Modern slavery & fashion’s complicity: 7 ways you can help

Image by Johannes Krupinski

Did you know that 1 in 200 people in the world work in slavery-like conditions? It’s staggering, I know! Advocacy groups cite fashion as one of the top five industries implicated in modern slavery.

What modern slavery is

Modern slavery is described by new laws and labour rights organisations as the exploitation of human beings for commercial gain. Practices like unsafe work conditions, debt bondage, human trafficking, forced labour, excessive & unpaid overtime and involuntary servitude are some of the makings of modern slavery. Activities like these are the target of emerging laws determined to end these practices. There are roughly 40 million people in slavery today. Data from the UN states that modern slavery garners over $150 billion in profits and is the second-largest criminal industry in the world. SDG 8.7 is a pledge to end modern slavery, with the goal of reducing the number of people affected by 10,000 every day.

Uyghur Region, the modern slavery capital of China

According to a coalition of more than 180 human rights groups, many of the world’s biggest retailers and fashion brands are complicit in modern slavery conditions being perpetrated on millions of people in the Xinjiang region of Northwestern China. In this region, cotton and yarn are produced through an enormous system of detention and forced labour using approximately 1.8 million Uighur and other Turkic Muslim people. Made of enslaved factories, farms and prison camps, it’s said to be the largest confinement of an ethnic and religious minority for forced labour since World War II.

China is the biggest cotton producer in the world and its Xinjiang region produces 84% of the country’s cotton. It is believed that this cotton can be found in one-fifth of cotton products worldwide, including PPE exported to many countries.  

Image by Trisha Downing

Fashion supporting slavery

G20 countries imported $US127.7 billion of fashion garments identified as at-risk products of modern slavery. 40% of all fashion industry textiles use cotton. Global fashion brands source so extensively from Xinjiang despite these abuses. Chloe Cranston, business and human rights manager of Anti-Slavery International has said there’s a high likelihood that every high street and luxury brand runs the risk of being linked to what is happening to the Uyghur people. A coalition of human rights groups says that brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Adidas, Calvin Klein, C&A and Muji have been identified as brands sourcing from the region or farm factories connected to forced labour.

Modern slavery in the West: The Boohoo story

There is an estimated 1,400 to 15,000 modern slaves in Australia today, an estimated 100,000 to 400,000 in the US and about 130,000 in the UK.

It came to light in July 2020 that Boohoo (a UK online fashion conglomerate), had been engaging in modern slavery practices in their factories in Leicester, UK. Workers were being paid £3.50 an hour against the legal minimum wage requirement of £8.72 for workers aged 25 and over. The discovery was made during the localised lockdown period owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company was putting employees at risk by working in factories that did not have social distancing measures in place.

Undeterred by the injustice, an estimated 643 influencers were still spruiking the brand’s apparel during the height of this scandal in the first 2 weeks of July. The brand’s share prices have now rebounded and more influencers are back to promoting their hugely discounted clothing. With all of this, the brand has enjoyed rare financial success in the time of the coronavirus crisis. Amid the row of modern slavery and poor work conditions, the company’s profits have soared by 51% in September this year.

COVID, the excuse of fashion brands

When the COVID-19 pandemic began this year, big fashion and apparel brands engaged in one of the biggest corporate unethical dealings. They refused to pay for products they asked suppliers to make. According to a recent report, “Unpaid Billions”,  authored by the Worker Rights Consortium and Centre for Global Workers’ Rights, this has resulted in $16 billion missing from the apparel supply chain, which is owed to suppliers. The report states that $1.6 billion of this amount represents garment workers’ unpaid wages. Millions of garment workers have lost their jobs and become extremely destitute because of this circumstance. Mainly in countries like Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Cambodia. The fashion industry for years has been rife with slavery conditions of human rights abuses and exploitative practices. The Global Slavery Index estimates that 58% of people in slave labour are in the major cotton or garment-producing countries of the world such as China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. The refusal of big brands to pay for orders and using the COVID pandemic as an excuse, has made bad situations unimaginably worse for workers.

Slavery is not the stuff of human nature

Human beings are born with the innate ability to think, analyse and choose. And with the freedom to develop themselves and the freedom to ennoble their environments. These are embedded in human nature. Enslaving human beings is, therefore, an abomination onto the human race. Freedom is a fundamental right, always. No one has the right to enslave another human for profit or any other reason. Its unnatural and absolutely incompatible with the human spirit and it does not befit humankind. Where slavery is enforced, it’s a real scourge on collective humanity. We should have systems that protect the sanctity of human freedom by ensuring everyone is insulated from conditions that make slavery possible.

Image by Jonathan Sebastiao

Actions that have sparked change  

Brands - Nearly the entire global apparels industry is tainted by forced Uyghur and Turkic Muslim labour, according to Chloe Cranston. The executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, Omer Kanat has said “Global brands need to ask themselves how comfortable they are contributing to a genocidal policy against the Uyghur people. These companies have somehow managed to avoid scrutiny for complicity in that very policy – this stops today,” The End Uyghur Forced Labour coalition insists that the global apparel industry must eradicate all materials and products connected with the forced labour of Xinjiang in less than a year. The coalition is made up of more than 70 anti-slavery organisations, Uyghur rights groups and labour rights campaigners.

US House of Representatives - In September this year, the US House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (H.R. 6210). The bill is created to put an end to forced labour of the Uyghur Region in corporate supply chains. When executed, it will establish the legal presumption that any products arriving at US ports manufactured in or through the Uyghur Region were made from forced labour, unless it can be proved otherwise. If not, they will be barred from entering the US.

Petitions – Remake created a #PayUp petition campaign at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to demand fashion brands pay money that was owed to garment workers. It resulted in $22 billion being unlocked to garment workers. This money saved the lives of millions of workers experiencing food and housing insecurity.

Tech – In some cases, tech might be used to monitor conditions of modern slavery. For instance, a drone was used to record ariel footage as evidence of Uyghur brutality with hundreds of Uyghur men blindfolded, shackled and being transported.

To map forced labour patterns and predictions, the University of Nottingham, UK has used artificial intelligence with satellite imaging. In South Asia for instance, it can be used to map brick kilns in places considered to be hotspots for debt bondage and forced labour.

How we can create change

1. Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) is an accreditation body focused on ensuring that local textile, clothing and footing workers are being paid appropriately, receiving all their legal minimum entitlements and working in safe conditions throughout the entire supply chain. Shop with ECA accredited brands here. Find ECA accredited ethical manufacturers here.

Find other global ethical clothing accreditation bodies here.

2. Worker Rights Consortium is an independent labour rights monitoring organisation. They hold corporations accountable and protect worker rights. Use WRC’s COVID-19 Brand Tracker to see which brands are acting responsibly towards suppliers and workers.

3. Support the coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region. The Coalition is a group of civil society organisations and trade unions united to end state-sponsored forced labour and other egregious human rights abuses against people from the Uyghur Region. Join their call to action here.

4. Write directly to fashion brands (social media, email and direct mail) insisting they no longer use materials sourced from modern slavery. Also request full transparency in their supply chain. Find a letter template from Freedom United here.

5. Sign a petition (or two). Here are several petitions you can sign to help make a difference: Freedom United, Change.org, Payup Fashion, Oxfam, Labour Behind the Label, and Traidcraft Exchange.

6. Organisations can fill a form to endorse the call to action on human rights abuses in the Uyghur Region. Find the form here.

7. Lobby your local, state, regional and federal governments to create policies that will end modern slavery locally and internationally. A good example is the legislation made by the US House of Representatives. International trade agreements are an area to focus on that have major implications on modern slavery in multiple countries.

Considering slavery is very much against the essence of humanity, are we also complicit when we remain silent in the face of modern slavery or when we purchase products made from conditions of modern slavery?

♥ Nina Gbor

Instagram: @eco.styles

https://fashionjournal.com.au/fashion/an-expert-weighs-in-on-tackling-modern-slavery-in-the-fashion-industry/?fbclid=IwAR2wisIW4DVUM-ZTRNycR4AgfzxPfcD04tmsbZ4gXDEW4KRxLHZdN2N7Y2k

https://theconversation.com/fashion-production-is-modern-slavery-5-things-you-can-do-to-help-now-115889

https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/global-findings/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boohoo-leicester-factories-modern-slavery-boohoo-leicester-factories-modern-slavery-investigation-coronavirus-coronavirus-fast-fashion-a9602086.html

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/23/virtually-entire-fashion-industry-complicit-in-uighur-forced-labour-say-rights-groups-china

https://www.workersrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Unpaid-Billions_October-6-2020.pdf

https://www.commonobjective.co/article/modern-slavery-and-the-fashion-industry

https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/chilling-video-shows-chinese-police-transferring-hundreds-of-blindfolded-shackled-prisoners/news-story/67a3f1742b261c6dc78334ff16b6d775

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/how-ai-and-satellite-imaging-tech-can-put-an-end-to-modern-slavery/

https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/chilling-video-shows-chinese-police-transferring-hundreds-of-blindfolded-shackled-prisoners/news-story/67a3f1742b261c6dc78334ff16b6d775

Are style and verbal communication two sides of the same coin?

I was ruminating on verbal communication and it suddenly struck me how much communicating with our words is so similar to communicating with our personal style. Whether it’s professional or personal interactions, the need for authenticity has never been stronger. Moreover, communicating in these two ways can be uplifting or destructive.

They might seem like random and disparate elements, but you can draw parallels between your words and your style when you look at them from the same angles. With these two aspects, the idea is to ensure our communication has a more positive effect. I often write about style so this time we’ll look at these parallels more through the lens of verbal communication.

It’s usually more straightforward when we communicate with our words. However, even though we don’t realise it, we communicate with our clothes too. Experts say within the first few seconds of meeting you, people form a long-lasting first impression. And your outfit plays a big role in this because it’s communicating something about you.

You know the saying, ‘if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all’? (They probably should have put that in the fine print when social media was invented.) The more I think about it though, another concept hits home which is if you don't really mean what you say then you probably shouldn’t say it at all. Purposeless and excessive talking can sometimes either be needlessly time-consuming or can cause miscommunications. On the other hand, when communication is born out of purpose, it can be healthy and more constructive.

Translate this notion into a clothing personal style context and it might sound like, ‘if you don’t need it, then don’t buy it.’ Garments that don’t reflect your personality, lifestyle, character or body shape should have no business on your body because they can miscommunicate who you are and present a false impression. Personal style that stays true to who we really are can bring about harmony within ourselves and communicate the right signals about us. Much like using excessive words, buying too many clothes because they’re trendy or affordable causes waste which is neither good for you nor the environment. Simply put, don’t waste your words and don’t waste fashion.

Letting all your communication resonate and align with your inner truth, will very likely equate to speaking less. And this might not be a bad thing. Social norms are designed in such a way that we’re expected to fill the air with words all the time. Otherwise, we might be doomed to go through dreadful and painfully awkward moments of silence. We’ve all experienced situations where we may have felt pressure to converse when in fact, we didn’t have anything to say. A simpler example is when we utter the word, ‘thanks’. Do you really mean it when you say it, or does it just mindlessly slip through your lips? In other words, do you genuinely feel a sense of appreciation when you use it?

Speaking mostly with intention and purpose is a powerful stance that gives your words more weight and value. So that when you do speak, there’s more effectiveness and hopefully an upbuilding quality to conversation. For this reason, perhaps an awkward silence need not be awkward after all. What if we turned those awkward silences to golden moments of connection where we’re comfortable enough to be present with each other in our silence? What if in these moments we turned the vibe from awkward to chill by smiling more, showing empathy and kindness even with our eyes? This should be a mood. I reckon it’ll feel strange at first. But it’s okay because we’ll get to listen more and add to our wisdom. The effort will be worth the reward of feeling a better sense of balance and alignment both internally and with the outside world. This could mean less pressure, less anxiety and more authenticity.

In the language of style, intention and purpose look like deliberately wearing clothes that express yourself as opposed to following a trend because you feel you have to. The pressure to dress for your age or peer group can conflict with how we actually mean to present ourselves. This can feel awkward and people can sense it. What if we ignored peer and overconsumption trends in favour of a personalised wardrobe that was almost as unique as a fingerprint? Much like those golden moments of silence I described earlier, it would mean feeling less pressure to conform to a mere social expectation. So, whether it's your words or your style, let your communication have meaning and purpose. They can both have tremendous value if applied in the right way.

Authenticity stems from letting go of the fear of opposing norms and expectations for the sake of just being yourself. Once we’re able to navigate the waters of everyday life without the social pressure to say meaningless words for the sake of it, we’ll have more peace. Likewise, when we stop acquiring excessive amounts of clothing that does not always represent us, we minimise ecological problems.

Be it through style or words, our communication has the power to spread harmony or cause pain and disaster for ourselves and others. Therefore, communicating authentically might just be the superpower that brings more fulfilment into our lives.

STYLING

The black and gold military jacket paired with the red VW print top and red vintage patchwork skirt is a tailored piece over a playful outfit. Finished off with a pair of mint sneakers. Might be fair to say it expresses a playful nature coupled with a formal streak? What do you think?

Outfit sourced from:

Black & Gold Military Jacket - Marketplace

Red VW Print Top - South Melbourne Community Chest Op Shop

Red Vintage Patchwork Skirt - Red Cross Op Shop

♥ Nina Gbor

The perks of secondhand fashion (from a lifelong fashionista)

I’ve been wearing secondhand clothes since before I can remember. First, it was through hand-me-downs from my brothers during my childhood tomboy days. Later in my teenage years, it evolved to crafting my own personal style using the super eclectic range of clothes in thrift stores. It was a rare and unique opportunity to find my passion at an early age, playing dress-up by mixing vintage and trendy pieces. I loved secondhand shopping and styling so much that I built a career on it!

Even with all the style and excitement, I got from secondhand shopping, it took years for me to publicly come out as a secondhand fashionista. It was social taboo because of the stigma attached to it like the perception of dirty, mouldy clothing and the idea that it was only for poor people. Fortunately, this stigma has shifted, and secondhand fashion is becoming popular and even more fabulous.

One of the most surprising things I discovered about secondhand fashion is that it teaches you to figure out who you are and helps you appreciate yourself. As opposed to following fashion trends, selecting pieces to form a cohesive wardrobe from a plethora of clothes from multiple fashion eras and diverse cultures naturally makes you dig a little deeper beyond the surface to figure out who you are and what you want to express in your style. Eventually, I discovered a few more perks to this wonderful world of secondhand.

1. Social sustainability – Majority of the people who make our clothes are women in poorer countries, mostly in Asia and Africa. They are exploited because they are not paid fair, liveable wages where they can afford the basic life essentials such as healthcare, education and adequate food for themselves and their families. This happens despite working 12 – 16 hours a day. Buying secondhand sends a message to brands that we will stop buying their clothes when they are exploiting garment workers. It’s important that we inform these brands and urge them to pay liveable wages so that the workers do not end up unemployed.

2. Environmental sustainability – Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. About 80 - 150 billion new garments are produced worldwide each year, more than double what was made in the year 2000. Of the garments made each year, 85% ends up in landfill or incinerated. Most of this pollution happens during manufacture and disposal.  Secondhand shopping reduces reliance on raw materials, chemical procedures and fashion waste to landfill which all contribute to environmental damage. A circular economy with secondhand is a much better way to go.

3. It’s more affordable – Secondhand is such a great option for your savings and when you’re on a budget. However, considering the vast amount of environmental damage that fashion is responsible for, it’s essential to bear this in mind so that we prevent overconsumption of secondhand fashion. In a previous article, I explained in more detail why secondhand fashion is not about being cheap.  

4. Self-empowerment - I alluded to this earlier when I talked about knowing and expressing yourself in your style. Secondhand can be a relatively quicker and easier way to glide on the path of inner growth and self-discovery. If you choose not to follow fashion trends that have been dictated, you’ll realise your personality, goals, character or lifestyle will be the tools you use when you’re choosing your pieces. It can strengthen your self-image and instil a stronger sense of confidence.    

5. Unique personal style - Needless to say, shopping secondhand means your style is likely to be authentic and different from the usual. If you value individuality when it comes to your wardrobe and outside the box fashion styles then secondhand is your new (or existing) best friend.

This month, Oxfam UK is running a SecondHand September campaign where they’re inspiring people to say no to new clothes for 30 days #SecondHandSeptember. In the UK, 13 million items of clothing end up in landfill every week. In Australia, 6,000 kilos of textile waste ends up in landfill every ten minutes. Oxfam’s challenge is a fun opportunity to help reduce fashion waste by fully immersing yourself in secondhand fashion if you haven’t done so already. To find sources for secondhand clothing that are local to you, you can search online for clothes swaps, thrift stores, markets and wardrobe rental/hire platforms. Here are a few online platforms: Yordrobe, Ekoluv, Depop, Etsy, Carousell, Poshmark, Marketplace and Beyond Retro.

STYLING

With this ensemble, I went for a mixed pattern, monochrome look using a staple tan waist belt to break the monotone pattern. Finished the look with leopard-print stilettos. I added the vintage, red clutch bag for a bright colour pop. The standout features of the outfit are the ruched sleeves on the polka dot top and the monochrome chessboard pattern on the skirt because it demands your attention. When you’re styling yourself, choose pieces and combinations that make sense to you and make you feel good.

Outfit sourced from:

Polka Dot Top - Savers Australia Op Shop

Monochrome Chessboard Skirt – Marketplace

Tan Belt – Noffs Op Shop

Red Vintage Purse - Marketplace

Leopard-print Stilettos – A wardrobe staple 

♥ Nina Gbor

Instagram: @eco.styles

The connection we have with our clothes

My Dorothy skirt.

French fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent once said, “Fashion fades, style is eternal.” This means your personal preference and connection to your clothing is everything when it comes to your style. This feeling of connection is reason why I had to have this skirt the moment I first laid eyes on it! I got it from a vintage-style boutique that hand-makes all their clothes locally here in Oz (Australia).

Dorothy in Munchkin Land.

The Wizard of Oz

It’s one of the most phenomenal feelings when you feel like a garment or outfit really gets you. The vision of this skirt teleports me to old, happy memories of watching The Wizard of Oz (1939) repeatedly with my mom and brothers. I call it my Dorothy skirt because the blue gingham reminds me of Dorothy's blue gingham dress. And the vibrant colours are as radiant as Munchkin land in Technicolor! The skirt just oozes torrents of playfulness and an unapologetic sense of schmaltz with its wild, fruits of many colours!   

Through happenstance, I've come to realise that pieces like this not only give me so much joy, but they make everyone else smile too. They can be such wonderful conversation starters. For example, it can be an opportunity to talk about slow fashion, locally made clothing, the need to support small businesses or even your favourite classic film!

Crafting your personal style…

Whether your style leans more towards neutral or mellow colours, classic patterns, conservative, edgy, dramatic, creative, vintage or even being exquisitely colourful like mine, your happiness and self-alignment will gain a massive boost when you wear pieces that are truly of your personal preference. This means ignoring the external and internal voices that say, “you can’t wear that”. The question is, does it represent who you are on the inside?

When it comes to choosing what goes in your wardrobe, beware of engaging in groupthink, as it can take you down a path of joining the toxic bandwagons that may cause you to overconsume or even delay your personal growth. This is truly about your individuality, your humanity and even your artistry. Now might be the right moment to look within at what makes you feel a sense of connection, what’s appropriate for you or what gives you joy in order to establish a precedent for your wardrobe and other areas of your life. This is a track that can take self-acceptance and confidence to supersonic levels.

It’s also a well-executed concept amongst those who have been shopping preloved most of their lives. If you’re unsure of what your perfect style is, it helps to learn from people who have mastered the art of ethical fashion, minimalism, vegan fashion and the sustainable lifestyle.

Back to Oz

I watched the 1939 classic so many times when I was younger that I believe it became deeply rooted in my subconscious. It might possibly be the reason why I ended up in this merry land of Oz (Australia) as an adult. Before I came here, indeed I was looking for a place that felt like home (kind of like Dorothy). Moving across the world alone took a ton of courage (like the lion), I had to learn to have an open heart (like the tin man) and of course I had to work smart (with a brain like the lion). I've found these things and blossomed here in the land of Oz. And I also realised I had these resources within all along. I just needed to go through some tough experiences in order to change my perception of myself so that I could see it. What a journey its been!

This is why this skirt is so symbolic and holds such powerful meaning for me. I cherish it and I’ll keep it for a very long time to come. It’s my testament to why fashion fades but style is eternal. Fashion trends are short and fleeting, whilst style has deeper meaning and purpose in your life. Style is something that is likely to stay with you for many years, if not all your life. The way the Wizard of Oz has stayed with me.

With the stories, personal history and memories that make us feel a connection with our clothing, it can be an avenue to less consumption whilst enriching our lives. This connection is good for our wellbeing and the environment. Clothing should not be disposable. And the more we heed these connections, our garments become more than just trends or practical items that get thrown out after minimal use. These connections bring a sense of long-term familiarity and comfort almost like an old friend or family. If we aim to foster connection with our wardrobes, ecologically it would translate to a healthier clothing culture. And very likely an overall reduction in textile waste.  

STYLING DOROTHY

I wore my Dorothy skirt with a periwinkle retro-style preloved t-shirt I found at a charity thrift store. I’ve added my staple tan waist belt. Completed the look with a pair of mint-coloured sneakers.

In the spirit of pattern clash, I've also paired Dorothy with my preloved velvet zebra-print coat.

Pattern clash: velvet zebra-print coat over periwinkle t-shirt and Dorothy skirt of many colours.

Outfit sourced from:

Periwinkle T-shirt - Salvation Army Op Shop

Dorothy Skirt - Gigi’s Fairy Fashion

Tan Belt - Noffs Op Shop

Mint Sneakers - Red Cross Op Shop

Velvet Zebra-Print Coat - Salvation Army Op Shop

♥ Nina Gbor

Instagram: @eco.styles

Banning secondhand clothes by the Global South; a blessing or a curse for local fashion industry?

Photo courtesy Lauren Fleischmann.

I’m beginning to wander if the Global South is the new landfill for Western countries. Do you ever think about what happens to your clothes when you’re done with them? And when you donate to thrift stores, do you think about where your clothes will eventually end up after they’ve been re-used? I probably wouldn’t, however, walking into a thrift store at age 15 in an African country was the eureka moment that forever changed my life and how I perceived secondhand (preloved) clothing.     

Photo courtesy Prudence Earl

Thrift stores and fashion waste

Fast fashion is often poorly made, low quality, mass-produced clothes made from synthetic textiles. They are a major pollutant and can often end up in landfill not too long after manufacture. Fast fashion overconsumption is the primary reason why fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Because they are not always sellable, charity thrift stores are forced to dispose of them, which can have a devastating impact on their budgets.  Australian charitable recycling organisations are spending approximately $13 million per year sending unusable donations to landfill. The other option is to send them to emerging countries in places like Asia and Africa. The British charity shop, Oxfam, declared that a minimum of 70% of secondhand garments donated to them ends up in Africa. 

Secondhand clothing from the Global North to the Global South

For decades, countries in the Global North such as Australia, the U.S., the U.K. have been sending unwanted secondhand clothes to countries in the Global South. Most of these clothes are the leftovers that op shops (thrift stores) cannot sell. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2016 – 17 for instance revealed that Australian exports 93,502,966 kilos of “worn clothing and other work textiles articles”. Direct exports from charities accounted for two thirds of this figure.

Photo courtesy M. Yusuf / Voice of America

My personal experience

One of my first and most memorable thrift store experiences was in Nigeria at age 15. Like other preloved stores in Africa, they too received secondhand clothes from Western countries.  It was the day my career in sustainable fashion began. I loved finding vintage and contemporary fashion treasures and relished the opportunity to play dress up with an eclectic range of garments at thrift stores. However, a sense of unease gradually began to stir within me because of a couple of things I observed. These imported, affordable clothes were stifling the growth of the local fashion industry. Secondly, there was so much stock that it was visibly polluting the environment. At the end of their life cycle, these clothes would end up in mountains of trash near residential areas, along with other household trash. Landfills were rarely an option in these communities.

Banning secondhand clothing

In 2015, East Africa imported $151 million worth of apparel, mainly from the U.S. and Europe. Countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda have been phasing out secondhand apparel with the intent of an eventual total ban. They believe secondhand clothing undermines their dignity and the development of nascent textile industries in their nations. Despite being major cotton producers, a significant portion of the population within countries such as Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Mali depend on secondhand clothes. African countries have been exporting raw materials and less often, finished products.  According to the McKinsey Consultancy, within a decade, East Africa could have the capability to export garments (as finished products) worth up to $3 billion annually.

The quandary of African countries

In opposition to the East African clothing ban, the Office of the United States Trade Representative in 2017 threatened to remove four East African countries in the list of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. It gives preferential trade benefits to African countries for the purpose of lifting trade and economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the weight behind the American opposition was the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMRTA), a band of 40 used clothing exporters with 40,000 American jobs within it. SMRTA said that the clothing Americans threw away would end up in U.S. landfills and damage the environment in the U.S.

Authorities in African countries viewed the threat as an example of a Global North country bullying countries in the Global South that are trying to cultivate a more self-sufficient, thriving economy. Situations like this place emerging countries in a dilemma over balancing protectionism with the perils of damaging their diplomatic connections and relationship with the global economic network.   

In a country like Nigeria, even though the government has technically banned secondhand clothing, the rules are not thoroughly being enforced. The conundrum is that it has not yet established a foundation of infrastructure and facilities that will empower local businesses to compete with Western fast fashion, particularly secondhand imports.

Image courtesy Wong Maye-E, Associated Press, The New York Times.

Textile pollution

And then there’s the issue of pollution. Many textile recycling businesses and charities take pride in their zero-waste status by shipping all leftover clothing to developing countries. In some regards, this notion is akin to the SMRTA principle which believes African nations should accept their unwanted clothing to keep them out of American landfills and to protect the U.S. environment from damage.  All of these Western organisations seem to have no issues with sending over their ‘trash’ to pollute African environments and fill up African landfills (or lack thereof).

Toxic groundwater

Beyond just littering the environment and the trash dumps in emerging countries, synthetic textiles release toxic groundwater when it rains. They are not biodegradable. The buildup of chemicals that come out of these synthetics after years of rainfall produces toxic ground water that leaks into the soil, damaging its fertility and natural ecology.  

Moreover, when toxic ground water stays at the surface of the ground, it evaporates with the chemicals into rain clouds which becomes acid rain. Acid rain pours back down again and spreads over a much wider surface area, repeating the soil damage process.

Water is of course a life source used by people in the local communities for household and agricultural purposes. Toxic groundwater and acid rain flow into local water bodies and can be hazardous to people who depend on it. Acid rain also contributes to the extinction of specific species because it can cause health problems or death when ingested. It changes the pH levels of water bodies which impacts marine wildlife.   

Another landfill solution to the problem of oversupply

I’m not entirely recommending they should suddenly stop shipping secondhand clothes to Africa, Asia and other places. It’s just not environmentally sustainable for those countries to have synthetic textiles in their landfills and trash dumping areas. It’s polluting the environment in emerging countries who did not create the pollution problem in the first place. Yet they’re having to deal with the repercussions. At the end of the day, countries in the Global South have become another landfill for countries in the Global North. And this is not a solution to the problem of oversupply and overconsumption. Furthermore, it contributes to climate change.

Where jobs are concerned, it curbs the creation of new jobs in poorer countries of the South that are attempting to build a thriving manufacturing economy by establishing local fashion industries.

Photo courtesy Association for Free Research and International Cooperation.

What can be done

Less fast fashion equates to less waste. Addressing the issue at the root cause by minimising the oversupply and overconsumption of fast fashion will have a positive domino effect.  As a consumer, before you purchase any garment, think about how many times you’ll use it and how long you will keep the item. If it’s short term, then consider hiring, renting or borrowing instead.

Countries that do not need to import secondhand clothing can decide if and how they will move forward in developing their own textile and clothing manufacture industries. In the latter, governments will need to address issues such as the requirement for local manufacturers to have access to sufficient funding, raw material, energy and liveable wages. In addition, garments should be made from natural textiles that also cater to the entire range of consumer budgets.

To be fair, some of the secondhand recycling organisations send clothing to help impoverished communities that cannot afford clothing. This is certainly admirable and a highly appropriate way of re-purposing these clothes. However, what if we made this a short-term strategy whilst we applied our focus on developing sustainable long-term systems to ensure those communities became economically independent within a specific time frame? This way we can break these cycles of poverty, end dependency and uplift global communities.

♥ Nina Gbor

Instagram: @eco.styles

References:

1. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-17/australian-op-shopping-waste-costs-millions-for-charities/10383490

2. https://afric.online/7730-second-hand-clothes-a-threat-to-african-textile/

3. https://www.nacro.org.au/data-on-australian-exports-of-used-clothing/

4. https://ecowarriorprincess.net/2020/02/second-hand-clothing-threat-africa-textile-industry-not-all-bad/

5. https://manrags.com.au/circular-economy/the-solution/greenhouse-gases/

6. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/world/africa/east-africa-rwanda-used-clothing.html