Deep Focus / Africa Seconds / PART V Commentary

Spotlight: Africa Seconds

Widely Ignored: The Question of Livelihoods and that of Affordable Clothing

The last piece in this five-part series on the twin subjects of the second-hand clothing in Africa and that of post-consumer textile waste in the content emphasises that the two are, of course, related, but not in the way that Western activists would like us to believe.

Subir Ghosh

14 June 2024

4 minutes

Long Story, Cut Short

Elitist activists need to understand that the sentiments that colonialism triggers in the West does not fetch the same currency in former colonies of Western nations.
The truth is that traders pay over $10,000 for every container of such clothes that they import. Now, why would they do such a thing if all that they import needs to head straight for the landfills?

The main finding of this study is that the growth of SHC imports in the five countries of Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, has had a positive impact on the labour market. The SHC industry is an employment creation engine in Africa, generating millions of jobs throughout the value and supply chain. Over 1.28 million people are employed in the SHC sectors in these countries with each tonne of SHC imported sustaining on average 6.5 jobs.

Second-Hand Good The main finding of this study is that the growth of SHC imports in the five countries of Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, has had a positive impact on the labour market. The SHC industry is an employment creation engine in Africa, generating millions of jobs throughout the value and supply chain. Over 1.28 million people are employed in the SHC sectors in these countries with each tonne of SHC imported sustaining on average 6.5 jobs. Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya

The more the subject of second-hand clothing in the African continent figures in the media (read, Western media), the less it appears to be a conversation. It is anything but a public discourse. What abounds copiously is the just one school of thought that seeks to bulldoze every opinion or perspective that does not kowtow to the one perpetrated and propagated by Western activists. And such opinions or perspectives do not even have to be radically contrarian in outlook.

It is not that the majoritarian Western argument being disseminated widely is without merit or basis. It is true that African countries have a waste problem (as do most others elsewhere); it is true that a lot of unused and unusable textiles are, of course, exported to Africa; and, it is also true that fast fashion could be one of the biggest contributing factors to both. But someone has decided that just because those are three dots, those must be connected. Yet, that is not where the problem lies. The point that this Spotlight series seeks to make is that every time the activist thesis is questioned, such contention is either summarily dismissed or, worse, even discredited.

The African second-hand clothing market and the issue of textile waste in the continent are twin subjects. They are related, and not necessarily in the way that has been projected in the media.

The first is the claim that over 40% of the second-hand garments that land on African shores are hastened to the landfills. It's just a number for all you care, but it is this number that has decidedly tilted the argument in favour of those seeking a ban on used garments being exported to African countries. Not only does this number appear to be arbitrary and flawed, it has also been disputed by Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya (MCAK) and the Ghana Used Clothing Dealers Association (GUCDA), among others. And they have provided counter-arguments from the ground. The fact that these calculations have been discounted with a snigger is a concern.

The second bone of contention is about dumping. The narrative that has been enforced is that whatever Western fashion retailers and brands are unable to incinerate themselves go on to be dumped on African grounds. Both MCAK and GUCDA ask whether African traders are assumed to be stupid indeed. The truth is that traders pay over $10,000 for every container of such clothes that they import. Now, why would they do such a thing if all that they import needs to head straight for the landfills? It does not make business sense.

Subir Ghosh

SUBIR GHOSH is a Kolkata-based independent journalist-writer-researcher who writes about environment, corruption, crony capitalism, conflict, wildlife, and cinema. He is the author of two books, and has co-authored two more with others. He writes, edits, reports and designs. He is also a professionally trained and qualified photographer.

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It's about Africa, not Africans

Among things elitist activists of the West are not privy to are jokes about them, especially ones that drip in sarcasm. A popular one, across geographies, is this: Western elites love only poverty, they don't love the poor. The attitude that the pro-ban lobby has been exuding reeks of this condescending conviction. They love the squalor of Africa; they care a hoot about the people.

Forget the traders for the moment. The manner in which the subject of second-hand clothing has been kept out of the discussions is not just insensitive, it is downright callous and disrespectful.

The second-hand clothing sector not just provides employment/livelihoods to tens of millions of people, it does something more: it provides affordable and decent clothes to hundreds of millions of people across the length and breadth of Africa. It is these people that one should be concerned about, if anyone at all. This is known, this has been documented. So, why does this need to be said?

Yet, whenever this issue of livelihoods is brought up, the refrain is that the second-hand clothing sector is killing the local industry. This is a line of reasoning that has no basis, and appears to have been plucked out of the sky simply to hammer home a point.

The textiles and apparel industry in a number of African countries has languished over the decades for a variety of reasons. It was in the absence of a local industry (among other things) that the second-hand clothing sector took root. It was never the other way around. Moreover, it would appear as if the local industries and the second-hand clothing sector vie for the same customer. Except for the obvious marginal overlaps, there is no data to show they do. As with the other claims, this appears to be a figment of the activists' imagination: very fertile and without any basis.

And, if local industry does not benefit from the extermination of the second-hand clothing market, then one must beg this question: who does? Do fast fashion brands like Shein and Temu? #justasking

The Or Foundation, which has been spearheading the ban/waste campaign in Ghana, brandishes the term 'colonialism' in every other sentence and even has a website titled stopwastecolonialism.org. Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya

Playing the colonial card

The word "colonialism" and all its semiotic derivatives make for aggressive rhetoric, and is often used as a silver bullet to kill all counter-narratives. The term being used rampantly and with unabashed impunity in our context is "waste colonialism."

What does it even mean? The Or Foundation, which has been spearheading the ban/waste campaign in Ghana, brandishes this term in every other sentence (ok, that's a hyperbole), and even has a website titled stopwastecolonialism.org. A campaign to stop the dumping of textile waste may make sense, but suffixing it with "colonialism" to quell dissent does not.

[Note: Last June, Shein signed an agreement with the Or Foundation to channel $5 million each year for three years to tackle the waste crisis.]

Elitist activists need to understand that the sentiments that colonialism triggers in the West does not fetch the same currency in former colonies of Western nations. These activists do not seem to understand the first thing about colonialism. Well, colonialism is about deciding on behalf of others what is good or bad for them. And, ironically, that's precisely what these activists want to do: decide on behalf of others, as if the latter are intellectually deficient to decide what is good, bad or ugly for themselves. If there is anything colonial about the subject at hand, it is the attitude of the activists. And it's more than colonialism; it is called intellectual imperialism.

Maybe it is time Western activists actually tried being inclusive instead of using the word as a buzzword in their sanctimonious annual impact reports.

Developing countries have a high demand for second-hand clothing due to affordability, offering socio-economic benefits, particularly in informal sectors. Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya