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The paper examines cooperation within the textile and clothing sector in Sfax (Tunisia). The spatial concentration of firms within a Marshallian ‘industrial district’ enhances external economies and facilitates cooperation. The paper sheds light on the variables that are correlated with permanent cooperation. Potential cooperation takes various forms with respect to its informal or written character, and whether contractual arrangements are designed or not to promote innovation. Most contracts we refer to are of the vertical or horizontal subcontracting type. The dataset results from a survey carried out in 2004. The sample is representative of the population of firms and accounts for 25 percent of organizations in the governorate. The empirical analysis was carried out using qualitative econometric techniques, especially logit models. Estimations do not reject positive correlations between cooperation and firm size on the one hand, and between cooperation and status as an exporting firm on the other hand. However, cooperation is negatively correlated with the presence of family roots. In addition, it is more likely to occur within the city of Sfax than in its periphery.