Awareness of the need to demonstrate creativity, initiative and competitiveness to obtain means of subsistence, is part of the dynamic of the strategic plan established under the aegis of the African Union which aims for inclusive and sustainable development by 2063 on a continental scale, while taking into account the efforts that each country has the duty to implement, for more significant development both locally and internationally, thanks to men and women who have the duty to work together for more harmonious and truly inclusive development. Indeed, seeing gender equality in the framework of a lower status of women compared to that of men, is to be part of a process of improvement that requires efforts, both on the side of men and women. It is not only a question of female activism in the service of a female cause but inclusive, with a view to development which takes into account several contexts which have their realities in addition to the importance of the cumulative efforts of men and women in improving the living conditions of humans in society, and of Africans in particular because, when there are food and other insecurities, it is not only women who suffer. It is a set of Territories which are in trouble and in need of solutions to end crisis which partly involve industrialization because, as economists point out, Africa must be very competitive on the export market. The diversification of production, the competitiveness of exports, the increase in productivity, to name just these examples, are of extreme importance for growth. This means that if you are not major industrial powers with strict external policies which favour local and African economies in particular, you will be invaded by the implementation of foreign policies which have won the African markets where the second-hand clothing trade has established itself. 

men or women, they find what they’re looking for in the second-hand clothing business. The activity has even favoured the development of an ingenuity which promotes second-hand clothing through the making of more attractive and lucrative items by making adjustments and readjustments of several of these second-hand clothing, and thanks to attractive marketing strategies promoting the quality of a second-hand product that many are ready to buy at a price that is both satisfactory for the reseller and the buyer. Between the performance of the models, wisely orchestrated marketing techniques and repackaging in order to add additional originality to a set of imported articles which find a new market value in an informal sector which contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP) of developing countries, while contributing to further widening the trade deficit balance of African economies, the actors of the chain do not lack imagination to make as much money as possible.

Marketing second-hand clothes in remote locations is more lucrative than recycling these clothes. Image source: bbc.cm – ANDREW ESIEBO

According to Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya, an association which promotes the development of the second-hand clothing trade in Kenya and whose first term (Mitumba) means package in Swahili to designate the sale of second-hand clothing, the sector represents around 200,000 direct jobs and indirect. This information relayed by the general and independent Moroccan digital media le360 in its August 2024 publication on the top 5 countries importing second-hand clothing, takes into account the multiple actors involved in this commercial activity; namely importers, resellers and sorting centres to which we add loaders, security guards, cart pullers, tailors, ironers, distributors, street vendors and marketing agents who are all involved in an activity that satisfies the daily lives of millions of Kenyans in particular, and the expectations of African populations in general, even if this activity is more satisfactory for powerful countries. Indeed, the considerable character of profitability is not in recycling, but in foreign trade in remote spaces where demands are constant and considerable. If indeed recycling allows the reuse of waste, the marketing of second-hand clothing is even more lucrative. Wherever there is demand, there will always be more and more imports, formal and informal employment, and the growth of an activity which will always satisfy an industrial chain which takes into account the exporting countries, importers, resellers and sorting centres. Incomes varies depending on the person and at the cost of multiple efforts. While some are content to ensure and improve their daily means of subsistence, the most ambitious hope to succeed socially thanks to that commercial activity which also navigates between charitable activities and income-generating activity to the extent that unsold items and those collected in deposit places for those who no longer want them, particularly in Europe, end up in the networks of non-profit charitable activities for a minority, and in the international second-hand business circuit particularly in Africa for the large majority. Indeed, the marketing of second-hand clothing allows non-governmental organizations to help people thanks to the income generated following the collection and sale of clothing. An employee from Emmaus International said in 2018 that the profits generated by the sale of second-hand clothing benefit the people they welcome; the more turnover they make, the more they are able to welcome people, give them accommodation, help them, or better yet, offer them a job. (Source: France 24 - reporters le doc - 2018).

A job-generating activity which promotes several other related activities such as that of tinkerers, transporters before and after each sales day, and the development of an artistic and ingenious activity thanks to the recovery of textile waste. Image: ANDREW ESIEBO

The commercial aspect of this income-generating activity is also particularly important because in the Territories where we generally speak of unemployed people without taking into account the acquisition of professional training as in sub-Saharan Africa in particular, the sale of second-hand clothing is a job and business creation opportunity that does not necessarily require high studies. Everything is acquired on the ground with the help of the oldest and social networks where new marketing techniques which adapt to technological development are constantly sold by those who consider themselves as models of success to copy in the sector, or who have realized that it is a sector through which one can truly succeed socially. An activity which requires a very large human investment, certainly profitable, but which can often be compared to a thankless task given the losses or unsold items which may not find buyers. In addition, if indeed the prices depend on the quality which varies from the first and third choices, it should also be noted that the prices of balls sometimes experience unsatisfactory increases for both sellers and resellers. A saleswoman confided to the microphone of Jolibatv News from Bamako in Mali in 2022 that, second-hand clothing delivery people would increase prices daily because of the problems they encounter at the customs level. But whatever the case, Africans seem to have made their choice, and it is perceptible by the strong demand for second-hand clothing. According to an article of Jeune Afrique published in October 2023 on African fashion facing its challenges, 80% of the African population dresses in second-hand clothing. A job-generating activity which promotes several other related activities such as that of tinkerers, transporters before and after each sales day, and the development of an artistic and ingenious activity thanks to the recovery of textile waste, and other used clothing to produce new items, thus increasing the market value of several items of clothing.

men and women, they have made it a means of empowerment. Graduated or not, they all or almost, find what they are looking for. Image:zagumi.com

The activity is profitable and Africa in particular needs it while waiting to be able to offer better and even to be able to compete with the large clothing industries. For the moment, many people say they find what they are looking for despite the many difficulties in the sector. A saleswoman confided to the microphone of Gabonese radio and television in 2021 that: it is thanks to this full-time commercial activity that she manages to provide for the needs of her children. For her, in fact, there is no question of stopping this activity but rather, finding a way to expand it. Many like her have made it their profession or their business in all corners of the African continent in particular. men or women, they have made it a means of empowerment. Graduated or not, they all or almost, find what they want thanks to their desire not to let themselves be defeated by the difficulties of a set of economic contexts where the majority of populations live in precarious conditions.

And the support of African governments?

Thrift shopping is one opportunity of empowerment among many others for both men and women. This partly informal activity also needs support from the States to better promote itself. And what would this specific support look like? It is not a question of financing in particular but rather, according to certain sellers, a reduction in customs clearance prices not with the aim of encouraging imports, but to reduce them while insisting on the quality of imported products. If indeed Africa needs these items from foreign sources, she must also allow itself to demand quality in order to move this activity further beyond the stage of débroullardise, specific to a set of informal and precarious activities carried out in poorly maintained environments conducive to urban disorder.

The activity, like all others, needs to be better structured; the respect of the rights of those who exercise it must be more significant, so that they can continue with dignity an activity which also contributes to the payment of daily taxes. We cannot simply say that the sale of second-hand goods is harming national production when we do nothing to better structure it locally, and prevent sellers from importing bad quality items. The lack of control of imports and the tendency to focus much more on the payment of customs duties and daily taxes, contributes to making a very promising sector more precarious, while accentuating arbitrary points of sale which contributes to the unsanitary conditions of cities which is basically not only the fault of traders, but also that of authorities who have the duty to structure an activity before its operation, or to make progressive and accelerated improvements, while respecting the rights of those who have made the choice to make this activity their profession. In February 2024, thrift store traders in the Nkoulouloun market (Douala-Cameroon) complained of the destruction of their arbitrary merchant spaces without enviable and financially accessible alternative measures. Even if reasons of unsanitary conditions can justify breakages, nothing justifies the fact of voluntarily trivializing an income-generating activity despite problems of unconformities link to long periods of laxity having allowed old habits to build nests having contributed to the well-being of households and municipalities, until the day when the unsanitary conditions it generates reach limits which justify strong measures, which became obvious given the degree of unsanitary. When we ask African populations in particular to contribute to growth to overcome the precariousness of unemployment, they must be accompanied more by progressive and reasoned manner.

It is by constant improvement through consultations and concessions that we manage to put in place platforms which contribute really not only to growth, but also a development which takes into account the points of view or the real immediate necessities of populations both in urban than rural environment.  Image:TimDonahu/pixabay.com

The salvation of Africa will not depend on a particular sector of activity, but of a set of sectors and sub-sectors of activity which must be further enhanced because it is by constant improvement through consultations and concessions that we manage to put in place platforms which contribute really not only to growth, but also a development which takes into account the points of view or the real immediate necessities of populations both in urban than rural environment. Indeed, as long as we are only concerned with selling, without taking care of the environment, and without asking for satisfactory working conditions which also require that we accept renovation work, we will always remain in an unsanitary and deplorable environment which does not promote real development, but rather the precariousness of unemployment and precarious jobs carried out anywhere without taking into account the regulations which are measures implemented to satisfying populations of a set of Africans Territories.   

The salvation of Africa will come through the marketing of second-hand clothing when she will be able to manage its waste in a sustainable manner, to impose the quality of the articles contained in the bales, when the sales spaces will be secure and maintained, when imports of clothing to Africa will be below the quantities of exports of African clothing produced in Africa, and finally when the informal sectors will be better supervised, listed, more profitable and identifiable because currently, the precariousness of unemployment and jobs continues to gain ground as unsanitary conditions. It is when these political, socio-economic and environmental difficulties will be overcome thanks to the constant efforts of men and women from all sectors and sub-sectors of activity that we can say that Africa is on the good path. 

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