diff --git a/docxcompose/properties.py b/docxcompose/properties.py
index aa8cd2d..53709bf 100644
--- a/docxcompose/properties.py
+++ b/docxcompose/properties.py
@@ -11,11 +11,11 @@
 from docxcompose.utils import NS
 from docxcompose.utils import word_to_python_date_format
 from docxcompose.utils import xpath
+from importlib import resources
 from lxml.etree import FunctionNamespace
 from lxml.etree import QName
 from six import binary_type
 from six import text_type
-import pkg_resources
 import re
 
 
@@ -108,8 +108,11 @@ def __init__(self, doc):
             self._element = parse_xml(part.blob)
 
     def _part_template(self):
-        return pkg_resources.resource_string(
-            'docxcompose', 'templates/custom.xml')
+        return (
+            resources.files('docxcompose')
+            .joinpath('templates/custom.xml')
+            .read_bytes()
+        )
 
     def _update_part(self):
         if self.part is None:
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 1d7d53c..e50f85e 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
     # Get more from https://pypi.python.org/pypi?%3Aaction=list_classifiers
     classifiers=[
         "Programming Language :: Python",
-        "Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
         "Operating System :: OS Independent",
         "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
@@ -31,10 +30,10 @@
     packages=find_packages(exclude=['ez_setup']),
     include_package_data=True,
     zip_safe=True,
+    python_requires=">=3.9",
     install_requires=[
         'lxml',
         'python-docx >= 0.8.8',
-        'setuptools',
         'six',
         'babel',
     ],
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index bc93ad0..6add372 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [tox]
-envlist = py27, py36
+envlist = py39
 
 [testenv]
 deps = .[tests]