Adverse effects of used garments

It’s a big business, and it’s not transparent at all. Many charity organisations are involved, and so are lots of commercial dealers and even illegal businesses. As “enorm” found out, a tonne of used clothes can fetch up to € 400. A big share is exported, for instance to African countries, where it is resold on local markets for little money. The low prices cover the costs of sorting and transport plus a little profit for the dealers.

This business has various impacts, and not all of them are bad. There is no doubt, however, that it hurts local textile industries. They just cannot compete where masses of second-hand jeans and t-shirts are sold for the equivalent of only one dollar per item. The impact is just as devastating as the exports of chicken parts and other results of agricultural overproduction in the EU.

Some African countries are taking countermeasures. The members of the East African Community have decided to totally ban imports of second-hand clothes by 2019. However, Rwanda, which is an EAC member, didn’t want to wait that long. It has recently raised import duties on used clothes and shoes by more than tenfold to $ 2.50 and $ 5 per kilogramme respectively.

An average pair of jeans weighs between 300 and 400 grams, so the import tax on each pair equals about $ 0.80. That will make a big difference. With this measure, the Rwandan government wants to protect its textile industry – which only consists of two factories but is relevant in such a small country nonetheless. Patel Ritesh, the director of one of them, lauded the new tax as good for business. But ending the used clothes trade is not just about industry, as economy minister Claver Gatete told the media. In his eyes, the reliance on used clothes is not “acceptable according to our dignity”.