A PROPOSAL by France, Denmark, and Sweden to restrict the export of used clothing from the European Union (EU) has sparked concerns about its potential impact on Kenya’s clothing resale industry, which sustains the livelihoods of around 2 million Kenyans, according to a representative of second-hand clothes sellers.
The EU, which exported 1.4 million tonnes of used textiles in 2022, is considering measures to address environmental concerns related to the disposal of unsold clothing. The proposal aims to apply the Basel Convention to used clothes, banning exports of hazardous textile waste and requiring prior informed consent for importing textile waste.
‘Exporting textile waste from the EU to developing nations causes significant environmental, social, and health issues. The EU must halt this practice,’ emphasised Soren Jacobsen, Denmark’s deputy permanent representative to the EU, during an Environment Council meeting in Brussels.
Cyril Piquemal, France’s deputy permanent representative to the EU, explained that including used clothes in the Basel Convention intends to reduce or cease EU exports of used clothing, encouraging textile recycling within the bloc.
However, Teresia Wairimu Njenga, chair of the Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya, representing second-hand clothes sellers, contested the proposal. Njenga argued that imports of used clothes support livelihoods and contribute to tax revenues in Kenya. She denied claims that imported items contained significant unusable items destined for landfills.
‘Nobody is giving us trash by force – what we are buying is good quality clothes, and if a supplier wants to sell us trash, we would be happy to refuse their consignment,’ Njenga asserted.
Kenya imported 177,386 tonnes of used clothing in 2022, marking a 76 percent increase from 2013, according to UN trade data. Other African nations like Ghana, Senegal, and South Africa also rely heavily on imported used clothing.
Research commissioned by the association revealed that approximately 1 percent-2 percent of each imported bale of used clothes ends up as waste. Njenga has actively engaged officials in Lithuania, Finland, and Sweden to oppose the proposal and plans to meet with representatives from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade and the Directorate-General for the Environment.
The proposal’s potential ramifications highlight the intricate balance between environmental concerns and economic livelihoods in the global textile trade.