SECOND HAND CLOTHES: A BLESSING IN DISGUISE
In recent years, East African countries have attempted to accelerate industrialization.Kenya currently is the largest producer and exporter of garments in the East African Community (EAC),1with Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda lagging behind. In an attempt torevamp the domestic garment industry, in March 2016 the EAC Heads of State announceda phase-out of used clothing imports and footwear,popularly known as mitumba in EastAfrica. Implemented through a gradual increase in tariffs applied to used clothing and other second hand garmets.This is aimed at reviving the garment sector to benefit local cotton farming
STATE OF PLAY OF SECOND HAND CLOTHES
(adopted from KATENDE–MAGEZI, E. (2017). “The Impact of Second Hand Clothes and Shoes inEast Africa”. Geneva. CUTS International, Geneva. )
The global trend of second-hand clothing (SHC) consumption is significantly increasing and un-stoppable. This trend has made, and will continueto make, a huge impact in the clothing industry in virtually every part of the world. However, the number of studies on SHC are still limited and more importantly, the findings are mixed and inconclusive
There was a total ban on trade of second hand clothing in Kenya until 1991.This embargo on used clothing by the Kenyan government was reinforced by taxation policy of levying a 100% duty on imported used apparel. This was aimed at safeguarding the interests of the local textile industry stakeholders being mainly the manufacturing firms. On gaining independence, the textile industry was considered an anchor employment source as it had on its payroll 30% of Kenya’s population (Omolo, 2006).In 1991, courtesy of economic stimulus policies fronted by IMF, the Kenyan government adopted them and this resulted in the liberalization of the local economy. Kenya had to uplift the embargos on used clothing and as a result, the local market was flooded by imported used clothes according to Murunga
The influx of second hand clothing onto the African fashion market has hit the peak. About 90% of clothes used inAfrica are of second hand origin. However this has been decreasing with increase in cheap new Chinese garment imports. This development invariably has negative effect on the Garment and Textile Industries in Africa to the extent that some of the industries are gradually folding up due to low patronage of their products(some collapsed in the 1900s and are yet to revive)
LEADING IMPORTERS OF SECOND HAND CLOTHES
Most government ensures that apart from food and shelter, the citizens of the country are adequately clothed. Clothing is therefore an essential part of any civilized human establishment. However, various economic problems make it necessary for clothes that have been used to be preserved and marketed elsewhere. In the world however, these clothes are averagely cheaper because they have been used. Movement of such “cheap used” clothing from one part of the world to the other is therefore now very popular. For example, there has been mass importation of “second hand” clothing from different parts of the world to Africa and there is ready market for these garments because they are relatively cheaper, easy to wear, durable and highly fashionable than those made from local textiles fabrics.
PRICING
Most of the Local Textile Companies in importing countries price their fabrics very high because of the high cost involved in production. These expensive fabrics are used to produce dresses which turn out to be also expensive and this deters clients from buying such products. Most consumers therefore resort to the patronage of “second hand clothing” which they consider to be relatively cheaper.
The “second hand” clothing however comes with a variety of problems, most of which are health related. For example some of the under-wears, braziers and socks are not supposed to be used by more than one person. This is because they are used on very sensitive parts of the human body which can easily be affected considering their orientation. Apart from the health related issues associated with the high patronage of “second clothing”, the economy is also hard hit in the sense that the patronage of locally made Garments and Textiles will dwindle further if nothing is done to salvage the situation. Additionally, more Garment and Textile producing companies will continue to “collapse” and this will result in massive unemployment rates as these companies add a substantive number of employees to the workforce.This was witnessed in Kenya with the collapse of the kisumu cotton mills famously referred to as KIKOMI.
The second-hand clothing value chain
To understand the dynamics of, and the challenges posed by, the SHC sector in Africa ,it is important to understand the value chain – that is, how these clothes are collected and channelled towards Tanzanian markets. In the US and Europe, charitable organisations and commercial companies collect used clothes from household waste sites and kerbside collections, textile banks, supermarkets,schools, social and community organisations, and take-back schemes.
The clothes are then sorted and distributed by specialised companies. Some of the clothes are sold or donatedin the country of origin; the rest are packed into 45-55 kg bales, each containing items ofone type (e.g. jeans, suits or T-shirts). Bales also contain footwear, toys and householditems such as bedding and towels. A combination of bales is then loaded onto a container,which is shipped to Asia, Eastern Europe or Africa (Hansen 2004, Brooks 2013).4When loading containers, exporters are conscious of the differences between these markets, and the containers are prepared according to customer demand in the destination countries(Rivoli 2014).
Importers collect the bales at destination and sell them to intermediaries, who in turnre-sell the bales to retailers.5During this process the bales containing the used clothes –which have remained unopened up to this point – are now opened, and the content eitherauctioned off to various retailers or sold to customers (Haggblade 1990, Rivoli 2014, Brooks2013). As the bales are unopened until the point of retail, many argue that their valueis often under declared, thereby paying fewer duties and competing ‘unfairly’ with new clothes (Baden & Barber 2005). In Africa, it is not uncommon for SHC to be re-exported to neighboring countries, usually by cross-border traders.This is going to be a big challenge as Rwanda seeks to actualize its ban on second hand clothes from USA.It wouold have made a greater strategic and logistical ease if east Africa as whole had adopted the move.
WILL PHASE OUT OF SECOND HAND CLOTHES WORK?
Experience of phase-outs and bans in Africa What does previous experience reveal about the effectiveness of bans and phase-outs of SHC in building a stronger garment sector? The main challenge in many African countries is their ability to effectively implement similar measures. Borders are often porous,and informal trade flows thrive. Nigeria restricted imports of used clothing to promote domestic manufacturing. However, the restrictions were not effectively implemented, and cross-border smuggling from neighboring countries was common.Rwanda will be working in a very unfamiliar territory that has failed in other countries.Hope they have a clear strategy of implementation.
EFFECTS OF SECOND HAND CLOTHES
The greatest economic controversy that has surrounded the internationally used-clothing trade is the potential impact that used-clothing imports may have on local and new clothing industries. In Africa, the importation of used clothing poses a potential risk to indigenous textile industries as used-clothing can be retailed at lower prices than the locally produced clothing.” (Brooks, 2011) Robertson (2014) intimates that “apart from the social and cultural effects, there are the economic impacts of used clothing imports which force a relationship of dependency on the west and in many waysprevent Africa from developing. \
Furthermore, after the end of colonialism, the plan was for Africans to produce their own and other basic goods to help industrialise and develop economies as happened in China and South Korea. Yet in the 1980s and 1990s, clothing industries declined and imports of used cloths increased.Chronicles (2008) submits that, the presence of second hand cloths has brought a fall in the textile selling business, as people complain of wax prints being too expensive to buy and to sew, so they prefer the second hand which has already been sewn. It is further revealed that the frequent importation of second hand clothes has had negative effect on the textile industry in the country which if not checked would lead to its eventual collapse. In years past, a lot of women took pride in the business of textiles selling, since it was very lucrative. However, the situation is today different, as the cost of buying a second-hand dress is far cheaper than buying material and taking it to a seamstress to sew into dress
