1 |   INTRODUCTION

As Bhardwaj and Fairhurst (2010) posit, the global fashion industry is a significant economic force, but also one of the most environmentally burdensome sectors. Driven by the rise of fast fashion – influenced by changes in consumer behaviour and increased fashion consciousness – and by a prevailing linear production model, there has been a significant increase in output since the 2000s. With continuous production growth at an annual rate of 2% (Niinimäki et al., 2020), the fashion and textile (FT) consumption now generates vast amounts of annual waste. Each year, an estimated 80 billion garments are produced (Bick et al., 2018; Nguyen et al., 2021), posing significant ecological and social challenges in deprived communities (Bonelli et al., 2024). Mensah (2023) notes that global clothing consumption is currently estimated at 62 million tonnes annually and is projected to rise to 102 million tonnes by 2030. Consequently, staggering volumes of these clothing items end up in landfills or incinerators after only minimal use. As countries in the Global North grapple with overproduction and excessive consumption, much of their textile waste is exported to developing nations, including in Africa (UNECE & ECLAC, 2023), which disproportionately bear the burden of second-hand clothing imports (waste) (Andreadakis & Owusu-Wiredu, 2023; Bailey et al., 2022). While this approach can extend the life span of commodities and make clothing more accessible and affordable across social classes in developing nations (Baden & Barber, 2005), it also raises complex social and environmental concerns. Studies show that developing nations rely heavily on second-hand clothing (SHC) due to financial constraints, as it provides a cost-effective alternative to new garments (Wang et al., 2025). For example, about 90% of the Ghanaian population (Adow & Arsenault, 2012) and 80% of the Nigerian population depend on used apparel (Baden & Barber, 2005; Mensah, 2023). However, this dependence contributes to a mounting textile waste crisis, adding to the 75% of discarded textile goods globally (Wagaw & Babu, 2023).

Ghana, and its capital city Accra, has become a major recipient of second-hand clothing – commonly referred to as “obroni wawu” or “dead white man's clothes” – transforming the city into a critical node in the global textile waste network (Mensah, 2023). Kantamanto, one of the largest second-hand textile markets, receives about 15 million tonnes of items each week, of which 40% are deemed unsellable due to poor quality and are eventually sent to landfills (Marc, 2023). While second-hand imports are often framed as development aid or affordable clothing alternatives (Mensah, 2023; UNECE & ECLAC, 2023), they carry unintended consequences. Accra’s formal waste infrastructure is under-resourced and ill-equipped to manage the growing volume of low-quality textile waste, much of which ends up in open dumps, drains, or burned in informal settings, exacerbating environmental degradation and public health risks (Marc, 2023). Simultaneously, domestic textile production – both industrial and artisanal – contributes additional waste, often unmanaged due to the lack of sector-specific recycling pathways or circular systems. Despite these challenges, a growing number of local actors are reimagining waste as a resource through upcycling, reuse, and creative redesign, offering context-specific solutions to this global problem (Ghana News Agency, 2025; Oduraa-Osei & Tetteh-Ademtsu, 2024).

Academic attention to the fashion waste crisis has surged in recent years, with most research concentrated in the Global North or focused on consumer behaviour and technological innovation (Mihalyi et al., 2023). In sub-Saharan Africa, however, a significant research gap remains regarding the structure, flow, and governance of FT waste. In other words, there is a limited understanding of how textiles move through local systems, including collection, redistribution, and disposal pathways. Key concepts such as “structure” refer to the organisational setup of waste management and second-hand markets, “flow” denotes the movement of textiles across formal and informal channels, and “governance” encompasses the policies, regulations, and informal rules that shape these processes. By explicitly defining these concepts, the study situates its focus on localised practices and socio-economic dynamics of second-hand markets and grassroots sustainability initiatives. Understanding the structure, flow, and governance of FT waste in sub-Saharan Africa is critical to developing effective, contextually relevant waste management strategies. Without this knowledge, policymakers and practitioners risk implementing interventions that are ill-suited to local conditions, potentially perpetuating inefficiencies and environmental harm. Moreover, neglecting the socio-economic dynamics of second-hand markets and grassroots sustainability initiatives limits insight into the livelihoods, entrepreneurship, and community resilience that these systems support. Addressing this gap is therefore essential to inform evidence-based policies, promote circular economy practices, and enhance both environmental and socio-economic outcomes in the region.

Addressing this gap, the present study investigates the fashion and textile waste stream in Accra, Ghana, through a qualitative lens. The primary aim of this research is to investigate and characterise the fashion and textile (FT) waste stream in Accra, Ghana. To achieve this aim, the study focuses on the following key objectives: (i) To identify the significant sources and pathways of FT waste in Accra. (ii) To evaluate current management practices and the infrastructural challenges associated with FT waste in Accra. (iii) To explore the potential of upcycling as a sustainable and context-specific intervention for reducing textile waste in Accra. The study addresses an important research gap by presenting one of the first qualitative analyses of the fashion and clothing waste context in Accra. By integrating local perspectives with global sustainability discourses, it offers a unique contribution to the field. The findings provide valuable guidance for policymakers, environmental organisations, and social entrepreneurs, raising social awareness by highlighting how community-driven solutions can foster eco-innovation and advance circular economy practices in urban Ghana.

2 |  LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1|  The Global Fast Fashion System and Waste Generation

The global fashion and textile industry plays a crucial role in economic development; nevertheless, it operates predominantly on a linear "take-make-dispose" model, rendering it one of the world's most environmentally damaging sectors (Silva & Rosenbach, 2021; Von Uexkull & Buhaug, 2021). The rise of fast fashion, depicted by the rapid production, low costs, and frequent changing, has exponentially accelerated clothing consumption and disposal rate of these essential commodities, raising significant environmental concerns (Dissanayake & Pal, 2023). This wasteful practice generates about 92 billion tonnes of waste annually (Niinimäki & Karell, 2020; Reike et al., 2023). This cycle of overproduction and overconsumption generates significant waste (Kamble & Behera, 2021a), with the majority of the discarded textiles ending up in landfills (Moazzem et al., 2021) or incinerators after a short lifespan, creating profound ecological and social challenges, particularly in deprived communities (Oteng-Ababio, 2024).

 

2.2| Global Textile Waste Flows and the Second-Hand Economy

As the Global North grapples with its waste crisis, a significant portion of its textile waste is exported to developing countries (Brooks, 2013) under the guise of charity and economic opportunity, with the Global South serving as the endpoint for much of the developed nations' waste streams. For instance, in 2010, the UK gathered 319,998 tonnes of used clothes, valued at $425 million, for distribution to various developing nations, including those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, the European Environmental Agency (EEA, 2023) reports that the volume of exports of used textiles from the EU tripled between the year 2000 and 2019, increasing from 550,000 tonnes in 2000 to 1.7 million tonnes in 2019, with about 46% destined for African markets. This trade presents a complex duality. On one hand, SHC provides affordable clothing for a large segment of the population in developing countries, with dependence rates as high as 90% in Ghana (Mensah, 2023). In Nigerian life, used clothes are inevitable, meaning most Nigerians purchase SHC regularly (Africa Collect Textiles, 2020), although a substantial fraction of the imported SHC is non-resalable. This adds to the overwhelmingly limited waste management infrastructure of recipient countries (Juanga-Labayen et al., 2022; Stanescu, 2021). On the other hand, it has been heavily criticised for threatening the survival of domestic textile producers in local industries (Sarpong et al., 2024). These dynamic frames the SHC trade not just as a flow of commodities, but as a primary vector for the transboundary movement of textile waste, disproportionately burdening nations in the Global South (Andreadakis & Owusu-Wiredu, 2023). While these textiles are intended to extend the lifespan of commodities, the overwhelming volumes of low-quality, non-resaleable textiles arriving in developing nations exacerbate environmental challenges (Brooks & Simon, 2012; Encino-Munoz & Yilan, 2025). Consequently, the sustainability of the SHC trade is questioned regarding its environmental and socio-economic impacts in recipient countries. In Accra, Ghana, the rapid influx of low-grade textile waste has created an urgent need to address management inefficiencies and mitigate environmental consequences.

2.3| The Research Landscape: A Northern Focus and a Southern Gap

The the textile waste crisis has gained traction in academic and policy responses in recent years. However, these contributions remain heavily skewed towards the Global North, with a focus on themes such as recycling (Baloyi et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2023). While valuable, this technological focus often overlooks the distinct realities of the Global South, where waste management is characterised by high informality, limited infrastructure, and unique socio-economic dynamics (Ghana News Agency, 2025; Oduraa-Osei & Tetteh-Ademtsu, 2024). However, within the limited body of research on FT waste in Africa, the emphasis has largely been on the macroeconomic impacts of the SHC trade on local manufacturing or on general solid waste management, where textiles are often subsumed under a broad "other waste" category (Ghana Statistical Service, 2020; Oteng-Ababio, 2024). A critical gap exists in localised, qualitative studies that investigate the entire FT waste stream, from import and local generation to disposal and recovery, within a specific urban context.

2.4| The Ghanaian Context

Ghana, and its capital Accra, has emerged as a critical node in the global textile waste network. The country is a major importer of SHC, known locally as "obroni wawu" ("dead white man's clothes") (Mensah, 2023). Kantamanto market in Accra, one of the world's largest second-hand markets, receives an estimated 15 million items weekly, of which 40% are unsellable and become waste immediately (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2024; Mensah, 2023). This deluge of low-quality textiles, combined with waste from domestic garment production, has created a severe environmental challenge, with waste often dumped in open areas or water bodies or burned informally (Mensah, 2023). As Anokye et al. (2024) assert, this problem is compounded by a fundamental lack of public services: urban waste collection efficiency is only about 60%, leading to improper disposal and pollution, posing severe health risks. Recent reports, particularly from NGOs such as The OR Foundation (2021) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2024), have begun to shed light on the scale of the problem, highlighting the lack of recycling infrastructure and the emergence of upcycling initiatives. However, these reports, while invaluable, set the stage for a qualitative study to delve into the stakeholder perspectives, practices, and structural constraints. This study directly addresses this gap. By building upon the foundational work of these reports and the limited academic literature, it seeks to provide one of the first structured, qualitative analyses of the FT waste stream in Accra, integrating the voices of local actors to bridge the divide between global waste narratives and the specific, lived realities of Ghana’s capital, Accra.

3 |  METHODOLOGY