In order to battle false information regarding Kenya’s secondhand clothes business and concentrate on evidence-based research to influence policy, stakeholders from around the world are being called upon.
The chairperson of the Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya (MCAK), Teresia Wairimu Njenga, emphasized the accomplishments of their 2024 advocacy campaign while cautioning about the growing difficulties that reuse, and recycling companies face. Despite harsh prices and regulations that threaten decades-old sustainable processes, Njenga stressed that more than 95% of imported used clothing is not waste.
In meetings in the US, Ghana, the UK, and the EU, Njenga spoke on behalf of Kenya’s secondhand clothes industry. A recurring theme emerged from these conversations: in the struggle against fast fashion, textile collectors, sorters, and recyclers must contend with rising expenses and laws that jeopardize their ability to continue operating. Njenga emphasized that the EU is spearheading legislative changes that are setting global standards, but that these changes may have a negative impact on livelihoods in Kenya, where 6.2 million households and 2 million traders depend on secondhand clothing.
Instead of using deceptive advocacy materials that incorrectly attribute waste management shortcomings on the importation of used clothing, MCAK recommended policymakers to focus on solid evidence.
“Secondhand clothing is not the issue; rather, it is a component of the solution,” Njenga stated. They are vital to Kenya and other countries like Ghana and are prime examples of the circular economy. Policymakers run the danger of making the world’s textile pollution worse by permitting our trade to be vilified.
