Waste Colonialism: Reproducing And Recycling Second- Hand Clothes In Africa

How do street vendors navigate the impact of the global used-clothing trade in Africa? In 2023, the EU exported 1.37 million tonnes of used textiles, half to Africa. Ghana alone receives 15 million garments weekly, of which around 40% are unsellable. This unusable waste is destined for landfill: generating environmental harm and reproducing global injustice in the form of 'waste colonialism'. With an approach rooted in feminist political economy, this project shifts the focus from the circular economy in the Global North to the everyday gendered labour of African street vendors, reproducing discarded garments. Centering these voices recasts African cities as critical nodes within a global value chain and reimagines a sustainable future from the perspective of waste. The project applies Social Reproductive Theory to demonstrate how racialised and gendered work addressing waste is central to the reproduction of urban life, yet undervalued and exposed to environmental and social risks.