Shared Across the African Landscape: The Way Second-Hand Supports Local Economy

Could you give us an idea about the textile waste volumes in Uganda? How much of it is because of the unusable/unwanted proportion of secondhand items that are imported? How much of it is local?
Michelle Wilson: As above, the volumes vary but according to official stats on ComTrade, 6,204 tonnes of secondary materials were exported to Uganda last year the equivalent of 213 container ships worth of clothing!

This project seeks to answer what the rejection levels are from the second-hand clothing imports. In Kenya they are reportedly as low as 2%, but the data is not as clear for Uganda. This is one of the objectives of the project to ascertain the rejection levels in Uganda and the type of materials that are rejected. We know for example in countries like Ghana that of the 10–12% materials that are rejected, 49% are the cuttings from clothing that has been repaired or altered by one of the vast networks of tailors/sewing machinists who work within the markets. The remainder would be classed 3 & 4 either deemed unwearable or damaged.

In September 2023, Uganda banned the import of second-hand clothes into the nation. It's been almost six months since the ban. How has this affected things on the ground? What are the immediate changes that you have noticed?
Michelle Wilson: We are very aware of the second-hand clothes ban and are tracking it closely. In terms of major changes, currently we have not seen a major shift in operations of any of the importers and wholesalers. A task force has been set up by the office of the prime minister to open conversation with all the different parties so that a sensible way through can be found. When you look at countries like Nigeria and South Africa that have put textile import bans in place, the result was that the trade carried on as enforcement was incredibly difficult with so many land and sea borders.

In the end, the State loses out on vital tax revenue and the second-hand traders gain the most. Irrespective of the ban there are still second-hand clothes in Uganda which are generated by the local population, particularly where the youth population is so dominant. So, whether there is a ban or not we see our project is still relevant. We see this project as helping to build the skill set of local tailors to repurpose second-hand textile whatever their source.

Looking at the subject of textile waste (as a subset of the larger secondhand clothing sector), how does the existing network operate in Uganda? 
Michelle Wilson: As previously mentioned, one of the reasons we want to implement the project is to actually generate quality data that can really shed a light on what is happening in the second-hand textile trade, how much waste is actually being generated and to see if this waste be repurposed into other products that can contribute to the local economy. What is clear is that the set up in Uganda is similar in that you have wholesalers who are buying in bales from the importers. The wholesalers in turn then support the hundreds of market traders who may buy specific bale or more likely part of a bale. There are over 50,000 traders in Owino market actively selling every day in the heart of Kampala.

From what you have seen so far in Uganda, how much of the unusable/unwanted secondhand clothing can still be repurposed/recycled? Is there an export potential for items that are created/recreated using the textile waste? Could you elaborate?
Michelle Wilson: In terms of the level of second-hand clothing that can be repurposed, we are at the beginning of this journey to find out exactly that. The first stage is to assess the type of rejects and the potential end markets in country. The figure could be as low as 2% or high as 40%—we need to get quality data. We would be surprised that given the cost of import that the rejection rates would be of this level. Our market assessment will be able to map the materials that are rejected onto other potential markets for wipers/cloths or shredded materials for furniture stuffing. We hope that over time there may be opportunities for export and the project will also look at opening up dialogue with exporters on a range of materials.

Landfills across the Global South are burgeoning by the day. Those come with their own set of problems, particularly related to health. Are you working with local/civic authorities on this?
Michelle Wilson: We are not working directly with the landfill (Kiteezi) in Kampala, but we hope this project goes someway to ease the level of clothing dumped there each month—26 tonnes is a low estimate of the volume per day. We are hoping that this project will help intercept the materials before they end up at landfill. Once at landfill it is very difficult to do anything with the contaminated textile waste.

There would have been both individuals as well organisations who would have been working on this subject before the Uganda Circular Textiles project was launched, or even conceptualised. So, how are you fitting into the scheme of things that have been already working?
Michelle Wilson: That is a good question. Key in the design was to understand the current context and this is why the local partners MTAC and UTA, and KAWEL were vital in terms of informing the design. They have been invaluable in helping us understand the current context and we want to be very mindful of having any negative impact on existing systems that work well. For example, within the market there are hundreds of tailors who are employed to alter garments that are imported for sale. We want to ensure that our project does not disrupt this market and absorb clothing that could have been sold after tailoring. We only want the clothing that would not be able to earn an income. Recent studies show that pricing has to be carefully thought through.

What about textile-to-textile recycling? What is being done on this count?
Michelle Wilson: The level of investment for the textile-to-textile recycling is extremely high. I would say that we are really at the beginning of this journey into the repurposing of textiles.