The Tunisian textile and clothing sector launched the Tunisia Textile Green Transformation (TTGT) project in April with the aim of becoming more innovative, smart and ecological and meeting international sustainability requirements.

According to the Tunisian Textile and Clothing Federation - FTTH, the Tunisian initiative aims to recycle 90% of the wastewater released by the garment industry, reduce companies’ carbon footprint by 30%, use 100% renewable electricity, reduce textile solid waste by 50% and certify 100 textile companies that comply with the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) environmental and energy management standards by 2030. FTTH is implementing the initiative in collaboration with the UN International Trade Center’s (ITC) Global Textile and Clothing Program (GTEX) and the Dutch government’s Center for the Promotion of Imports (CBI), along with several ministries, including the ministry of higher education and scientific research. FTTH General Coordinator Rim Jelassi said in a statement that people feel the need to work in an ecologically responsible manner, as they see that every summer in Tunisia is becoming more hellish.

A key concern will be Tunisia’s exposure to the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which will price carbon released during the production of carbon-intensive goods entering the bloc from 2026. This is effectively a new eco-tax and could affect Tunisia’s exports to the EU, with 98.1% of its electricity coming from natural gas in 2022.

Big companies like Demco, a denim clothing manufacturer in Moknine, eastern Tunisia, which produces three million pairs of jeans and 12 million knitwear pieces a year, are already making major changes to meet demands for quality and sustainability. Instead of pumice stones imported from Turkey, “we found a combination of artificial stones that works, we just need to convince our customers that it’s just as good,” chairman Johnny De Meirsman told Just Style.

Another example is that Demco’s cutting waste goes to the recycling facility of manufacturer Société Industrielle des Textiles – SITEX (Textile Industrial Society) in Ksar Hellal, just 10km away. SITEX’s vice president Haythem Haddad says that demand for recycled denim fabric has “increased since 2016”, while SITEX’s customers include Spanish multinational group Inditex and US lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.