- Uganda’s booming second-hand clothes market helps hundreds of livelihoods however generates huge textile waste, with as much as 48 tonnes discarded each day, most of it ending up in landfills.
- Whereas casual waste collectors and tailors repurpose some textiles, the nation lacks structured recycling programs, exacerbating environmental challenges.
- The Uganda Round Textiles Undertaking presents an answer by selling upcycling and a round textile economic system, which may create inexperienced jobs, cut back waste, and appeal to funding in sustainable vogue.
In Uganda’s Owino market, one has to muscle their manner as stalls overflow with piles of second-hand clothes, with merchants out-shouting one another to win bargain-hunters on the lookout for inexpensive vogue.
From stylish denims to branded jackets, the market presents an unlimited choice at costs that match just about each pocket. In the meanwhile, Uganda is considered one of Africa’s largest importers of second-hand clothes, bringing in 80 million kilograms in 2023 alone, producing US$70.85 million in tax income.
This booming commerce helps roughly 50,000 merchants in Owino Market alone, creating livelihoods for hundreds extra in transport, tailoring, and retail.
Whereas second-hand clothes supplies an financial lifeline and entry to high quality vogue, its darker facet is changing into more and more evident. A current examine by WasteAid, the Administration Coaching and Advisory Centre, and the Uganda Tailors Affiliation highlights how Uganda’s dependence on second-hand clothes is contributing to an enormous textile waste disaster.
The hidden prices of second-hand clothes
Though second-hand clothes is well known for affordability and sustainability, Uganda’s market operates on a linear mannequin, that means that after clothes reaches the top of its life cycle, there are few mechanisms for recycling or repurposing. Not like nations with structured round textile economies, Uganda’s second-hand clothes trade is but to develop formal waste administration programs for discarded textiles.
In accordance with the examine, textile waste accounts for as much as 3 per cent of Uganda’s complete waste, translating to an estimated 48 tonnes per day. With no nationwide textile recycling services, most of this waste leads to landfills, is burned, or is informally repurposed.
Kampala Capital Metropolis Authority (KCCA) handles waste assortment in Owino Market, however solely 69 per cent of blended textile and natural waste is formally collected. The remainder is both left unmanaged or collected by casual waste pickers, who repurpose textile scraps for upholstery, mattress stuffing, or gas.
The problem of unsold and unusable inventory
Second-hand clothes merchants fastidiously choose their stock, however not every part finds a purchaser. A staggering 54.8 per cent of dealer’s report that some gadgets stay unsellable, usually attributable to harm, fading, or irreparable stains. Whereas some try and clear inventory by way of reductions or seasonal gross sales, a good portion is finally discarded.
At Owino Market, the examine established that the waste era begins the second imported bales are unwrapped. Inside every 45kg bale, clothes is graded into:
- Grade A – high-quality, nearly-new gadgets that fetch the very best costs.
- Grade B – good-quality gadgets with minor defects, bought at average costs.
- Grade C – visibly worn garments, the most cost effective available in the market.
- Fagi – domestically categorized as low-grade, slower-moving inventory.
- Rags – closely worn-out or broken garments, usually repurposed or discarded.
- Waste – fully unusable textiles, thrown away.
With an estimated 0.9–1 per cent of clothes in every bale categorized as waste, Uganda generates over 800,000Kg of SHC waste yearly from bale-opening alone. That is along with the tonnes of textiles discarded by shoppers each day.
Casual options: Waste pickers and tailors
Confronted with mounting waste, casual waste pickers and tailors are rising as key gamers in waste diversion. In Owino Market, round 755,820–879,580Kg of textile waste is collected yearly by casual collectors, primarily consisting of tailoring offcuts. These supplies are sometimes repurposed into merchandise akin to:
- Pillow and mattress stuffing
- Cleansing rags for industries
- Small material gadgets like hair equipment and kids’s toys
Whereas these efforts assist cut back waste, the casual sector lacks the dimensions and funding wanted to completely combine textile recycling into Uganda’s economic system. With out structured assortment and repurposing programs, a big portion of second-hand clothes waste nonetheless finds its manner into landfills or is burned, contributing to air air pollution and environmental degradation.
The round economic system answer
Recognizing the pressing want for motion, the Uganda Round Textiles Undertaking has launched initiatives to discover waste sorting and reuse methods. A pilot undertaking involving vogue college students, textile specialists, and artisans efficiently repurposed textile waste into vogue gadgets, house décor, and art work. A few of the merchandise developed included:
- Flooring mats and desk mats
- Upcycled material tops
- Ornamental wall hangings
This shift from viewing textiles as waste to seeing them as uncooked supplies presents a significant alternative for Uganda to transition towards a round textile economic system. If correctly carried out, the examine estimates that upcycling second-hand clothes waste may create new inexperienced jobs, cut back landfill reliance, and open doorways for worldwide funding in textile innovation.
The financial potential of textile waste recycling
Monetary evaluation from the pilot initiative revealed that novice tailors may earn US$4.6 per day, whereas skilled tailors may make as much as US$17.9 per day by repurposing textile waste. The success of this initiative demonstrates that textile recycling is not only an environmental necessity but in addition an financial alternative. Past particular person earnings, structured funding in textile recycling may result in:
- Creation of specialised textile recycling hubs
- Enlargement of upcycling enterprises
- Discount in reliance on landfill disposal
- Decrease carbon emissions from textile waste burning
- The way forward for textile waste administration – coverage, funding, and Innovation
For Uganda to completely embrace sustainable textile administration, collaboration between stakeholders is essential. Native governments, worldwide organizations, and companies should work collectively to:
- Set up textile recycling infrastructure – Funding in large-scale sorting, shredding, and repurposing services.
- Develop insurance policies supporting round vogue – Incentives for companies that interact in textile recycling and waste discount.
- Educate shoppers on sustainable vogue – Encouraging accountable consumption and donation as an alternative of discarding garments.
- Assist innovation in upcycling – Selling native expertise in repurposing textiles into high-value merchandise.
All in all, the survey has established that Uganda’s love for second-hand clothes has created each financial advantages and environmental challenges. Whereas second-hand clothes supplies inexpensive vogue and helps hundreds of livelihoods, the nation is struggling to handle the rising textile waste downside.
The Uganda Round Textiles Undertaking presents a roadmap for a sustainable future, demonstrating that with funding, innovation, and coverage assist, Uganda can remodel textile waste into new financial alternatives. The time to behave is now—to maintain vogue accessible whereas making certain a cleaner, greener future for generations to return.
Learn additionally: AfDB: Round economic system is Africa’s future
