#Mitumba imports

[globmedia]

Fête du manioc

Une vraie richesse gastronomique

C'est sous le thème « lutte contre l’insécurité alimentaire par la promotion du manioc la valorisation de son potentiel économique et la préservation de sa richesse gastronomique » que s'est tenu ce 11 novembre à la maison du parti de Bonanjo, le tout premier festival international du manioc dans la ville de Douala, organisé par l’ONG FADEC (Femme Action et Développement du Cameroun) sur la supervision de sa présidente Madame Yvette Doume Epse Banlog

Le manioc est aujourd'hui l'un des aliments incontestés de nos papilles gastronomiques. L'événement qui se déroule dans la cité économique, dont l'objectif est de mettre en lumière tous les produits dérivés de la transformation du manioc, a tout de même permis aux uns et aux autres d'acquérir de nouvelles connaissances en ce qui concerne cette filière agricole. Ses différentes variétés de transformation montrent à suffisance combien il est agréable d'investir dans cette culture car rien ne se perd de la racine aux feuilles, tout est valablement exploitable pour des fins inimaginables. Alors, pour cela le manioc mérite d'être fêté. Pour célébrer le festival baptisé All kassava, parrainé par le Ministre de l'Agriculture et du Développement Rural. Les exposants et agriculteurs en grande majorité des femmes sont venus des quatre coins du Cameroun et même d'ailleurs, notamment le Gabon, le Congo Kinshasa et la République Centrafricaine, présenter aux hautes personnalités et bien d'autres curieux venus pour l'occasion, leur savoir-faire sur les différentes transformations du tubercule.

Savez-vous qu'il existe en réalité presque 30 manières d'exploitations du manioc ?

Le manioc avec toute sa richesse et surtout diététique peut-être utilisé dans le domaine cosmétique d'où on peut obtenir des gels, des savons et crèmes. Il est aussi sollicité dans la pharmacopée ou on peut se servir de ses feuilles pour une augmentation sanguine. À partir du manioc on peut aussi brasser du vin bio et naturel sans additifs chimiques. Et que dire de sa gastronomie, d'où son champ lexical à n'en point en finir : on peut disposer de la farine de manioc sans gluten, les bâtons de maniocs, les beignets de manioc, les crêpes, du pain, des cookies, De neems, les gâteau, les beignets soufflés, les mitumbas, le koki de manioc, le water fufu. Le manioc intervient également dans la lingerie via son savon liquide et son amidon, la liste est loin d'être exhaustive. Sur le plan local, le manioc est considéré comme cette culture qui contribue à la sécurité alimentaire. « Le manioc est un des rares aliments, cultivé dans les dix régions du Cameroun. Il contribue à la sécurité alimentaire dans le pays avec une production qui tourne autour six millions de tonnes par an et revient à deux cents kilogrammes de manioc par habitant » déclare Gabriel Mbairobe, Ministre de l'Agriculture et du Développement Rural. De toutes les filières de tubercules, le choix est porté sur le manioc de par sa diversité de transformations « le manioc a plus de matières sèches, peut produire sur un kilogramme 25% de farine et nous avons identifié le manioc, donc aujourd'hui si nous transformons les six millions de tonnes de manioc que nous avons en farine ça nous permet d'avoir un million cinq mille de tonne de farine à base de manioc. Nous importons un million de tonnes de blé, vous comprenez que le manioc est une filière importante pour réduire le déséquilibre de notre balance commerciale sans compter que nous dépensons chaque année deux cent soixante milliards pour importer la farine de blé » ajoute le Minader.

D'après Gabriel Mbairobe, la production du manioc relève des défis car son rendement s'élève à environ 5 à 7 tonnes en hectares. C'est la raison pour laquelle son ministère a mis sur pied une procédure pour porter le rendement à 15 tonnes à l'hectare à l'horizon 2025 et 20 tonnes à l'horizon 2030. En passant bien évidemment par l'amélioration des techniques agricoles, les itinéraires techniques afin que le manioc soit plus rentable. Cependant, il faut noter que les zones où est cultivée cette denrée sont pour la plupart des secteurs enclavés, le Ministre compte installer dans les dix régions du pays deux cent unités de transformation du manioc. Rappelons que la première usine a déjà vu le jour dans la région du Sud à Ngoulemakong le 12 janvier dernier. La culture du manioc qui emploie bon nombre de femmes et de jeunes, qui jusqu'ici nourrit son homme reste pour certain le bon choix et l'investissement du futur.

Lisa YOUMSSI

[e-news254]

Exclusive: Impact Of Implications of a 25% Import Tax on Second-Hand Clothes.

In a recent development, the Cabinet Secretary for Trade, Investments, and Industry, Moses Kuria, made a significant announcement that has sent ripples through the textile and fashion industry. The government’s decision to impose a 25% import tax on second-hand clothes, commonly referred to as “mitumba,” has sparked a range of debates regarding its potential impact on both consumers and the…

[nipashe411]

Mitumba imports defy Uhuru textile incentives to hit Sh17bn

[briefnewschannel]

Mitumba imports up 80pc on weak shilling, end of ban

Mitumba imports up 80pc on weak shilling, end of ban

Economy Mitumba imports up 80pc on weak shilling, end of ban Friday November 12 2021 Traders selling Second-hand clothes popularly known as Mitumba at Gikomba Market on Sunday, April 18, 2021. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG By GERALD ANDAEMore by this Author Summary Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that the value of these clothes, popularly known as mitumba,…

[mubahood360]

Mitumba Market Suffers Ksh3.1 Billion Setback - Report

Mitumba Market Suffers Ksh3.1 Billion Setback – Report

About five million Kenyans have been affected by the challenges facing the second-hand clothes trade in the country.According to a report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), second-hand clothes, ‘mitumba’ imports dropped by 71 per cent in the year 2020. This has been largely attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.Data provided by KNBS indicated that 13,334 tonnes of mitumba…

[afriupdatenews]

Kenya’s used clothes industry still in recovery after COVID-19 disruptions

Kenya’s used clothes industry still in recovery after COVID-19 disruptions

Kenya’s vibrant secondhand clothes and footwear industry is still in the process of recovery months after the government lifted a ban imposed on the importation of the goods following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ban, imposed in March as a precautionary health measure, seriously affected traders and customers in the industry, whose goods are popularly known as ‘mitumba’.

Many traders saw their…

[dippedanddripped]

NAIROBI, Kenya — Catherine Muringo’s wardrobe consists of secondhand outfits shipped from all over the world: colorful blouses and jeans from Canada, floral dresses from the United States, trench coats from Australia and leather handbags from the United Kingdom.

For years, Ms. Muringo bought the used clothes and accessories at cheap prices in open-air markets in Nairobi and used them to fashion her own idiosyncratic style.

Seven years ago, she also started a business buying and selling such items, distributing castoff fur coats, hoodies and shoes to customers in Kenya and in foreign markets like Botswana, Uganda and Tanzania.

But in late March, the Kenyan government banned the importation of used garments in what it said was a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Even though used clothes are fumigated before being shipped, Kenyan authorities said they were taking precautions because of the spike in infections in countries like the United States.

Now, businesses like hers are threatened, as well as the sartorial choices of millions of Kenyans who depend on low-cost imports to stay stylish.

“Kenyans love to go to the secondhand markets and spend hours looking and searching,” Ms. Muringo said. “Kenyans love the diversity of secondhand.”

Officials also said the banning of imported clothing — known as mitumba, the Swahili word for “bundles” — could have an unexpected benefit. It could help Kenya revive its own textile industry, which was wiped out in the late 1980s as the country started opening its markets to foreign competition.

“I think corona has shown not just for Kenya but for many countries to look inward a lot and try and fill some of the market gaps,” said Phyllis Wakiaga, the chief executive of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. “The reality is that there’s a big opportunity for us to produce local clothes for the citizens.”

For years, Kenya, along with other countries in East Africa, had tried to phase out used clothing to boost local manufacturing. But the countries faced the threat of being removed from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which promotes trade by providing reduced or duty-free access to the American market. Many countries backed off from instituting a ban on imported clothing, with the exception of Rwanda.

The coronavirus gave Kenya a chance to promote its own clothing manufacturing, but thwarted a lively trade.

Markets

In Nairobi, the combination of the import ban, plus lockdown measures and an overnight curfew introduced to stamp out the virus, have drastically lessened the hive of activity at the popular Gikomba and Toi thrift markets, mazes of narrow pathways packed with bellowing vendors and piles of clothes, shoes and household goods.

As the largest importer of used clothing in East Africa, Kenya, with its new ban, is expected to upend not just supply chains but also lead to a hemorrhage in jobs connected to the trade and the loss of millions of dollars from government coffers as tax revenue and import duties fall.

But where some see problems, others see opportunity.

Wagura Kamwana, the proprietor of a fabric shop, the Textile Loft, is seeking to capitalize on this moment.

Ms. Kamwana, 40, grew up wearing hand-stitched clothes from her mother, and later on, sought trendy outfits at secondhand markets. Kenyans like used clothes, she said, both for their affordability and because of the their high-quality fabrics.

In 2016, she opened her store, offering premium quality fabrics, sourced from Europe, to Kenyans who wanted to create high-end fashion locally.

In 2018, she started also offering production services to designers looking to develop smaller lines who were being turned away by factories only interested in bulk orders.

Ms. Kamwana has already worked with prominent local designers like Katungulu Mwendwa.

The pandemic has also offered the chance to start her own clothing line. Her new label is set to produce everyday clothing for women including dresses, scarves and trousers ranging from $25 to $150.

Ms. Kamwana said designers and manufacturers should collaborate and take baby steps to push the industry toward maturity.

“This whole value chain will take quite a few years to be feasible or to be seen,” she said, adding, “what we can do immediately is perfect our art of making.”

Other Kenyan companies are also responding to the challenges posed by the pandemic by focusing locally.

Frederick Bittiner Wear, which does fabric selection, design and tailoring for retailers in East Africa, Europe and the United States, has seen a reduction in orders because of the pandemic, so it has turned to producing leggings, T-shirts and vests for the local market, said Dominic Agesa, the managing director.

After approaching distributors with samples, Mr. Agesa said he got 50 orders in a week.

For too long, “Kenya has been reluctant” to incentivize local manufacturers, he said, but the import ban was one step toward making conditions more favorable for a local scene to eventually flourish.

“Are we able to satisfy the Kenyan market and beyond? Mr. Agesa said. “Gradually, the answer is yes.”

Suave Kenya is a brand that transforms secondhand clothes ranging from silk shirts to leather jackets into stylish and colorful tote bags, backpacks and wallets. With the import ban, its founder, Mohamed Awale, is looking into sourcing from local tanneries and textile factories.

“If the pandemic persists, we will have to adapt while still producing the type of bright bags that make us unique,” said Mr. Awale, 32. “When we source locally, we create jobs and make our industries grow.”

Nowhere is the shift to adapt to the changes brought on by the pandemic more visible than in the special export zones on Nairobi’s outskirts. Established in 1990, these zones offer companies less regulations plus tax incentives to promote export-oriented businesses.

But with borders closed and exports plunging, some of the clothing factories have begun servicing the Kenyan market, with the country temporarily allowing manufacturers to exceed the usual limit of supplying no more than 20 percent of their annual production to local markets.

Shona EPZ has 500 employees and makes reflective work clothes for companies like 3M and apparel for department stores like T.J. Maxx. But since the pandemic began, the firm has pivoted toward making personal protective equipment for Kenya, producing tens of thousands of masks and surgical gowns per day, said its director, Isaac Maluki.

Mr. Maluki said he has also partnered with secondhand importers and small-scale manufacturers, that, with the ban on used clothing, are increasingly considering collaborating with larger companies like his to make clothes for local consumption.

“We want to really encourage them to see the kind of quality that comes out of here that can be shared into the local market,” he said. “The local market is huge.”

But before a robust clothing sector takes hold, experts say local manufacturers will have to overcome a host of challenges, including inadequate access to finance, the high cost of electricity, and the lack of raw materials, including cotton.

The fact that powerful lobby groups for the secondhand clothing industry in the United States have already criticized Kenya’s move doesn’t bode well either, said Emily Anne Wolff, a researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands who has studied plans to phase out used clothing in East Africa.

Kenya is aiming to be the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to negotiate a free-trade agreement with the United States, which could undermine Kenya’s will to retain the clothing ban.

Used clothes traders have appealed to the government in recent days to lift the ban, saying there is no public health risk associated with the trade. But officials have so far ruled that option out.

For now, Kenyan designers and manufacturers say the ban gives them a window of opportunity to start shaping the future of fashion in Kenya.

“Now is a good time to make choices and changes,” said Ms. Kamwana, the owner of Textile Loft. “You will be surprised by what comes out of this country.”

[emunenen]

Makao Bora

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EAC Waiver Import Duty and VAT for Garment and Textile Makers

EAC Waiver Import Duty and VAT for Garment and Textile Makers

East African Community partner states have agreed to grant garments and textiles manufacturers a three-year waiver of duties and value added tax (VAT). The waiver will be on inputs, fabrics and accessories not available in the region to boost local production and reduce the cost of production. This is one of the strategies to promote textiles and leather industries while slowing down the…

[khalilhumam]

Kenya: Kenya to Resume Importation of Second-Hand Clothes Under Covid-19 Protocols

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/kenya-kenya-to-resume-importation-of-second-hand-clothes-under-covid-19-protocols/

Kenya: Kenya to Resume Importation of Second-Hand Clothes Under Covid-19 Protocols

[Capital FM] Nairobi -- The importation and sale of used textile and shoes commonly known as "Mitumba" is set to resume in the country under stringent COVID-19 measures and protocols.

[jessicakehoe]

Meet Orpah Wavomba, Founder of Toronto-based Vintage E-tailer Mode de Mit

While those of us in North America glean a perspective on our rampant consumerism based largely on reports released by activist groups, vintage entrepreneur Orpah Wavomba, who is originally from Kenya, has a very different–and dire–understanding of our over-consumption.

“When I was younger, my cousin and friends and I loved going out to find unique pieces that showed our individual style,” she recalls of seeking out mitumba, the Swahili word for second-hand. “The way the items are sold is that they come in massive, plastic-wrapped bails of clothing. The older I got, the more I started to learn about fast fashion. And with moving to Canada and experiencing the ‘buy now, donate later’ mentality, the more I found myself thinking about the effects of the fashion industry.”

View this post on Instagram

Love this unique vintage all lace cream pant suit. Online now 🥟

A post shared by MODE de MIT (@modedemit) on Aug 26, 2020 at 10:59am PDT

Wavomba notes that Kenya had a once-thriving local fashion economy that became depressed as imported second-hand and unused clothing was off-loaded to different regions around the world. “In 2018, [Kenya] imported close to $21 million dollars in clothing from Canada,” she says. “And because a lot of these items were cheaply made, they still ended up in landfills.”

Now based in Toronto, Wavomba has launched a second-hand e-commerce business, Mode de Mit, that mixes her love of fashion with her interest in environmental and ethical issues, adding that her perception has changed when it comes to what and how we buy. “You don’t really think about the consequences [that] your shopping habits have,” she notes.

Mode de Mit’s current wares have a rather romantic flavour–think blouses with delicate embroidery and flowing slips. “I’m a bit of a modern romantic, but it depends on the day you ask me,” Wavomba says of her selections for the Etsy-based business. “My foremost focus is to find garments that are made of natural fibres, and then I think about the direction I want the pieces to be in.”

View this post on Instagram

Now online – vintage pure silk chartreuse green slip 💚

A post shared by MODE de MIT (@modedemit) on Aug 14, 2020 at 11:03am PDT

She says that she’s always been heavily inspired by the pieces prevalent in the nineties. “I make my husband watch runway shows with me,” she says with a laugh. Versace and Christian Dior’s collections are her favourites from the time period, as are the ‘supers’ Naomi Campbell, Yasmeen Ghauri and Tyra Banks. “I don’t have the right words to describe it,” Wavomba says of her devotion to the decade and its fashion icons. “It transports you into this time where women were like goddesses.”

But Wavomba’s drive doesn’t solely rely on sourcing garments and accessories that speak to her love of style from eras past; she’s also committed to using Mode de Mit as a transformative shopping experience in every possible way. For example, she uses compostable packaging to ship pieces she’s sold. “It’s important for me to monitor the carbon footprint of the store,” she says. “Whatever way I get [an item] to my customer, I want to make sure it’s not just being thrown into bins. The packaging is something they can put in the garden or compost bin or soil of their indoor plants, and it disappears in six weeks.”

She’s also keenly aware of the negative societal impact of fashion, addressing the fact that “fast fashion garment workers are disproportionately women of colour; they earn peanuts for the work that they do.” Since the Black Lives Matter movement has drawn more customers to her site in recent months, she hope that more awareness of this statistic–and the overall importance of continually sustaining Black-owned businesses–will grow. As she so rightly puts it: “The intersectionality between people and the planet can’t be ignored.”

The post Meet Orpah Wavomba, Founder of Toronto-based Vintage E-tailer Mode de Mit appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Meet Orpah Wavomba, Founder of Toronto-based Vintage E-tailer Mode de Mit published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

[neushubdigital]

Mitumba trade to resume in the country

Mitumba trade to resume in the country after months of suffering

The administration has cleared the mitumba import bar through the distributing of new conventions permitting dealers to make new requests for the pre-owned materials and shoes

This has been made possible after mitumba traders in the country cried for help for two months due to loss of income

The Kenya National Bureau of Standards (KNBS) close by the Ministry of Trade has distributed new…

[briefnewschannel]

Lower import volumes push mitumba prices to new highs

Lower import volumes push mitumba prices to new highs

Economy Lower import volumes push mitumba prices to new highs Tuesday September 14 2021 Man pulls a cart loaded with second-hand clothes at Gikomba Market in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG By CONSTANT MUNDAMore by this Author Summary Traders paid Sh100,527 on average per tonne of the used clothes, popularly called mitumba, compared to Sh96,286 the previous year. Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs)…

[shahisamutali-blog]

S H I R T | E D I T I O N 

One of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term  ‘Big four’ agenda is manufacturing - the revival of local manufacturing industry, enhance Kenya’s industrialisation sector, 360 degrees.

For several years, the local textile and clothing industry has been operating in infertile environments due to imports of cheap second-hand clothing (mitumba) from charities in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. 

‘’Well-known global charities like Oxfam, British Heart Foundation and The Salvation Army have bins scattered across these countries where people can drop off used items they no longer wear.’‘ - Making a living off Mitumba (Daily Nation)

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PHOTO CAPTION: Hawkers ware clothing to passers-by in CBD, Nairobi, Kenya.  2nd January, 2018.

2nd photo: A potential customer scans shirts along Mombasa road, Nairobi.   4th January 2018.

Check out more: (https://shahisamutali.wordpress.com/)

[achuryme]

@Ma3Route: 20:38 @Mtendawema The one with rectangular plates are showroom vehicles whereas triangular are mitumba imported ones via @SethNyamweya

http://twitter.com/Ma3Route

[dippedanddripped]

NAIROBI, Kenya — In Rwanda, it's chagua. In Kenya, mitumba. In Zambia, salaula — most African languages have a word for the piles of discarded garments that end up for sale across the African continent. Millions of people around the world donate clothes annually with the understanding that they will go to the needy or will be resold in secondhand stores.

However, while charities do financially benefit from some of the donated garments, many more enter a secondary marketplace governed by free market principles. A thriving and lucrative industry has emerged out of clothing outcasts that provide work for armies of resellers, distributors and market stall holders in developing markets like India or East Africa. But like any other business sector, there are winners and losers in this complex and booming trade.

The average American throws away 70 pounds of textile waste every year, according to the Council for Textile Recycling, so diverting clothing away from landfills and giving it a new life may seem like a good idea. But the mass influx of cheap hand-me-downs from Western countries has had a negative impact on local apparel industries and production in low-income countries.

Used clothing in good condition, which entered the supply chain as a donation, undercut new clothes produced locally. To this point, the governments of the East African Community (EAC) — the regional organisation that comprises of Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda — plans to outlaw all secondhand clothing imports by 2019, in a bid to boost domestic manufacturing.

Donating your used garments might be well-intentioned but they may be doing more harm than good.

“Donating your used garments might be well-intentioned but the situation on the ground means they may be doing more harm than good,” Dr Andrew Brooks, a lecturer in development geography at King’s College London, wrote in his book “Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-Hand Clothes.” 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. Recent figures from the UN show that an estimated 80 percent of Africans wear secondhand clothing.

Interestingly, the US has recently hit back at the East African Community’s proposal to ban secondhand imports. Claiming that it would impose “significant hardship” on the US clothing industry and put 40,000 jobs in jeopardy, the US Trade Representative (USTR) has threatened to impose trade sanctions on African nations and launched a review of AGOA, a trade agreement that allows tariff-free access for thousands of goods from 38 African nations to the US.

Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda has already seen him withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), threaten to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and seek to renegotiate the US-South Korea free trade deal. It’s currently not clear whether the US will withdraw, suspend or limit AGOA before it expires in 2025 — all of which would have a significant impact on the EAC.

The trade deficit for many African countries is already stark. Imports from Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda to the US totalled $43 million in 2016, while US exports to the same countries amounted to $281 million, according to figures from the USTR. Currently, more than 66,000 jobs in Kenya are linked to AGOA, which earned the country 35.2 billion Kenyan Shillings (about $341 million) in textiles and apparel exports in 2016.

While they are popular with value-conscious consumers who get branded garments at low prices, discarded clothes are also a huge problem for India — the world’s biggest importer of secondhand clothing, according to 2013 UN Comtrade data — and many other developing countries, such as Poland, Pakistan, Ukraine, Chile and Guatemala.

Tracking the Journey

So, how exactly does discarded clothing end up in a Polish thrift store or a night market in Mumbai?

The journey begins when clothing is discarded and cannot be sold in a charity shop, such as Salvation Army or Oxfam, both which could not be reached for comment. Currently, only 20 percent of the clothing donated to charities actually get sold there, according to the Council of Textile Recycling. The rest goes into landfills — despite the fact that most textiles aren’t biodegradable, which means they can sit around for more than 200 years. Others are sold to textile merchants, who sort, grade and export the garments, converting what began as donations into tradable goods.

What clothing goes where depends on the type of garments. KCL’s Brooks found that white shirts frequently ended up in Pakistan, where there is a great demand among young professionals, while warmer coats often headed to Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, t-shirts and shorts go to India or Africa, where they can be sold for as little as $1.50 in street markets at Kanda, a seaport in the Gujarat state of India, or Gikomba in Nairobi, the biggest secondhand clothing market in East Africa.

Used clothing comes under two categories: wearable and mutilated. A government license is required for companies that want to import ‘wearable clothes.’ It also comes with the condition that they can be re-exported, as a precaution, so that undesired clothes don’t flood the market and hurt local businesses. But this is where the problem lies, says Bandana Tewari, editor-at-large at Vogue India.

“In India there is a massive business of smuggling. The real bulk of imports — about 60 percent — are mutilated clothes. But when the Indian government planned to increase the number of licenses, The Clothing Manufacturers Association Of India went up in arms saying that the market would be flooded with used clothes and put domestic manufacturers out of business.”

The Winners and Losers

While the secondhand clothing sector poses a major problem for those who work in conventional apparel industries, it is a lifeline for others. The Textile Recyling Association, which manages secondhand clothing recyclers and distributors in Kandla, employs some 3,000 people every year.

Meanwhile, Frip Thique, an Oxfam-run social enterprise in Senegal, enables workers — most of whom are women — to earn a decent living by sorting and selling clothes to local market traders. According to the charity, all profits go towards fighting poverty in the West African country. “Not only am I able to take care of more people, but also my parents and my sister who are in the village,” writes Dieynaba Coly, a staff association representative and clothes sorter, in a testimonial on Oxfam’s website.

Some used clothing can be recycled for good. “The influx of secondhand clothes has turned Panipat — a town about 90km from New Delhi — into Asia’s biggest textile recycling hub. One of the biggest companies in Panipat is Pal Woollen Industries, which creates 10,000 kilograms of yarn a day from 20 tonnes of used clothes. The yarn is then used for making blankets, school blazers and red-and-black check fabric that is popular among the Masai population of Tanzania and Kenya,” says Tewari. Goonj, a non-profit organisation in India, reuses cloth to make reusable sanitary pads for rural women. “In many parts of India, women still use newspapers, mud and ash during menstruation,” she adds.

Clothes are an essential item and if they become more costly, poor families will suffer the most.

But those benefitting the most are “the exporters in the US and UK, along with others involved in the trade, such as the wholesalers. This applies to [some of the] importing countries. It also includes consumers in developing countries, who can purchase good quality clothes for a fraction of their original price,” says Linda Calabrese, senior research officer of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), an independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues.

Calabrese argues that halting the trade of secondhand clothing isn’t the right approach and won’t enable the development of textile industries in developing countries alone. “The garment sector [in developing nations] needs more investment to expand production capacity. The sector is currently not receiving a lot of new investment to expand production capacity, and costs are outweighing profits. Transport is expensive, getting skilled workers is expensive, the energy supply is unreliable and costly compared to other regions, such as Southeast Asia.”

It could also have undesirable effects, like promoting illegal trade and smuggling in banned imports, if the population has to choose between buying new imported garments, or buying domestically produced second-rate goods. “Clothes are an essential item and if they become more costly, poor families will suffer the most,” says Calabrese, but adds: “To be fair, I think that East African governments already have a very good understanding of the existing challenges and are trying to address them.”

It’s possible that the proposed ban won’t pass. The thousands involved in the secondhand clothes trade in Africa will know their fate once EAC leaders meet for the November summit, during which the issue is expected to surface. Kenya is among the countries that have since withdrawn the ban, while governments in Uganda and Rwanda have raised taxes on used clothing by 12 percent and shoes by 15 percent.

But it remains to be seen if Africa can create or revive local manufacturing industries — which collectively could double from $500 billion in 2016 to $930 billion by 2025, while spending by African consumers and businesses could reach $5.6 trillion over the next decade, according to McKinsey & Co.

“I’m worried that the phase-out will send the wrong signal, encouraging investors to focus on the domestic market,” says Calabrese. “What is needed in East Africa is an increased focus on the export market [so that] more goods can be sold internationally. This is what much larger countries have done, including China and Bangladesh, who are global leaders in garment production.”

“At the end of the day, this is a big volume, low margin business. [Middlemen] are making millions of dollars for their own organisations or social projects, but not much impact is being made to help the really poor in third world countries, [especially] as the business is so unregulated and opaque,” says Tewari. “Once worn and torn by the poor, millions of clothes go into third world landfills, far from the affluent countries. Where is the accountability of first world countries dumping used goods on third world grounds?”