Second Hand Clothing Market In Africa

A sum that should be invested in the production of fabrics and clothing in local cotton.

Second hand clothing market in africa. With south africa s economy in such poor shape people who would previously not have purchased secondhand clothing will purchase it today. In nigeria they are known as kafa ulaya. Unsorted second hand clothes can be compressed into bales of 500 to 1000 kg. A man samples secondhand clothes locally known as mitumba at the gikomba open air market on june 25 2012 in nairobi.

East africa s biggest second hand clothes market gikomba in nairobi sells used clothes coming from the us and south korea in uganda second hand garments account for 81 of all clothing. East africa s second hand clothes debate is back in the spotlight. Across the african continent second hand clothes are a mainstay of informal traders even accounting for the majority of clothing sales in some countries. According to oxfam an organization that does humanitarian work importing second hand clothes costs africa an average of us 42 5 million a year.

In 2015 the states of the east african community eac announced that from 2019 second hand clothes and shoes would be banned from their markets. Poverty unemployment is widespread in south africa however clothing is one of the essentials that everyone needs this has opened up an opportunity for secondhand clothing resellers. In 2016 four countries in the region agreed to phase out second hand clothes imports by 2019. The better graded used clothing is exported to central american countries and the lower graded clothing is shipped to africa and asia.

Africa has been contending with inexpensive imported used goods since the 1980s when a debt crisis in latin america exploded and disproportionately hurt poor countries. Saving the african textile sector requires strong action. At an expansive flea market nearby the mood could not be more different. The secondhand trade has more than doubled between 1991 and 2004.

He blames the second hand clothes trade which is valued at 1bn 641m annually in malawi 10 times its value in 1990.