Apparel Manufacturers in Turkey

Apparel is the category of factories, exporting manufacturers and CMT (cut, make, trim) workshops that mass-produce garments; companies are grouped by product below. Fabric, yarn, trims and machinery suppliers are separate sectors, and processes such as printing, washing and ironing-and-packing have their own categories. If you are still deciding how to shortlist suppliers, start with our guide on how to find a clothing manufacturer in Turkey.

Which product group should you choose?

Most companies specialize in one product group, so start from the sub-sector of your product.

• Knit apparel: cut-and-sew T-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, tracksuits.
• Woven apparel: shirts, pants, dresses, blazers and suits.
• Denim apparel: jeans and other denim garments; washing and effects are a separate side of the group.
• Underwear and lingerie: bras, briefs, undershirts, boxers and similar underwear.
• Socks and hosiery: ankle socks, low-cut socks, pantyhose and sports socks; the unit is the pair.
• Pajamas and loungewear: pajama sets, nightgowns, robes and lounge sets.
• Baby and kids clothing and sportswear: each with its own fabrics and quality expectations.
• Swimwear and beachwear: swimsuits, bikinis, modest swimwear (haşema), board shorts, sarongs and beach dresses.
• Knitwear and sweaters: sweaters and cardigans knitted on flat-bed machines.
• Outerwear: jackets, coats and overcoats.
• Modest clothing: manufacturers focused on modest-clothing garments.
• Scarves and hijabs: woven and printed scarves, shawls and foulards.
• Wedding and evening dresses: wedding gowns, evening dresses, engagement and prom dresses.
• Workwear and uniforms: clothing for employees and institutions.
• Wholesale clothing: bulk sellers of ready-made goods; for your own design, use the manufacturer groups above.

Screen apparel companies by production model and documents

First settle the production model. Do you supply the fabric and trims (CMT), or does the manufacturer buy them (full package, known in the trade as FOB)? The two are priced differently, so do not compare quotes until they cover the same scope. Assessment criteria: how to choose a contract workshop.

Ask for these in writing with every quote: minimum order per style and color, sampling lead time and fee, what the lead time is counted from (fabric arrival or sample approval), weekly capacity and the quality control method. Writing the AQL level into the contract reduces later disputes.

Documents complete the picture: an industry registry certificate for the production facility, product certificates and a social compliance audit report. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 tests for harmful substances; it is not a quality label. The audit report's address must be the facility that will make your order.

Apparel pricing: fabric, sewing labor and intermediate processes

Fabric and trims are often the largest item: the introduction to a study of knitted upper-body garments puts fabric at about half of garment cost or more (Bilgiç and Duru Baykal, 2017). Sewing labor follows, driven by the operations in the style and the workshop's efficiency. Quantity, color and size breakdown, printing, embroidery or washing, and a short lead time also move the price. The garment manufacturing process helps you read a quote.

Where is apparel production concentrated in Turkey?

Turkey exported US$16.77 billion of clothing and made-up textile articles in 2025, about 54% knitted garments (HS chapter 61) and 34% woven (chapter 62) (İHKİB, January 2026, in Turkish). In AKİB's exporter-association data, Istanbul accounted for about 69% of clothing exports in January-November 2025, followed by Izmir, Denizli and Bursa (AKİB, December 2025, in Turkish). These show where an export was registered, not where the garment was sewn.

Workplace and employment data come from SGK. In 2025 SGK data, 62% of Turkey's 35,514 apparel manufacturing workplaces were in Istanbul but only 35% of its 499,204 insured employees; Batman, Mardin, Diyarbakır and Adıyaman together employed about 16%. Workplaces average about 8 insured employees in Istanbul versus about 66–68 in Batman and Mardin (Tekstil Rehberi calculation from the SGK table), so Istanbul workplaces are much smaller on average. SGK counts only registered workplaces and compulsorily insured employees under 4/1-a, and assigns them to the province of the workplace registration. Ask for the production address and use the province filter to narrow the list.