Growing up in Ghana for 10 years of my life is something I really cherish. Looking back, I’m so grateful for that experience because I was fully immersed in my culture (food, fashion, education and traditions), I learned so much and was surrounded by it’s beautiful landscapes. Ghana is not only my beloved homeland, but it is also now one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is becoming a major tourist destination.

Ghana is the recipient of the largest amount of second hand clothes from the UK, roughly £51m worth, followed by Benin, Kenya and Togo. Whilst there is an existing secondhand industry in Ghana, more commonly known as Obroni Wawu meaning Dead White Man’s Clothes, the textiles being sent over in more recent times have been of very poor quality. The traders in Kantamanto market, Ghana’s largest second hand clothing market, have found that the majority of the bales they buy are full of clothes which are dirty or torn in ways that are completely irreparable.

There isn’t efficient regulation of what is shipped over. The traders then have no choice but to throw these garments away, adding to the overflowing landfill sites and polluting their local communities. The streets and seas are littered with clothing waste and are destroying the beautiful landscape of Ghana.

-  50 tonnes of clothing waste a day in Accra
-  “Around 40% of the used clothes imported into the country ends up rotting in landfill sites” - Daily Mail
-  The value of clothing sent has halved from £200/tonne to £100

PLEASE WATCH:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnKEJprS3xM&list=PL0MXhdnRGiATLytnPgaxVofRrHOULiX4D&index=2&t=0s

I am calling for there to be stricter regulations on the textiles that are shipped to developing countries like Ghana. We need more efficient screening processes in place to ensure anything to be sent is at least of good quality.

Please help keep rubbish out of Ghana and stop it from being the dumping ground of the west by signing this petition. You can also help further by buying less fast fashion and only sending good quality, wearable garments to charity shops and clothing banks for recycling.

#FASTFASHIONMUSTGO