Photos Show How a Fire Destroyed Secondhand Clothing Market in Ghana

• A hearth devasted one of many world’s largest secondhand clothes markets in Accra, Ghana.
• Kantamanto Market receives 15 million clothes weekly and employs some 30,000 folks.
• An advocacy group urged the worldwide trend business to supply aid.

A hearth devastated one of many world’s largest secondhand garments markets in Accra, Ghana.

The blaze began Thursday and destroyed as a lot as two-thirds of Kantamanto Market, which employs about 30,000 clothes merchants and receives some 15 million clothes weekly from rich international locations just like the US, the UK, and China.

1000’s of individuals misplaced their stalls. Ghana Nationwide Hearth Service mentioned the fireplace was totally extinguished, and no accidents or fatalities have been reported. They’re nonetheless investigating the reason for the fireplace.

Now, clean-up efforts are underway, and advocacy teams are calling on the worldwide trend business to assist present aid.

“This can be a essential second for the worldwide trend ecosystem to indicate solidarity, not simply by recognizing the worth of secondhand markets, however by offering tangible assist to rebuild and maintain them,” Daniel Mawuli Quist, inventive director of The Or Basis, mentioned in a press release.

The hearth calls consideration to the worldwide trend business’s lack of alternate options for waste dealing with.

Staff in Kantamanto Market resell and remanufacture thousands and thousands of clothes. However the rise of quick trend has overwhelmed Accra with textile waste piling up in gutters, landfills, and seashores. An estimated 40% of clothes go unsold, The Or Basis discovered. The nonprofit in Ghana conducts analysis and gives grants and job coaching to staff in Kantamanto Market.

The Or Basis pledged $1 million to aid efforts and arrange a fund to boost cash for rebuilding the market and offering monetary help to distributors.