Building circularity in Morocco’s textile industry
Closed Loop Fashion (CLF) recently participated in the Morocco Textile Circularity (MoroccoTex) event, held at the Hilton Tangier City Center. This full-day forum was hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) World Bank, in collaboration with Deutsche Zusammenarbeit (German Cooperation), Invest for Jobs Special Initiative ‘Decent Work for a Just Transition’ under the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Morocco, and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). It gathered key public and private stakeholders to discuss how to accelerate the development of a circular textile ecosystem in Morocco.
The day kicked off with a revealing presentation on the state of textile waste collection in Morocco. Interviews with 32 textile waste collectors from the Tangier region highlighted that 80-90% of them work informally, often as family-run microbusinesses. These informal collectors are the backbone of Morocco’s waste management system but work under difficult conditions without adequate safety gear, facilities, or storage spaces. Notably, women dominate this workforce but often lack recognition and social protection for their crucial role.
A dynamic panel discussion followed, featuring individual collectors, associations, and private waste companies. The panel explored the challenges faced by informal collectors, who primarily focus on waste collection rather than its valorization due to limited financial resources. Despite these barriers, informal collectors hold invaluable local knowledge, which could complement formal systems if better connected. Both sides agreed that formalizing these practices while maintaining the reach and knowledge of informal systems could be a win-win for the sector.
The IFC then shared policy recommendations aimed at creating a flexible framework for textile waste management in Morocco. One key point was rethinking what constitutes textile waste versus sub-products and clarifying ownership and responsibility across the value chain. With the new European Union regulations on circularity set to take effect, the pressure is on manufacturers to improve traceability and environmental accountability. As such, policy alignment is becoming a crucial issue.
Later in the day, a discussion on transparency and data took place, with Green Story elaborating on tools like the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Digital Product Passport (DPP), and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). These tools are set to require manufacturers to provide clearer environmental data. The team shared insights from their LCA study on recycled Moroccan cotton, emphasizing how such data can inform better material design and investment decisions.
The International Trade Center (ITC) introduced its GTEX/MENATEX II program, which includes a free online platform offering training on sustainable and circular textile practices. Accelerating Circularity also shared results from its trials on cotton recycling and unveiled a recycled Moroccan cotton product. They also presented their Textile Waste Manual, offering practical advice to local recyclers and innovators.
Representing CLF, Marina Chahboune and Jenny Puts participated in the “Pilot Progress Updates” session, where they shared updates from CLF’s ongoing work in Morocco. This project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and executed by GIZ, focuses on developing a circular polyester recycling system. CLF’s presentation outlined the progress made over the year, which included mapping textile waste streams from Tier 3 to Tier 1 manufacturers, exploring recycling technologies, and conducting mechanical and thermo-mechanical trials. The findings also included an economic feasibility study that examined Morocco’s potential to become a regional hub for textile waste sorting.
