I'm not usually a DailyMail fan but they did some excellent journalism recently with a piece about the dark side of fashion and its impact on the environment in developing countries. They showed the shocking results of clothes from (mainly) developed countries being dumped in Ghana.
You can follow the hyperlink above to the full article (there is a picture of a literal hill of clothes that have been discarded - it’s visually shocking!) but in short Kantamanto market in Accra,, one of the leading destinations for used clothes in the world, deals with 15 millions garments A WEEK 😲
And only 70% of that can be dealt with. The rest is dumped!
That's because a lot is unrecyclable, damaged beyond use or is of such poor quality (see our last blog on fast fashion) that it’s no use.
The good news is that we are not powerless to stop this. If seeing a mountain of clothes dumped in a 3rd world country pisses you off then here are 3 simple things YOU can do to do something about it (in order of importance”!).
Repair
Number 1 is use what you have. The number of times we wear our clothes has fallen by 35% in the last 15 years. We’re throwing our clothes away sooner than we need to, partly due to issues of quality (fast fashion - looking at you) and partly because we’re just getting more lazy.
It doesn’t have to be this way. If you’ve got a hole in your jeans, get it repaired. The one’s I’m wearing have patches in one knee and both sides of the crotch. They work! There are millions of tailors out there. There are apps like Sojo that connect you straight to repairers. Ask your friends, your parents. You can even learn yourself - I spoke to an amazing organisation called Repair What you Wear who make videos showing you simple ways to repair your own clothes. Their video on repairing jeans has been viewed over 700k times on YouTube.
Whatever is the best option for you, it’s easier than ever to repair your clothes. Don’t buy second hand or new if you can fix what you have!
Buy Second Hand
Number 2, buy second hand. There are already a LOT of clothes in circulation - enough to clothe 6 GENERATIONS of people!
So if you really have to buy something, buy second hand. There are once again so many apps, services and local Facebook and other groups that you can do this. Vinted, Olio and Depop spring to mind as the most obvious, but with just a bit of googling you can find so many other options.
Buy from Sustainable Brands
Number 3 is if you have to buy new for whatever reason, then buy from sustainable brands.
Obviously they are better for the planet in so many ways. In the specific case of how we started this article though, the key is their quality. A lot of the clothes end up dumped on those mountains of clothes we see in places like Ghana, is because they are made from poor quality materials that have no economic value. Sustainable brands use quality and sustainable materials and are more likely to be of use further down the line.
They are also less likely to end up there in the first place. Some of our brands like Neem already do take back schemes and are working to recycle their products.
Stix is one option, but there are others. If you’re buying new supporting the right brands will reduce the amount of clothes that end up dumped and will also help support those brands to continue to iterate and improve the materials they use and the circular service they can offer.
A lot of Fashion Sucks - you have the power!
We started with the story from the Daily Mail. About how our habits directly contribute to an environmental disaster.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. If we all make the individual choice to be better, then those 15 million garments ending up in Ghana every week would rapidly drop. What you do DOES MATTER!
And by making a change you are likely to inspire those around you. Friends, Partners, Co-Workers, Family. We all make changes when those around us who we trust do so. You can be an agent of change.
Every little bit counts and it is in our hands.
