This landfill of clothes, called by the locals "Dead white man's clothes",( or "obroni wawu"), lies somewhere in Ghana and is just one of the health bombs in the world. Clothes stacked in the fast fashion consumer wardrobe (fast fashion), cheap to appeal to a wider audience and difficult to "survive" more than a few months--until the next offer comes out - are gradually drowning Africa first and Asia.They are the ones that are given for charity purposes. Among these rubbish, many synthetic fabrics do even more damage.
The reason for the creation of this post came from an article by Naftemporiki, which clearly analyzes the huge problem that has been created on the continent and, as expected, has provoked strong reactions from the competent bodies.
The whole scary look of this fashion prompted me to search the web more. And I found a lot of interesting things. From article here,https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-12/fast-fashion-turning-parts-ghana-into-toxic-landfill/100358702 I have gathered some really exciting topics: "On the shores of the lake Korle, in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, entire hills of rubbish have covered the rocks. They reach 20 meters (!!!!!) in height and are part of these clothes that are exported to Ghana for resale and reuse. The countries of origin are North America, Europe (mainly England), Australia and to a lesser extent the United Arab Emirates. About 15 million pieces end up there every week, flooding the local flea markets. 40% of them are considered so useless and of poor quality that they end up in these hills you see above ". And continuing, the article describes:
"The route of the clothes (which is in the form of a package of 55 kg) passes first through Burgina Faso and Ivory Coast, but always ends at the famous Kantamanto market in Ghana. There, traders will select the best preserved pieces, which can be sold as they are, or repainted and re-sewn. And what is left will be sold to furious buyers who are arguing over who will take the lead. "Women working in such markets are complaining about abuse and injuries, but as local second-hand clothing retailers say, thanks to this situation, many unemployed people have found work."
The facts and reports are shocking: "In Accra, clothing is deliverd by 60 containers a week, so the used clothing industry is doing a golden job, as it is in the rest of the world. But buyers often pay $ 95,000 a container, not knowing exactly what they are buying. If the merchandise is in good condition, they can earn as much as $ 14,000. According to testimonials from sellers in the Kantmanto market, jobs today are not as lucrative as they were 17 years ago, when the second-hand clothing trend began.Huge packages of clothes from Australia and from well-known brands, such as Suzanne Grae, Target, Zara, Billabong, Just Jeans and others, were sorted carefully, but the best ones were fewer. Unfortunately, since 2000, global clothing production has doubled and humanity is buying 60% more clothes than it did 15 years ago. A survey in England showed that young women who make up the majority of fast fashion buyers, throw away clothes they have worn up to 2 times !!!!!!
85% of the fabrics produced annually go to the landfill, according to the World Trade Organization, capable, they say to fill the port of Sydney in Australia! " If all these reports do not convince us of our excessive, pointless consumerism, which fills the planet with garbage, then what?
Similar images in Indonesia.
"H&M, Zara and Boohoo are among those brands that present new fashion lines in a few days. Boohoo, for example, has more than 36,000 products available at any given time. Three years ago, the company was criticized in the British Parliament for selling five-pound items of such poor quality that charities were reluctant to resell them. References to staggering amounts of unsold stocks of clothing companies have sparked a storm of reactions from time to time" It is only natural, since these companies and others, produce 40% more than desired (source below in the articles)
Most unused clothes are burnt after they accumulate on hills and pollute everything: land, seas, lakes, oceans and of course aquifers. Keep in mind how much pollution occurs, if you add synthetic fabrics. Which greenhouse effect are we talking about and which CO2 emissions ????? Ecology is absent, once again.
According to the sustainable living guide here, https://thesustainablelivingguide.com/fast-fashion-brands/ the following is a reality and after reading the whole article, you will for sure catch your breath, seeing very shocking names parade in the list of companies that pollute pockets and the environment:
80 million clothes are consumed every year (400 times more than 20 years ago)
Every year, the average American produces about 82 pounds [82 kg] of junk cloth
$ 500 million lost on clothes that are not recycled or reused
production cycles in the fast fashion industry result in water and land pollution
3 out of 5 pieces of fast fashion end up in the garbage dumps
How will the problem be reduced? (to be solved, it will take years ..)
Undoubtedly, clothing pollution in Africa will not stop with a flick of the finger. There are huge interests behind every crisis. And here we are talking about THE CRISIS. We must first, you and I, start thinking differently. We must begin giving value to our clothes, as well as to our wallet. Here are some good practices:
buy less ( Vivienne Westwood, as an activist, she has been shouting about it for years)
do not wash your clothes so often (at least as much as you can) for longer life
bought 1 expensive piece per season and minimized your buys from fast fashion
if you get bored of your clothes, do not throw them in the trash, sell them
If you need an expensive piece for a single outing, rent it
learn how to sew a button or a hem, do not throw clothes out of laziness
meet with repair shops
some clothes or accessories you love can be repainted
learn how to do upcycling on your clothes, yourself (there are so many diy sites & videos)
do not imitate celebrities who wear fast fashion clothes, they are probably paid, you are not!
put your ethics into practice, not allowing some people take advantage of the poverty and unemployment of your "fellow citizens" on the planet
Some articles to understand what is happening in the world with fast fashion
I hope you were a little shocked by what you have read today. You need to change your mindset, especially if you are young, because that way you and your children will enjoy a better world (apart from saving money). As for us older ones, fast fashion does not satisfy us anyway. See you in the next post!