Circular Apparel Tunisia

This project aims to support the Tunisian textiles sector’s transition to a resilient, environmentally and socially conscious industry that uses new business models and innovative production practices.  

Project goals

The project’s goal is to: 

• Help Tunisia's apparel sector find its unique value and build a future-proof, sustainable, and resilient industry;
• Enable stakeholders to develop sustainable business relationships across various European markets and create more added value from these relationships.

The project focuses on leading Tunisian companies. These companies establish themselves in new European Union (EU) markets with sustainable and circular production models. We aim for them to be examples of best practices within the Tunisian apparel industry and in EU markets.

To achieve these goals, the project will focus on 5 intervention pathways:

1. Raise awareness about increasing sustainability and circularity requirements in EU markets and their impact on the Tunisian apparel sector;
2. Create and work with a group of sustainability-leading companies to develop strategies for adapting to the rising sustainability requirements of EU markets;
3. Support the improvement of the Export Enabling Environment (EEE) for companies seeking to target markets with sustainability and circularity requirements by developing the necessary services;
4. Support the EEE in developing a central sector strategy to meet EU Green Deal regulations;
5. Support the sector in improving its visibility as a sustainable and circular supplier in EU markets.

Together with our Tunisian partners, we aim to establish a partnership that will position the textiles sector on the European market enable it to meet current and future market sustainability requirements.
 

Project participants and products

18 companies participate in this project. They will follow training programmes and receive technical assistance on efficiency and production, sustainable sourcing and circularity, design, and certification.
 

Contact CBI to learn more about these companies or to contact these exporters directly.

Partners

• Ministry of Industry
• Ministry of Commerce
• Ministry of Environment
• MFC Pôle
• Centre de Promotion des Exportations de la Tunisie (CEPEX)
• Centre technique du Textile (CETTEX)
• La Douane Tunisienne
• The Tunisian Federation of Textile and Clothing (FTTH)
• UAFE

Activities

This project includes:

• (Online) training programmes and coaching by CBI export and corporate social responsibility (CSR) experts;
• A market orientation mission to The Hague and Den Bosch for the companies in September 2024; 
• Workshops on relevant topics such as EU legislation, certification, CCSR and gender;
• Participation in European trade fairs and networking events;
• Activities focusing on improving sector collaboration include:
  - Creating a multi-stakeholder platform
  - Developing a strategic sector plan; and 
  - Raising awareness of sustainable transitions.

Get involved as an importer

Are you a European importer and interested in apparel from companies in Tunisia? Contact CBI to get more information or to meet with suppliers in this project being trained to export to Europe.