By Trésor Daniel Mefire
The North Journals, Global Development
Bales of discarded jeans, polyester dresses, and fast-fashion cast-offs arrive daily on African shores. For many Western consumers, they are out of sight and out of mind. But for communities across Africa, they are anything but disposable.
“The continent is choking under the weight of second-hand clothes, chemical waste, and economic sabotage,” says researcher Trésor Daniel Mefire, author of How Fashion is Fueling the Climate Crisis in Africa. His investigation lays bare a system that is not only polluting the planet—but also devastating livelihoods and eroding economies in Africa.
The fashion industry is responsible for 8–10% of global carbon emissions—more than international flights and shipping combined, according to the UN. While most of the clothing is consumed in the West, much of the waste finds its final resting place in Africa.
The Second-hand Deluge
Africa imports $1.7 billion worth of second-hand clothing every year, with countries like Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria receiving the bulk. But what’s marketed as reuse or donation often amounts to dumping. “Nearly half of these garments are unusable,” Mefire notes, citing Greenpeace Africa. “They clog landfills, poison water systems, and emit methane as they decompose.”
In cities like Accra, mountains of unsellable clothes accumulate in open dumps, some catching fire, others swept into waterways. The environmental cost is matched by a carbon one: transporting these clothes contributes another 15–20 million tonnes of CO₂ annually.
Collapsed Industries and Vanished Jobs
The fallout isn’t just ecological—it’s economic. In the 1980s, Ghana had a thriving textile industry. Today, it has shrunk by 90%, shedding some 200,000 jobs. In Tanzania, 75% of textile factories have closed since 2000. As Mefire puts it, “Fast fashion hasn’t just filled landfills—it’s emptied factories.”
The influx of cheap garments has undercut local producers and pushed countless workers into the informal sector, where wages are low and protections are few.
A Toxic Legacy
In Ethiopia’s Hawassa Industrial Park, 72% of textile factories release untreated dye waste directly into Lake Hawassa. Locals have reported rising health problems and dying fish stocks. One cotton T-shirt, Mefire notes, can require up to 20,000 litres of water to produce—an unaffordable luxury in a region grappling with drought.
Meanwhile, cotton farming drives 12% of annual deforestation in Burkina Faso. And synthetic fabrics shed microplastics that now make up 35% of plastic pollution in Africa’s waters.
In Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria, toxic textile dyes have been linked to a 30% increase in skin diseases, according to the World Health Organization.
Workers Exploited, Health Compromised
Most of Africa’s garment workers are women. In Lesotho, many work 12-hour shifts for as little as $3 a day. “They sew for global brands while struggling to survive,” Mefire writes. The Clean Clothes Campaign calls it “fashion stitched with poverty.”
A Movement for Change
Yet even amid the wreckage, solutions are sprouting. In Kenya, Africa Collect Textiles recycles around 500 tonnes of waste garments each year into insulation and carpets. In South Africa, upcycling shops like The Suay Shop are slashing water usage by reusing fabrics.
Policy is also playing a part. Rwanda banned second-hand clothing imports, a move that helped grow its textile production by 40%. Senegal offers tax incentives for organic cotton, spurring a 15% increase in sustainable farming.
Consumers are waking up too. Movements like #WhoMadeMyClothes are pressuring brands for transparency. Adidas’s ocean-plastic sneaker line—created in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans—has sold over a million pairs in Africa alone.
From Dumping Ground to Trailblazer?
Mefire believes Africa can become a leader in sustainable fashion—but only if the global north stops treating it as a dumping ground. “The solutions are here,” he writes. “What’s needed is support, investment, and a radical shift in how the world thinks about fashion.”
The story of fashion in Africa is one of deep injustice—but also growing resilience. Whether the world listens—and acts—may well determine the future of both the industry and the planet.
For further reading, find the report here I PDF I How Fashion is Fueling the Climate Crisis in Africa (1)
