In 2021, approximately 40 percent of the global used clothing exports originated from three countries: China accounted for 17 percent, the United States for 16 per cent, and the United Kingdom for 8 percent. Africa has been the primary destination of the exported second-hand clothes.
Ghana imported about 15 million clothes from Europe, Australia, and the United States. In 2019, Kenya which is the largest importer of Second-hand clothes in East Africa imported about 185, 000 tonnes of clothes. Out of the bales, about 30-40% of the clothes are of bad quality and cannot be sold. The retailers refer to them as phage which means “low-quality imported garments”. As a result of this, traditional retailers dispose of about 55, 000- 74 000 tonnes into the landfills and the rivers. For context, this is 5 times the size of the Eiffel Tower.
The lack of creativity and innovation of the retailers in dealing with the textile waste causes them to trash them in landfills where they are eventually burned and in rivers and beaches where they wrap around themselves and clog the gutter system thereby causing flooding. The consequence of the disposal of textile waste is enormous. The burning process of the clothes releases a large sum of CO2 into the environment. The landfills also breed mosquitoes that spread malaria to neighboring communities.
On a global scale, approximately 25% of all clothing sold is equivalent to around one billion garments and it amounts to roughly 500, 000 tonnes of clothes. For context, this is equivalent to the weight of the Burj Khalifa - which is the World’s Tallest Building.
Traditional Retailers in countries across Africa order bales of cloth, sort the bales of clothes, and discard the ones that don't have a great market value. They sometimes sell them to companies that would use them as rags. These acts do not promote a sustainable society or sustainable living. There are better ways to address the problems of textile waste. This is the essence and basis for SeaSide.
The Fast Fashion Industry contributes to the textile waste that is generated. Driven by the urge to make a profit, designers of Fashion brands have collaborated with retailers to release lower-end clothing collections, selling styles that are similar to those used on the runway but cheaper and hence more affordable. The collections are made with much cheaper
Materials, cheaper labor, and are mass-produced, rather than individually crafted piece-by-piece as the original high-fashion garment was intended. This method of production enables consumers to purchase more clothes and dump them easily. Also, the materials and fabrics heavily shifted from the use of organic to synthetic fibers on account of its considerable price reduction for manufacturers and consumers. Synthetic materials are made from petroleum, essentially meaning that they are made from plastic which means they are not biodegradable and regardless of the measures taken, they would end up somewhere in the landfills.
The surge of fast fashion owes much of its growth to the use of synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, acrylic, and elastane. These materials are crafted from heavily processed petrochemicals, which come from fossil fuels. They're chosen because they're cost-effective to manufacture – for instance, polyester is around half the price per kilo compared to cotton. This affordability helps brands maintain lower prices for their products, but it comes at a significant environmental cost. Here is a video of what it looks like
Fashion brands and retailers like Shein, Fashion Nova, Boohoo, and Zaful are regarded as ultra-fast fashion. This is due to the small amount of time it takes them to complete the clothes and the quality of materials used.
Companies like Shein, Boohoo, Zara, and other fast fashion brands make use of virgin polyester and large consumption of oil churns out the same amount of CO2 as approximately 180 coal-fired power plants. They leave about 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide in a year. This number falls well below the 45% target to reduce global carbon emissions by 2030. This number is below what the United Nations has set to be necessary for fashion companies to implement to help limit global warming.
In 2021, Africa witnessed a substantial 28.84% increase in the import of second-hand clothing, reaching a total value of $1.84 billion. Leading exporters of second-hand clothing to the continent were China, the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom, closely followed by the United States and South Korea. During the period from 2020 to 2021, China's exports of second-hand clothing to Africa experienced a remarkable surge of over 131%, solidifying its position as the largest exporter. Notably, China exported $624 million worth of second-hand clothes to Africa in 2021. The European Union exported a substantial value of $572 million worth of second-hand clothes to Africa in 2021.
The import trends demonstrate the significant demand for second-hand clothing in Africa, with various countries contributing to the supply of these garments
In 2021, Kenya was Africa’s leading importer of second-hand clothing and imported about 183,500 tonnes of second-hand clothes. Kenyans are huge fans of second-hand clothes because it gives them uniqueness, style, and affordability. The Second-hand cloth industry is an important source of revenue for the Kenyan government as taxes raised from this sector generate more than $6 million every month. The Kenyan government imposes a tax of 35 percent or $0.40/kg (whichever is higher) on worn textiles and used shoes intended for importation into Kenya.
In Ghana, every month, an average of 6,000 tonnes of second-hand clothing arrives in Kantamanto from the West. In 2021, $211.21 million of used clothes were exported
to Ghana and major suppliers were the UK, Germany, South Korea, and China.
In Tanzania, the Manzese market in northern Dar es Salaam City is the largest market for the second-hand clothing trade. Tanzania’s second-hand clothes imports have increased over 3-fold in the past 20 years, from $30.77 million in 2000 to $91.43 million in 2020. In 2021, Tanzania imported $183.24 million worth of secondhand clothing. This is a growth of more than 100% in less than a year.