Fashion
‘Curly is beautiful’: Tunisian women embrace natural hair

By
AFP
Published
August 21, 2025
In countries around the world, beauty standards have shifted radically in recent years, with a growing number of beauty salons and cosmetic brands in Tunisia promoting natural styles.
Still, the battle is far from won, and many women in Tunisia still rush to get their hair straightened ahead of a wedding or a meeting, and some fear that if they do not wear their hair straight for a job interview, they might not get hired.
Advocates for wearing one’s natural hair believe that at the root of the stigma around curls lies a form of discrimination that they call “texturism”.
“The further you move away from what is considered Afro, kinky or curly, the more socially accepted you are,” said Nawal Benali, a journalist and host of a podcast on racism in North Africa. “Because that’s a marker of proper appearance and presentability.”
Benali said the standards had first been set in “the white, Western world”, calling the obsession around straight hair an attempt to “erase our Indigenous and African features”.
Dhouha Mechergui, who co-founded Pineapple Studio, recalled having her hair straightened by her mother ahead of every religious holiday growing up. She said it took courage to make her own switch to natural, and that she had to work hard to convince women to embrace their curls and come to her salon. “Sometimes I play the role of psychiatrist, because I know making that decision is very difficult,” she said.
Aside from the drive for greater authenticity, health concerns have become a part of the debate, with one major study by the US National Institutes of Health linking chemical hair straightening products to a higher risk of uterine cancer.
For generations, people around the world were told to straighten, braid, cut or otherwise conceal their curls, or else get sent home from school or work. A global drive buoyed by the Black Lives Matter movement gave rise to a major pandemic-era trend of beauty videos celebrating natural hair.
The push did not go unnoticed: French lawmakers last year voted to ban discrimination based on hair texture, while several US states have passed similar legislation. Tunisia has no such initiative, so women entrepreneurs are leading the change.
In 2021, Sirine Cherif cofounded Kamaana — or “as I am” — Tunisia’s first homegrown haircare brand dedicated to curly locks. “When we started, we were the only specialised brand on the market,” she said. “A few months later, there was a domino effect: bigger brands launched their own curly-hair lines.”
And today, Tunisian companies such as Zynia and Lilas Cosmetics have joined the growing industry. For Cherif, the boom is both a lucrative business opportunity and a marker of profound social change.
“We are proud to have encouraged people to be themselves, to resist this societal pressure and embrace their natural hair,” she said. Her company has seen 42% annual growth since its founding, she said, adding: “We want to start a curl revolution.”
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Fashion
Bangladesh’s RMG exports up 4.7% in Q1 FY26, but Sept shipments dip

Woven garment exports slightly outpaced knitted garment exports in terms of growth. Knitwear exports (Chapter **) rose by *.** per cent to $*.*** billion, compared to $*.*** billion in the same period of fiscal ****–**. Woven apparel exports (Chapter **) increased by *.** per cent to $*.*** billion, up from $*.*** billion in July–September ****, EPB data showed.
Home textile exports (Chapter **, excluding ******) also grew, rising by *.** per cent to $***.** million, compared to $***.** million in the same period of the previous fiscal. Collectively, exports of woven and knitted apparel, clothing accessories, and home textiles accounted for **.** per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports, which stood at $**.*** billion during the period. Higher demand for diversified and value-added textile products supported this growth.
Fashion
Dutch manufacturing flat in August, up 1.7% from July: CBS

Slightly more than half of the various industrial sectors produced less than they did one year previously. Of the eight largest industrial sectors, output rose the most sharply in the repair and installation of machinery, while it fell the most sharply in the transport equipment industry.
A more accurate picture of changes in short-term output is obtained when the figures are adjusted for seasonal effects and the working-day pattern. After adjustment, manufacturing output rose by 1.7 per cent in August relative to July, CBS said in a press release.
In August 2025, Dutch manufacturing output remained unchanged year-on-year, although output declined in over half of the industrial sectors.
After seasonal adjustment, output rose by 1.7 per cent compared to July.
The strongest growth was seen in the repair and installation of machinery, while transport equipment recorded the sharpest decline.
After adjusting for seasonal and working-day effects, manufacturing output often fluctuates significantly. In the spring of 2020, output declined rapidly, reaching a low point in May 2020. This was followed by an upward trend until May 2022. The trend has reversed since then.
Producer confidence was less negative in September than it was in August. Manufacturers were more positive regarding output for the next three months, in particular.
Germany is an important market for the Dutch manufacturing sector. In September, German manufacturers were more negative than they were in August, as reported by Eurostat. In August, the calendar-adjusted output of the German manufacturing sector was down by 5.1 per cent, year on year. Relative to July, output fell by 5.5 per cent, as reported by Destatis.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)
Fashion
ADB commits $82.5 mn to drive Cambodia’s energy transition

The first subprogramme, approved in 2022, introduced pivotal policy measures that guided the energy sector toward a more efficient and renewable development pathway. Building on this foundation, subprogramme 2 advances regulatory reforms to strengthen the energy efficiency framework and enhance policy clarity to attract private sector investment. A key milestone under the subprogramme is the introduction of the country’s first set of regulations establishing Minimum Energy Performance Standards for electrical appliances, starting with air conditioners, which account for the largest share of energy consumption in the residential sector, ADB said on its website.
Subprogramme 2 will also establish an Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund aimed at facilitating access to finance for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in energy-efficient technologies. The revolving fund will be set up through a financial intermediation structure to enable local banks to extend loans to SMEs for energy efficiency investments. By mobilizing domestic financial institutions and supporting SMEs, the revolving fund is expected to accelerate the nationwide scale-up of energy efficiency investments.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $82.5 million for Phase 2 of Cambodia’s Energy Transition Sector Development Programme to support clean energy through policy reforms and investments.
The programme introduces energy efficiency standards, establishes a revolving fund for SME financing, and also aims to attract private investment.
“ADB is honoured to support Cambodia in its ambitious and transformative journey in the energy sector. Through a comprehensive reform package, combining policy support with strategic investments, the Energy Transition Sector Development Programme will support turning the government’s ambitious vision into reality,” said ADB acting country director for Cambodia Anthony Gill. “This includes the goal of achieving 70 per cent renewable energy in the power mix by 2030, along with a strong commitment to advancing energy efficiency, which is essential to ensure that Cambodia’s growth remains both sustainable and affordable.”
Subprogramme 2 will be followed by a third phase in 2027, which will further deepen reforms by expanding the energy efficiency regulatory framework and introducing technical standards for renewable energy, buildings, and industry to further attract private sector investment.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)
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