Following the Path of Second-Hand Clothing

The "Capacities4CircularFutures" project, implemented by GIZ and funded by the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), seeks to promote knowledge cooperation to strengthen the circular economy in Ghana and is entering its second phase this year. Building on the findings of the previous project, the focus has now been – alongside end-of-life vehicles -used textiles. This shift comes at a crucial time, as global demand for textiles has risen far beyond basic needs in recent years, driven by the fast-fashion industry, which produces short-lived garments designed for rapid disposal. As a result, approximately 92 million tonnes of textile waste are generated annually, with only about one percent being recycled. Germany is among the five largest exporting countries in the European Union that ship used clothing to Asia and Africa.

Ghana has become one of the world’s most important destinations for these second-hand imports. For local stakeholders, managing the steadily increasing volumes of (waste) textiles in a sustainable way is becoming increasingly urgent. To better understand the situation on the ground and engage directly with people involved, the researchers Maike Demandt and Burcu Gözet from the Research Unit Circular Systems at the Wuppertal Institute travelled to Ghana for two weeks in November.

During their stay, the researchers organised a Circular Economy Summer School and hosted an event on the sustainable management of used textiles at the West African Clean Energy and Environment Conference. They also visited the Kantamanto Market, the largest second-hand clothing market in the world. Around 15 million garments arrive there every week, roughly 40 percent of which are not reusable – with severe consequences for the environment. The waste overwhelms landfills, is openly burned, or ends up in rivers and the ocean.

Positive examples despite challenging impressions

Despite some of the extreme impressions, there are also positive and innovative approaches to a circular textile economy to be found on site. Traders, for instance, demonstrate how old pyjamas can be transformed into boxer shorts or how T-shirts can be turned into high-quality jerseys. Organisations such as The Revival Earth and The Or Foundation are also developing new products from unsold textiles. In addition, The Or Foundation conducts environmental sampling and organises weekly beach clean-ups.

However, the overall impressions from the trip show that local measures alone are not sufficient: "The transformation must be approached globally in order to prevent so many low-quality textiles from ending up in Ghana," emphasises Burcu Gözet. At the same time, Germany is also facing challenges: clothing donation containers are overflowing, collection companies are operating at full capacity, and manual sorting is becoming increasingly uneconomical due to declining textile quality. Regulatory measures - especially Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – could provide relief. Under such a system, producers would bear the costs of collection, recycling, and disposal – a step that would strengthen recycling, reduce low-quality exports, and help decrease the volume of waste reaching Ghana.

Given that the textile industry is globally intertwined, these challenges cannot be tackled by individual countries alone. Accordingly, internationally coordinated solutions are required, conclude the two researchers.