It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

Teresia Wairimu Njenga

SecondHand / Kenya Economy

15 May 2025

3 minutes

An apparel sector comprising used clothing imports and local production can drive inclusive economic growth, job creation, and sustainability in line with Kenya’s Vision 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Kenyan Report Urges Govts to Back Coexistence of Used Clothing Imports and Local Manufacturing as Path to African Growth

An evidence-based comprehensive study that explores the future of Kenya’s clothing industry and creates a blueprint for uniquely African growth, concludes that the country’s second-hand clothing trade (Mitumba) and its local apparel manufacturing can coexist and complement each other.

By

Staff Writer

Most Popular

Snapshot / Recycling Crisis / II Feature

With Europeans producing 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste annually and most still ending up burned, dumped, or exported, the industry needs solutions that can deliver impact today, not in decades. The frenzied rush towards chemical recycling, while potentially transformative, risks creating expensive, exclusive pathways that leave the majority of textile waste unaddressed.

Beyond Chemical Promises: Why Textile Recycling Needs a Technology Reality Check

Subir Ghosh

3 June 2025

Solutions / Recycling Crisis / V Interview

Cetia can sort the garments by composition and colour to obtain a homogeneous deposit for processing, and then run this deposit through its automated unravelling line. This line enables mechanical unravelling. Another approach is to consider “intelligent” dismantling to deconstruct a garment. It is currently developing an intelligent dismantling line to separate the various textile fabrics from elements such as buttons, zips, etc., so that each element can be recycled in its proper recycling route.

Inside Cetia’s Breakthroughs in Shoe Dismantling and Textile Sorting Technologies

Subir Ghosh

5 June 2025

Textile Recycling Expo

Latest Specials

Cotton Crisis / Pakistan Status Analysis

The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) and All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) have time and again warned that the current tax structure makes domestic cotton unviable, forcing mills to rely increasingly on cheaper imported alternatives. Industry insiders fear that during the crop year 2025–26, cotton ginning and textile sectors may operate at less than 50% of their total production capacity.

Pakistan's Cotton Sector Faces Imminent Collapse as Government Scrambles for Solutions

Special Correspondent

5 June 2025

Deforestation / Viscose Angle Report

A lone rainforest tree stump stands in a forestry concession held by PT Industrial Forest Plantation — logged to make way for a pulpwood monoculture plantation.

The Green Inferno: The Destructive Viscose Empire Behind Indonesia's Deforestation

Special Correspondent

4 June 2025

Young India Fashion Survey 2025