Kenya's Export Processing Zone (EPZ) garment industry has continued to expand in recent years. A Chinese company achieved monthly exports of 50,000 pieces to Europe and the United States within less than a year of landing, with labor conditions comparable to Foxconn in China back then. Yet stepping outside the factory, the ordinary clothing on the streets of Nairobi is not domestically produced new clothing, but imported second-hand clothing (mitumba). Even EPZ workers often wear second-hand clothes while making new ones, a phenomenon that reflects a structural contradiction: Kenya's production, trade, and consumption systems were never truly designed for the local market.

The core attribute of an Export Processing Zone is "export." According to regulations of the Kenya EPZ Authority, enterprises in the zone must sell at least 80% of their products outside the East African Community, with the domestic sales ratio not exceeding 20%. Companies import fabrics and equipment duty-free, but once products enter the domestic market they must pay taxes and establish local distribution networks, making shirts produced in Athi River easier to sell to the United States than to Nairobi.

On the other hand, export OEM factories rely on designs and orders from European and American clients. Standardized production of 100,000 identical pieces is easy, but reaching Kenya's fragmented market, handling small-batch multi-style orders, and brand marketing are difficult. Even setting aside the market, labor costs are not the end point: Kenya's supply chain for fabrics, accessories, and other materials is weak, with raw materials dependent on imports. Export enterprises enjoy purchasing and selling in US dollars, while domestic sales switch to shillings, with exchange rate fluctuations eroding profits.

Second-hand clothing constitutes another economic ecosystem. Mitumba enters through the Port of Mombasa, and the related industrial chain employs about two million people. Second-hand clothing is priced at residual value and competes with locally produced new clothing, already holding advantages in price and style. A blanket ban could trigger clothing price increases, smuggling, and vendor unemployment, hurting low-income groups.

Notably, China has reshaped Africa's second-hand clothing trade landscape. China's second-hand clothing material exports grew from 133 million kilograms in 2015 to 1.147 billion kilograms in 2024. In 2024, Kenya became the largest destination, with an amount of approximately 108 million US dollars, accounting for more than half of its imports in this category. Chinese second-hand clothing, with newer styles, ample summer wear, and stable supply, is gradually competing with European and American goods.

Thus, globalization drives a cycle of "new clothing imports, old clothing exports": raw materials converge with Chinese and European apparel, but Kenya occupies the low-profit processing and second-hand fashion segments of the industrial chain. Although it may be a case of "those who wear silk all over are not the silkworm raisers," OEM production can also cultivate industrial capacity. If the government promotes technology localization, guides export-oriented enterprises to integrate into local supply chains, includes school uniforms and bedding in local procurement, and raises quality standards for imported second-hand clothing, sustainable development of textiles may be achievable. EPZs have the potential to become a springboard for industrial upgrading rather than an isolated island.

Source: Why can't locals afford new clothes produced by Kenyan garment factories? Analysis of the Export Processing Zone system and the second-hand clothing market · Originally published on 2026-08-26