Innovative Business Practices and Economic Models in the Textile Value Chain (InTex)

The textile industry is one of the largest contributors to the climate and ecological crisis, with an underpaid workforce facing discrimination, unsafe working conditions and harassment.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), using knowledge of the Life Cycle Initiative, is implementing a three-year project (until January 2024) funded by the European Union (EU) towards a more sustainable textile value chain. The project ‘Innovative Business Practices and Economic Models in the Textile Value Chain (InTex’ has five components.
Two components have global reach, and three components will focus on national implementation in three countries in Africa where textiles is a key economic sector and where companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are part of multinational value chains (for example exporting towards the European market). Technical intermediaries from three countries (Kenya, South Africa, and Tunisia) are UNEP’s partners implementing the three components that have national focus.

The InTex project aims to:

  1. Increase among SMEs and governments the knowledge on resource efficiency, life cycle thinking, circularity and eco-innovation in the textile value chain;
  2. Train textiles stakeholders on eco-innovation and product environmental footprint (PEF);
  3. Accompany textiles businesses to transform their approach and business models in order to increase sustainability and circularity in the textile value chain;
  4. Increase the access to environmental and lifecycle data so that textiles businesses and policymakers can make better informed decisions and implement relevant strategies;
  5. Provide evidence of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the different sustainable economic models in the textiles value chain, to help bridge the science-policy gap and raise awareness on the potential impacts of adopting and fostering innovative sustainable and circular policies and practices.

To find more information about the project, please read the brochure, or visit the webpage.