In Ghana, designers are reinventing fashion with second-hand clothes

On the beaches of Accra and in the dumpsites of Kantamanto market, discarded clothing bears witness to the devastating impact of fast fashion.

Every week, 50 million items of clothing arrive in Ghana. “About 40% leaves the market as waste,” says Neesha-Ann Longdon of the Or Foundation. This massive flow of textiles, produced at low cost, is overwhelming the local market and waste management systems.

Faced with this crisis, local creators are taking the lead. In Kantamanto, these innovators collect used clothing and transform it into unique pieces. “Rather than letting them clog our gutters or pollute our beaches, I decided to transform them into pants, jackets or other items, to give them a second life,” says a committed designer.

To highlight this approach, a fashion festival organized by the Or Foundation recently brought together designers who presented their recycled clothing on an improvised podium. This event, in its third anniversary, celebrates upcycling and raises awareness of more sustainable fashion.

By giving new life to textiles doomed to abandonment, Ghanaian designers prove that fashion can be both ecological and creative. “There is always a second life in old clothes,” says a local designer. An inspiring lesson in a world overwhelmed by textile overproduction.