Africa Environmental Crisis & Unsustainable Fashion

Walking through the Nairobi Eastlands, like a gaping wound, the smoldering fires of the Dandora landfill fill the air with toxic smoke from the burning waste. Most of this waste is from textiles, discarded unrecyclable second-hand clothes, imported to Africa in bales from the EU, the US, and Southeast Asia. Why is the world’s textile waste fueling Africa’s climate crisis?

Every year, 92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced globally. Production doubled from 2000 to 2015, while the duration of garment use decreased by 36 percent. Eleven percent of plastic waste comes from clothing and textiles, with only 8 percent of textile fibres in 2023 made from recycled sources.

Discarded clothing often ends up in low-income countries, where a lack of waste management infrastructure leads to dumping, burning, and severe environmental and social consequences. Most clothes exported to Africa are made of synthetics (polyester, nylon), which are oil-based and non-biodegradable.

Jane Wangechi, a worker at Dandora landfill, says, “clothes that can’t be sold are burned, dumped, or washed into rivers.”

This contributes to soil and water contamination from leaching, microplastic pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions (from fires or anaerobic decomposition).

According to Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, unsustainable fashion is aggravating the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature, land and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.

“We need to focus on a circular economy approach that values sustainable production, reuse, and repair. By working together, consumers, industry, and governments can support genuinely durable fashion and help reduce our fashion footprint,” she highlights.

In the past, African countries have tried to stem the flow of textile waste into the continent through policy adaptation, but have had to relent due to international power plays and political pressure.

In 2016, the EAC proposed a ban on the importation of second-hand clothing by 2019in order to bolster local textile industries and reduce dependency on imported used garments. However, this initiative faced significant opposition from the United States.

The U.S. Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) filed a petition with the U.S. Trade Representative, arguing that the ban violated the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides eligible African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market. Consequently, the U.S. threatened to revoke AGOA benefits for EAC countries if they proceeded with the ban.

Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania reversed their decisions, opting instead for measures like increased tariffs and incentives to promote local manufacturing.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies, which hold producers accountable for the end-of-life management of their products, are notably lacking in major textile-exporting countries.

Geranz Mutwol, an environmental scientist, says, “Textiles mainly come from plastics, at times you get clothes made up to 98% polyester. This waste, when burned in the landfills, has a significant effect on the immediate environment. You can imagine how much the coming generation is being affected by the pollution.”

Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, says, “The rising tide of waste is straining urban infrastructure, public health, and the environment—especially for 1.1 billion people in informal settlements and slums with limited waste collection and sanitation services.”

Supporting local fashion businesses is crucial in alleviating the fashion waste problem in Africa. “Building a sustainable local textile industry may take time, but with the right incentive, it is bound to grow into a powerhouse,” says Mutwol.

“The time has come for us as consumers to hold these brands and our governments accountable for their role in the fashion waste crisis. We must call for our governments to enforce stricter environmental standards and demand transparency from fashion brands,” he concludes.