By Benjamin Adamafio Commey
Accra, Oct. 8, GNA – Greenpeace Africa, an independent environmental campaigning organisation, has called on the Government to ban the importation of what it calls “dead waste” textiles into the country, describing them as clothing that cannot be reused, repurposed or resold.
The call follows a brand audit of some 201 discarded garments collected from James Town Beach, Kantamanto Market and Agbogbloshie in Accra, which identified labels of global fashion brands including H&M, Primark, Marks & Spencer (M&S) and Next, as major contributors to Ghana’s textile waste.
The organisation said the growing volume of discarded clothing in Accra highlighted the need for action both at the source of production and at Ghana’s borders.
Presenting the audit findings on Wednesday in Accra, as part of its campaign on “waste colonialism” and the environmental and economic effects of the global fast-fashion industry, Ms Hellen Kahaso Dena, Project Lead for the Plastics Project and Fast Fashion at Greenpeace Africa, said the organisation’s investigations across Accra showed that textile waste was accumulating at several locations, including Kantamanto Market, James Town Beach and Agbogbloshie.
She said the problem needed to be addressed by reducing excessive production by global fashion companies and ensuring that only clothing capable of being reused entered Ghana.
“We want to tackle this problem at the source, and the source of this problem is the overproduction,” Ms Dena said.
She said traders at Kantamanto estimated that about 40 per cent of clothing entering the market was waste, meaning it could not be effectively reused or resold.
Ms Dena explained that while Greenpeace was not calling for a complete ban on second-hand clothing imports as the trade provided livelihoods for many Ghanaians, it could also not be left unchecked.
“What we do not want is for fashion brands in the global North to actually use that loophole to continue dumping,” she said.
She urged the Government to establish standards to ensure that imported second-hand clothing was of sufficient quality for reuse, while supporting Ghana’s local textile and fashion industries, artisans and other workers in the sector.
Mr Sam Quashie-Idun, Head of Investigations at Greenpeace Africa, said the audit formed part of wider investigations into the environmental effects of discarded clothing in Ghana.
He said the team collected garments and engaged traders and other stakeholders involved in the second-hand clothing trade at the three locations.
He explained that the presence of labels from H&M, Primark, M&S and Next demonstrated the international nature of the clothing waste entering Ghana.
He also expressed concern about plastic and microplastic pollution arising from synthetic fibres used in many garments.
Mr Quashie-Idun cited Greenpeace’s 2024 report, “Fast Fashion, Slow Poison”, which found that 89 per cent of 164 discarded garments tested at three dumpsites in the Greater Accra Region contained synthetic fibres.
He said an earlier investigation into the burning of textile waste as fuel at three public washhouses in Old Fadama also detected benzene, a known carcinogen, in samples collected in 2023.
Greenpeace also unveiled a six-metre installation, “Fast Fashion, Lasting Damage”, created from discarded garments by The Revival, an upcycling collective based at Kantamanto Market.
The installation depicts a model wearing a dress whose large skirt extends onto the ground and merges with hundreds of discarded garments.
As part of the campaign, Greenpeace and its partners presented a petition signed by more than 25,000 people to the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry.
The petition called for a ban on unusable textile waste, transparent grading and trading practices, stronger producer responsibility mechanisms, investment in Ghana’s textile industry and support for traditional craftsmanship, repair and reuse.
It also called for stronger Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations requiring fashion companies to contribute to managing the environmental impact of their products throughout their life cycle.
Isabelle McAllister, a Greenpeace spokesperson from Sweden, called on fashion companies to remain responsible for their products even after they left their original markets.
“We don’t want to see a total ban on import here. The quality needs to be better and we have to stop the overproduction,” she said.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Benjamin Adamafio Commey
Email: [email protected]