Excursion to Blue Matters
Mina Duru Çalışkan
As part of the Jean Monnet Module SOCRETUR project and the course SOC410 – Social Rights and Social Inclusion in Europe and Turkey, we went on an excursion to the Çorlu branch of the company EREKS – Blue Matters on November 21, 2024.
Throughout our excursion, we gained new insights through our own observations as well as explanations from Romain Narcy (CEO) and Pelin Birsen (Sustainability Director) about the factory’s operations and production process.
Tour of the EREKS-Blue Matters Factory
To better understand the theme of our course on social rights, we first observed the different stages of jean production, which is the main manufactured product of EREKS-Blue Matters. We also learned about the precautionary measures that workers must take depending on their workplace conditions. Towards the end of the tour, we received information about workers’ rights and their opportunities for communicating with their supervisors.
Presentation on Innovation and Circularity in the Textile Industry
After exploring the factory, we attended a presentation on “Innovation and Circularity in the Textile Industry,” followed by a Q&A session.
The presentation highlighted the fact that, although textile consumption has significantly increased in recent years, the lifespan of these products has decreased, leading to a significant environmental impact. The company representatives then explained Blue Matters’ sustainability goals and the steps taken to achieve them.
During the Q&A session, human resources managers joined us and answered our more detailed questions about workers and their rights.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to EREKS – Blue Matters for this enriching excursion and the opportunity to observe their operations.
