Have you ever wondered what happens to the clothing that you donate or throw into recycling. It is all deported in heap fills and shipped to other countries. Accra is one of these places that are overwhelmed with the influx of secondhand clothing.
Sending clothing off to charity to help third world countries in need seems like a noble thing to do. There was even a system put in place that many high street stores gathered clothing that didn’t pass quality checks to send over to these third world countries.
The problem
As mentioned in our previous article, 80 percent of donated and recycled clothing ends up in landfills in other countries around the world.
This is a process that has been put in place for years to help poorer countries that are struggling economically. These countries may find valuable items and often find ways to sell them in local markets.
But due to mass production and the rise in fast fashion over the past 2 decades, the quality of clothing makes it unsuitable to be sold or even to be worn. Meaning they end up in unwanted waste landfills.
Enviormental
Over 65 million Tonnes of used clothing ended up on the shores of Ghana in 2019. A staggering 40% of the clothing shipped over are discarded and end up in heaped landfills around the country. Sadly a lot of this unwanted clothing end up in the sea. Due to there not being enough landfills to accompany this waste. Causing pollution and harm to the sea creatures.
Currently on the shores of Ghana fishermen must battle with pulling up a load of clothes in their fishing nets. Making this problem one that is affecting food also. Some fish that used to be popular for the Ghanaian’s are now impossible to even find due to this pollution caused by fast fashion that has filtered out into the seas.
What seems like a helpful noble thing to do is causing an environmental crisis. Alot of the clothing is unwanted by the Africans. With most of the clothing being unsellable or even unwearable, why should they be left with our waste.
Landfill Heaps
Many Africans are upset with their country being used as a dumping ground. They also advise their family members to purchase local clothing only. However, many rely on secondhand clothing for their income.
These waste clothing have become a vital part to the livelihood of the locals all over Ghana, they use these items to resell on their market stall and make money from them. To stop the shipment of clothing completely will have a bad effect for many, however the amount of junk clothing, is beyond unbearable
Michael Ofori, one of the managers behind this process, stated in an interview with Forbes Magazine that things have drastically changed in the last 20 years. There was a time when a lot of the clothing that was shipped would be of quality, but with the rise of fast fashion the quality has dropped significantly.
“The market is flooded and unfortunately it’s affecting the quality of stuff we send [off],” says Ofori.”
The clothing made in fast fashion are cheaply made making them hard to resell.
Human Rights and Enviromental experts estimate that it takes around 200 years for textile waste to decompose. Which is why a vast amount of these clothes are burned (releasing toxins into the atmosphere)
Accra are struggling to manage this, but this begs the question of what can be done. To ban all clothes will have a big impact on many who rely heavily on these clothes to run their business, but the amount being shipped is also having a big impact on the locals and mostly on the environment.
This is something that needs to be addressed, but finding the best solution has become difficult.
The Slum studio offers one solution
