“Fast fashion” has long represented a significant part of the fashion market. It’s a way for European consumers to fill their wardrobes with inexpensive clothing, and often brands in the industry boast the so-called ecological footprints of their products made from recycled fabrics. But what a group of African traders told during their visit to Brussels outlines another truth: Behind the clothes that Europeans throw in the trash or left unsold in store warehouses, there is a supply chain that profits from the last link in the chain. creating a real environmental disaster.

environmental disaster

Kantamanto traders claim it’s one of the world’s largest used clothing markets, with around 30,000 people working in often precarious safety conditions (as evidenced by a massive fire that broke out in 2020). It is located on the outskirts of Accra, the capital of Ghana. About 15 million pieces of clothing arrive here each week, most of them “dead stock” (clothes that have been stored in warehouses for years and never sold), but also items donated to charities or left in recycling bins. Of these, only a third of them are resold or recycled, about 6 million higher quality garments. The rest must be destroyed.

It is a huge mountain of fabric that local authorities cannot properly dispose of. Between 2010 and 2020, at least ten legal landfills had to close their doors after reaching capacity. Currently, the Adepa landfill, 50 km north of Kantamanto, can only process 30% of the total clothing waste coming into the local market. The Guardian writes that the remaining 70% “ends up in ditches and sewers, releasing dyes into the sea and rivers, and covering the beaches with wide clothing.” An “environmental disaster” for marine biodiversity and economic damage to fishing activities condemn traders who come to Brussels to meet with EU officials.

Recommendations of the European Parliament

At the center of their journey is the proposal for the manufacturer’s extended responsibility (Erp), which is under review by the European Commission. The proposal should introduce measures that will enable European textile companies to pay the right price for the waste they create in their off-block supply chains. According to the Guardian, traders in Kantamanto currently receive around 0.06 euro cents from clothing manufacturers for each product they trade. Their request is for Brussels to set a mandatory minimum threshold of 50 cents per item. They also urge EU companies to contribute to an environmental fund that helps clean up landfills and reduce environmental damage.

The proposal from the European Commission is expected to arrive this month. Meanwhile, the European Parliament this week gave the green light to a bill that aims precisely to put an end to the negative effects of “fast fashion”. In their recommendations for the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles, Members of the European Parliament call for tougher measures to combat the overproduction and consumption of textiles. According to the new rules, such products must last longer, be easier to reuse, repair and recycle, and be produced in a circular, sustainable and socially equitable manner.

Also this week, Parliament approved a text on the so-called “due diligence”: If the provision is passed definitively, it exists on human rights and the environment that EU companies will be asked to identify and, if necessary, prevent, halt or mitigate the negative impacts of their activities. Consider various penalties. The text will now have to be negotiated with EU governments. EPP, the main centre-right European party, has already expressed skepticism about these measures, which are considered risky for European companies’ competitiveness.

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