MAIDSTONE – The UK’s Textile Recycling Association (TRA) has reiterated that there should be no waste within shipments of clothes sent to African retail markets, after an investigation by British broadcaster ITV spotlighted how countries like Ghana are dumping grounds for apparel not fit for reuse.
Images of 30-foot heaps of high street-labelled garment waste, which spills over from landfill sites into the sea, highlights the need for urgent action within the fashion and textile industries as cities on the Ghanaian coast are devastated by the effects of mass apparel consumption and waste.
Though Africa’s retail markets welcome new shipments every week – creating business from UK fashion’s cast-offs – they increasingly face an influx of cheap, unsalvageable garment waste which only serves to pollute the environment.