Ghana's designers fight fast fashion waste

Every day, tons of used clothes arrive at the Kantamanto market in Accra, one of the world's largest secondhand textile markets. With a flick of the wrist, traders cut open the huge packages and sort piles of clothes according to quality. The tightly packed plastic bales weighing up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds) are distributed among the on-site sellers.

Early in the morning at the sprawling market in Ghana's capital, shoppers push their way through the piles of clothing. They're looking for bargains or designer items on offer at the market stalls. The piles are a mixture of used and new low-quality clothing imported from the West.

Some of the imported garments arrive in such poor condition that traders are forced to immediately dispose of them to make room for the next shipment. Neither Ghana's rapidly growing population of 34 million people, nor the country's overburdened infrastructure, can cope with the immense volume of clothing.

However, young, innovative designers are raising hopes that the major fast fashion problem can at least be brought under control, to some extent. Old clothes, especially from Europe, have long been tailored, dyed and traded on the market. Various organizations are bringing together young people and fashion designers to find creative ways of putting discarded materials to good use.

In October, the Obroni Wawu upcycling festival was also held in the immediate vicinity of the market. The name comes from an expression that means "the clothes of the dead white man" in the local Akan language. The organizers see the event as a small way to break a destructive cycle that has made Western overconsumption an environmental problem in Africa.

The designs are extravagant and unique, with plenty of glamour and glitter. Models present special outfits on the catwalk that designers have made from discarded materials from the Kantamanto market. The collection ranges from flowered blouses and denim jeans to leather bags, hats and socks, and shows how something new can be created from something old.

"Instead of allowing the textile waste to choke our gutters or beaches or landfills, I decided to use it to create something for us to use again," explains one of the designers at the annual festival, which is organized by the Or Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works at the intersection of environmental justice and fashion development.

The flood of old clothes into Africa has led to criticism that the continent is being used as a dumping ground. Discarded clothing used to be rare on Ghana's beaches, but this has changed drastically in recent years with the growing problems in waste management. Volunteers regularly come together to clean the beaches around Accra of old clothes and garbage that have washed up.

This aerial view illustrates just how polluted the beaches in Ghana are. But the numerous creative initiatives in Accra are a sign of hope for a better future. They could also encourage Western society to pay more attention to the fast fashion problem in many African countries, and help promote more sustainable consumer behavior.