Jostling for space, people jam the crowded footpaths crisscrossing a massive open market in UgandaB次元官网网址檚 capital. They are mostly looking for secondhand clothing, sifting through underwear for pairs that seem new or trying on shoes despite getting pushed around in the crush.
Downtown KampalaB次元官网网址檚 Owino Market has long been a go-to enclave for rich and poor people alike looking for affordable but quality-made used clothes, underscoring perceptions that Western fashion is superior to what is made at home.
Discarded by Europeans and Americans, these clothes are often purchased from wholesalers and then shipped to African countries by middlemen. ItB次元官网网址檚 a multimillion-dollar business, with some two-thirds of people in seven countries in East Africa having B次元官网网址減urchased at least a portion of their clothes from the secondhand clothing market,B次元官网网址� according to a 2017 U.S. Agency for International Development study, the most recent with such details.
Despite the popularity, secondhand clothes are facing increasing pushback. , a semi-authoritarian leader who has held power since 1986, declared in August that he was banning imports of used clothing, saying the items are coming B次元官网网址渇rom dead people.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲hen a white person dies, they gather their clothes and send them to Africa,B次元官网网址� Museveni said.
Trade authorities have not yet enforced the presidentB次元官网网址檚 order, which needs to be backed by a legal measure such as an executive order.
Other African governments also are trying to stop the shipments, saying the business amounts to dumping and undermines the growth of local textile industries. The East African Community trade bloc B次元官网网址� consisting of Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda B次元官网网址� has recommended banning imports of used apparel since 2016. However, member states have not enforced it at the same pace .
In Uganda, the presidentB次元官网网址檚 order has spread panic among traders, for whom such a ban, if implemented, spells disaster. They hawk used clothes in scores of large open-air markets across the country of 45 million people, at roadside stands and even in shops in malls where itB次元官网网址檚 possible to buy secondhand clothes marketed as new.
The clothes are cheap and drop further in price as traders make room for new shipments: a pair of denim jeans can go for 20 cents, a cashmere scarf for even less.
At one of UgandaB次元官网网址檚 Green Shops, a chain specializing in used clothes, apparel reseller Glen Kalungi shopped for items his customers might want: vintage pants for men and cottony tops for women.
B次元官网网址淚 am a thrift shopper,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 usually come to these Green Shops to check out clothes because they have the best prices around town.B次元官网网址�
Kalungi likes to visit on clearance days when he can buy clothes for a fraction of a dollar. Then he sells them at a profit.
The chain, whose owners include Europeans, unveils new clothes every two weeks at its three stores. Some of the items are sourced from suppliers in countries including China and Germany, retail manager Allan Zavuga said.
B次元官网网址淗ow they collect the clothes, we are not aware of that,B次元官网网址� Zavuga said of their suppliers. B次元官网网址淏ut (the clothes) go through all the verification, the fumigation, all that, before they are shipped to Uganda. And we get all documents for that.B次元官网网址�
The Green Shops are environmentally friendly because they recycle used clothes in bulk, he said.
The association of traders in Kampala, known by the acronym KACITA, opposes a firm ban on used apparel, recommending a phased embargo that allows local clothing producers to build capacity to meet demand.
Some Ugandan apparel makers, like Winfred Arinaitwe, acknowledge that the quality of locally made fabric is often poor. Not surprisingly, many people would rather buy used clothing, she said.
B次元官网网址淏ecause it lasts longer,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t can easily be seen.B次元官网网址�
In Owino Market, a ban on used clothes is inconceivable to many, including some who say they donB次元官网网址檛 think the presidentB次元官网网址檚 threat was serious.
Abdulrashid Ssuuna, who tries to persuade customers in the market to stop by his brotherB次元官网网址檚 used clothing business, said a ban would deny him a livelihood.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like they want to chase us out of the country,B次元官网网址� he said of the presidentB次元官网网址檚 order. B次元官网网址淔rom these old clothes, we get what to eat. If you say we leave this business, you are saying we go into new clothes. But we canB次元官网网址檛 afford to go there.B次元官网网址�
Ssuuna approaches people in Owino Market to urge them to visit the stall where his brother sells used jeans. The market is aggressively competitive, with merchants sitting behind heaps of clothes and shouting words of welcome to possible customers.
If he helps his brother sell clothing, B次元官网网址淚 get something,B次元官网网址� said Ssuuna, who started this work after dropping out of high school in 2020.
The market is always full of shoppers, but business is unpredictable: Traders must try to anticipate what customers are looking for before they are lured by other sellers.
Some days are better than others, said Tadeo Walusimbi, who has been a used-clothes trader for six years. A government ban is simply untenable, he warned.
It B次元官网网址渨ill not work for me and for so many people,B次元官网网址� Walusimbi said.
