China discards billions of used garments every year, and a significant portion is sorted, baled, and exported to Africa. In African secondhand clothing markets, T-shirts printed with Chinese characters such as "Chengdu No.7 High School" and "Ele.me" can be seen everywhere. However, this business is stirring resentment among local African industries—several East African countries once tried to ban imports of secondhand textiles, but ultimately abandoned the effort due to economic dependence.

Key Points

  • The number of textile workers in Kenya has plummeted from 500,000 before 1980 to just over 20,000, and the local shoe-making industry has also been hit by secondhand goods.
  • A couple in Jinan, Shandong, earns about 1,000 yuan a day from used-clothing recycling; a Fujian businessman, Mr. Sun, sells secondhand clothing in Africa and says he can make about 200,000 yuan a day.
  • East African Community countries including Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda once announced bans on importing used textiles, but except for Rwanda, most later abandoned the bans and turned to tax regulation instead.

China's used-clothing recycling industry chain covers collection, transportation, cleaning, and sales, with considerable profit potential. According to industry practitioners, Africa's hot climate makes summer clothing most popular; secondhand summer clothes are bought at about 5,000 yuan per ton, and after baling and export, profit can reach 3,190 yuan per ton, with women's underwear yielding double that. Collection channels include community donation boxes, scrap recycling stations, and internet recycling platforms. Many people think donated old clothes all go to poor mountain areas, but in fact most are sold to Africa.

After the goods arrive in Africa, distributors sort, disinfect, wash, cut, and resell them. Secondhand clothing markets in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and other countries are packed with wholesalers every day, sometimes requiring backdoor connections to grab goods. Fujian native Mr. Sun sells secondhand clothing in Africa. He says a piece of old clothing costs less than 1 yuan to recycle but sells for at least 20 yuan in Africa, an increase of about 20 times, allowing him to earn about 200,000 yuan a day.

Africa's per capita income is low, and about 80% of people have worn secondhand clothing. But the flood of secondhand products from China, Europe, and America has also made Africa a global gathering place for used goods, dealing a heavy blow to local garment and shoe-making industries. Kenya had 500,000 textile workers before 1980; today only just over 20,000 remain. A garment factory in Kigali, Rwanda, had 1,100 workers in the 1990s; more than 20 years later, only half are left. West African Senegal was once famous for fine fabrics and excellent tailors, but today what people wear most is secondhand clothing.

A Kenyan shoe factory owner complained in an interview with the American media outlet PragerU: "Come on, do people really think we Africans can't even make clothes and shoes? Please stop destroying Africa's economy with these cheap secondhand goods!" A few years ago, East African Community countries including Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda announced bans on importing used textiles, but within a few years most abandoned the policy and switched to tax regulation.

Some analyses point out that Africa's textile industry is not as strong as its entrepreneurs and government officials believe. Many countries lack capital, technology, and spare parts, and infrastructure is backward, with frequent power outages. At the same time, the continent has sold foreign secondhand clothing for more than 20 years, and a large number of Africans make a living in related processing and sales. Banning imports would deprive them of income. Revitalizing local industry requires wiser and more comprehensive consideration, and cannot easily take away the livelihoods of poor groups; war, corruption, and labor quality are also constraining factors.

For China's used-clothing export industry, policy risks and rigid demand coexist in the African market. How to balance export interests with local industry sentiment will be a long-term issue.

Source: The old clothes donated by Chinese people are killing Africa's economy? _Tencent News · Originally published on 2022-05-17