Perception about Ghana's SHC sector wrong, economically unsound: GUCDA

In a recent report titled ‘An evaluation of the socio-economic and environmental impact of the second-hand clothes trade in Ghana’, the association said a misleading narrative on waste has been uncritically accepted and propagated globally.

Waste items, i.e. clothing items that cannot be sold or reused, make up on an average 5 per cent of imported bales at the most, well below the figures propagated by activists and accepted by policy makers, GUCDA claimed in a release citing the report.

By embracing the SHC sector as Ghana’s commitment to a circular economy, there is potential to enhance the sustainability of the sector and to support the country achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals 13, 14 and 15, it asserted.

The wider positive economic and social impact of the SHC trade in Ghana is significant. In 2022, the trade made substantial contributions to government revenues, surpassing allocations for key poverty alleviation programmes, it said.

The biggest exporters to Ghana are the United Kingdom, China and Canada. Ghana imported SHC worth $164 million in 2022, but it also exports used clothing to neighbouring countries, reflecting a complex web of cross-border trade dynamics, claimed GUCDA.

The country, in fact, acts as a regional hub for this trade, having a positive socio-economic impact on both local and regional economies, it said.

Its research revealed 92 per cent of retailers rely on SHC as their primary income source. Most earn between GH¢ 500 and GH¢ 1,000 ($40-75) per month, contributing significantly to livelihoods, given the relatively low cost of living in Ghana.

While the majority of operations are small-scale, the presence of medium-scale regional and large-scale national businesses underscores economic diversity within the sector. The consumer base spans various socio-economic backgrounds and professional sectors, highlighting economic inclusivity, claimed GUCDA.

The vast majority of consumers surveyed earn less than the national average income of GH¢ 30,000 ($2,350), but the majority of these consumers spent less than half of their annual clothing budget on SHC, suggesting that SHC consumers complement their clothing purchases from various sources.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)