Used Clothing Market In Africa
But for many low income.
Used clothing market in africa. Secondhand clothes discarded at charity shops or thrift stores from overseas and then shipped thousands of miles to another continent is a lucrative business worth several million euros. In 2014 a handful of east african countries imported more than 300 million worth of secondhand clothing from the united states and other wealthy countries. We also have a customer base for markets and shops in france. The hubs for commercial sorting of preowned clothes are in south asia canada belgium the netherlands and hungary.
The better graded used clothing is exported to central american countries and the lower graded clothing is shipped to africa and asia. While exact continent wide figures are hard to come by global used clothing exports from oecd countries stood at 1 9 billion in 2009 according to 2011 un comtrade data. The used items have created a robust market in east africa and thereby a decent amount of jobs. Unsorted second hand clothes can be compressed into bales of 500 to 1000 kg.
In nigeria they are known as kafa ulaya the clothes of the dead whites and roupa da calamidade clothing of the calamity in mozambique. Recent figures from the un show that an estimated 80 percent of africans wear secondhand clothing. Our goods are put into a baling press with 2 tarpaulins and plastic film. In xipamanine market maputo mozambique a used pair of.
Owino market in uganda is one of the largest markets in east africa where many locals shop for and sell second hand clothes. Relief for low income earners. Then the bales are strapped under pressure and the straps are tightened and cut under high temperature with the strapping tool. It caters to everyone and.
Export of used clothing.