Why We Don't Support a Secondhand Clothing Ban [English]

🗣️We do not support a ban on secondhand clothing imports into Ghana. Why?
First and foremost, the people we work with in Kantamanto do not want a ban and we operate in service to the Kantamanto community. An estimated 30,000 people have created jobs for themselves in Kantamanto and there’s not yet the infrastructure in place for the majority of these 30,000 people to transition to alternative industries.
Second, the secondhand clothing trade destroyed the local textiles economy decades ago, leaving little local industry to fill the void that would be left by a ban. Add to this the fact that the secondhand clothing trade has lowered the value of clothing overall, and it is clear that a ban would create a void that would be filled by foreign fast fashion, not by local companies or products. And it is fast fashion that is the root of the waste crisis.
But the current power dynamics are unjust and the material flows are not sustainable. So, what’s the solution?
We advocate for a decrease in the amount of clothing produced and an incremental decrease in the amount coming into the market coupled with EPR funds that can be used to uplift the remanufacturing already taking place in Kantamanto and to build new infrastructure for recycling and decomposition. Kantamanto embodies the skillset and mindset of circularity. This should be supported as part of the solution to be adopted everywhere!
Our aim is for Globally Accountable EPR to provide the investment necessary for both “sender” countries in the Global North and “receiving” countries like Ghana to develop localized circular economies that are less dependent on the export and import of material.
Our hope is that over time, through Globally Accountable EPR, Kantamanto will evolve to thrive as a market that primarily resells, repairs, remanufactures and recycles locally worn clothing and that the waste can be recycled into new textiles, revitalizing the local textiles industry in the process.
Featuring: Kennie Product Development Coordinator
Video by Julius Tornyi & Virgile Durando
#StopWasteColonialism

[@inspiroue]

Such an important message!! How do we push for EPR fund progress? Is it demanding more fast fashion brands to set up EPR funds like your partnership with Shein?