Rag trade the new ‘plastic’ in Kenya

One third of all second-hand clothing shipped to Kenya in 2021 was “plastic waste in disguise”, creating a slew of environmental and health problems for local communities, a new report said yesterday.

Every year, tons of donated clothing is sent to developing countries, but an estimated 30% of it ends up in landfills – or flooding local markets where it can crowd out local production.

Report

A new report shows that the problem is having grave consequences in Kenya, where about 900 million pieces of used clothing are sent every year, according to the Netherlands-based Changing Markets Foundation.

Much of the clothing shipped to the country is made from petroleum-based materials such as polyester, or are in such bad shape they cannot be donated.

They may end up burning in landfills near Nairobi, exposing informal waste pickers to toxic fumes. Tons of textiles are also swept into waterways, eventually breaking down into microfibres ingested by aquatic animals.

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One in three pieces

“More than one in three pieces of used clothing shipped to Kenya is a form of plastic waste in disguise and a substantial element of toxic plastic pollution in the country,” the report said. The research was based on customs data, as well as field – work by nonprofit organisation Wild light and the activist group Clean Up Kenya.

Some of the clothing items were stained with vomit or badly damaged, the report found, while others had no use in Kenya’s warmer climate. “I have seen people open bales with skiing gear and winter clothes, which are of no use to most Kenyans,” Betterman Simidi Musasia, Clean Up Ke ya founder, said.

Between 20% and 50% of all donated clothing was not of a sufficient quality to be sold on the local secondhand market, the report found.

Recycled

Unwearable items might be turned into industrial wipes or cheap fuel for peanut roasters, swept into the Nairobi river, scattered around the market or sent to immense plastic graveyards outside the capital, such as the Dandora landfill.

Several waste pickers working at Dandora said they contracted breathing and asthma issues by inhaling smoke from burning plastic at the site, according to the report.

Musasia said items should be better sorted at the point of donation before being shipped to Kenya, instead of being blindly passed on, to try and prevent the problem at the source.

Experts say the problem of clothing waste has been ex – acerbated by the fast fashion boom in wealthier nations, where items – many made from synthetic fibres – might be worn only a few times before being discarded. The report called for the use of nontoxic and sustainable materials in textile manufacturing, and the establishment of more robust extended producer responsibility schemes around the world.

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