Fast fashion is 'choking Africa in dead white people's clothes': Mountains of garments promised to be reused by brands like H&M and Zara are instead flooding waterways of Ghana

Parts of Africa are drowning in millions of used garments the fast fashion industry ships over each year – even though big names like H&M and Zara have made pledges to recycle the used clothing.

H&M, a major offender in the industry, produces three billion garments a year alone and only recycles about 10 percent of them – the rest is shipped to places like Accra, the capital of Ghana, where there are heaps of used clothing flooding waterways.

The fast fashion industry, which includes Zara that is less than 50 percent environmentally sustainable, churns out a total of 100 billion a year and recycles just one percent, Bloomberg reports.

Dozens of African countries had hope the import of what Gahanna refers to as obroni wawu, or dead White people’s clothes, would be banned because the influx is too overwhelming for communities to sustain and the quality is too poor the clothes cannot be worn.

The problem companies face with their ‘sustainable’ clothing programs is the time and money that goes into repurposing, and the easiest solution for them is to simply send them somewhere else.

A bank located in Accra that stands 65 feet tall was not formed by Mother Nature, but was made by layers of discarded clothing dumped on top of each other.

Dozens of African countries had hope the import of what Gahanna refers to as obroni wawu, or dead White people's clothes — Dozens of African countries had hope the import of what Gahanna refers to as obroni wawu, or dead White people’s clothes

According to ABC, more than 15 million used garments make their way into the city from the UK, Europe, North American and Australia.

At least 40 percent are poor quality, making them worthless, and are sent straight to landfills that are spilling over into populated areas.

The streets of Ghana are being flooded with the secondhand garments

More than 100 billion garments are produced worldwide each year and 85 percent of them are either tossed into a landfill or incinerated.

The average American reportedly throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles each year.

And the amount they buy is set to increase by 63 percent by 2030.

H&M became the first global fashion retailer to launch a garment collecting program in all its stores across the globe in 2013.

H&M, a major offender in the industry, produces three billion garments a year alone and only recycles about 10 percent of them - the rest is shipped to places like Accra — H&M, a major offender in the industry, produces three billion garments a year alone and only recycles about 10 percent of them – the rest is shipped to places like Accra

The company setup recycling boxes for customers to drop off their clothes – regardless of the brand.

Since starting the program, H&M has collected more than 141,000 tons, more than three million pounds, of textiles global.

Source Daily mail

Fast fashion is ‘choking Africa in dead white people’s clothes’: Mountains of garments promised to be reused by brands like H&M and Zara are instead flooding waterways of Ghana

Leave a ReplyCancel reply