of the related sections at the back. In short, this certificate shall show the road map from production to consumption (gin-textileapparel) of Aegean Cotton in a similar way as traceability concept expressed previously. Operation of Aegean Cotton Geographical Sign and Aegean Cotton Certificate system are described as below. 1. Gin plant makes application for authority to use geographical marking with required documents to the Izmir Mercantile Exchange. 2. After required investigation is done by Mercantile Exchange, the permission is granted to gin plant if it is suitable, thus, the agreement and the engagement are signed. An authority number is given to gin plant with respect to the resident city town and ginning type. 3. Gin Plant buys seed cotton from producer. 4. Seed cotton is processed at the plant. 5. Geographical sign logo, authority number and bail number are printed to the bails.
6. Gin plant continuously reports quantity of cotton with logo to Exhange weekly. Up to this section Izmir Mercantile Exchange has right to inspect gin plant minimum once a year without informing, immediately and upon a claim. 7. Exchange gives gin plant the certificate with respect to reported cotton quantity certificate manufactured according to conditions of agreement. 8. Gin plant delivers the certificate by approval of the back side at the quantity sold to yarn manufacturer. 9. Yarn manufacturer delivers the certificate to fabric manufacturer at yarn quantity produced from Aegean cotton and fabric manufacturer to the apperal manufacturer in the same manner by approving the back side and the chain has become completed. It should be noted that the six steps of this system is realized after the study of Aegean Cotton Geographical Sign. All implementations until six steps are originated from registry of geographical sign by Turkish Patent Institute and legal rights owned by Izmir Mercantile Exchange officially. Seventh step and afterwards is formed by section planned by Izmir Mercantile Exchange for insuring the implementation that Izmir Mercantile Exchange desires to establish. Our objective as Izmir Mercantile Exchange is providing the entry of Manufactured from Aegean Cotton to label of each product produced from Aegean cotton from by-products as yarn and clothes to final products as apparel and home textile in a warranted manner. It is a fact that establishment of this system that shall go beyond in future for the inspection of final goods is significant for regional cotton producers, the concerned industrialists and conscious consumers. Developments lived in world at textile and apparel sector makes such marking system compulsory. Because marking system is brought to foreground from the shift of textile production to different countries depending on cheap labor cost, and cheap raw material inputs. For this reason, we hope that we shall see support from Turkish textile producers and foreign textile purchasers supplying raw material and for final product from our country for our project of Aegean Cotton Geographical Sign and Aegean Cotton Certificate.
COTTON PRODUCTION AREAS IN TURKEY Efforts To Promote A New Cotton-Mark: AEGEAN COTTON. Barı KOCAGÖZ Izmir Mercantile Exchange, Vice President of Board of Directors ICAC, Izmir TURKEY 22-26 October 2007 Cotton Production Cities Aegean Cotton Production Cities Many textile and apparel producers market their products with the print as produced from Aegean Cotton. The related examples can be seen from trade websites of the internet. 1
Geographical sign is a sign indicating a product identified with region, area, zone or a country where it is resided in with respect to its specific feature, fame or other properties. AEGEAN COTTON PRODUCTION AREAS Following objectives are considered with registry of geographical sign of Aegean Cotton: Merkez, Ayvacık, Eceabat, Ezine, Gelibolu ÇANAKKALE BURSA Karacabey Protection of purity and properties of Aegean Cotton Realization of production in a disciplinary way Protection of rights of cotton producers in our region Increasing the raw material quality of textile industrialists Prevention of misleading of the consumers Increasing the recognition of our region cotton nationally and internationally. Merkez, Ayvalık, Bandırma, Bigadiç, Burhaniye, Edremit, Gömeç, Havran, Kepsut, Manyas, Susurluk Tüm lçeler Tüm lçeler Dalaman, Fethiye, Köyce iz, Milas, Ortaca, Yata an BALIKES R MAN SA ZM R AYDIN MU LA DEN ZL Merkez, Ahmetli, Akhisar, Ala ehir, Demirci, Gölmarmara, Kırka aç, Salihli, Saruhanlı, Soma, Turgutlu Merkez, Akköy, Buldan, Çal, Honaz, Sarayköy 2
Aegean Cotton Certificate implication forms the second step of the long way started with geographical sign study with expression of Aegean Cotton. The front face of certificate shows information related with production season of cotton, serial number of certificate, and quantity it represents and back of the certificate has map from gin plant - textile to apparel and responsible signatures. Cotton Producer (Aegean Region) Seed Cotton (3) Geographical Sign Application (1) GIN Processing (4) Geographical Sign Usage Right (2) AUDITING IME For this reason, we hope that we shall see support from Turkish textile producers and foreign textile purchasers supplying raw material and for final product from our country for our project of Aegean Cotton Geographical Sign and Aegean Cotton Certificate. Logo, Authority Number and Bale Number (5) Regular Reports (6) Certificate Certificate Yarn Manufacturer Aegean Cotton Certificate (7) Certificate Fabric Manufacturer Apparel Manufacturer 3
Many Thanks For Your Kind Interest 4