Not too long ago, every morning would have found Linda seated beside her friend, Ruth Odom, at their small stalls in Accra’s Kantamanto Market, one of the largest second-hand clothing markets in the world.
Before them lay piles of garments in different colours and sizes—polo shirts, jeans, dresses and shirts—packed tightly in bales and ready to be given a second life, resized and reshaped for Ghanaian buyers.
The so-called “fast fashion” brands such as Primark, H&M, Georges, Nike, Puma, GAP and Old Navy are familiar names in Europe and the United States, where these items were first worn.
Those days are gone. Both women have abandoned the trade, fearful of the health impact of their work. Linda, whose religious beliefs prevent her from speaking to the media, asked that her last name be withheld.
“It started when Linda began feeling unwell and losing weight continuously, which worried all of us,” Ruth told the GNA in Twi. “Several visits to the hospital showed a deposit of dust in her lungs.”
Linda quit nearly a decade of work at Kantamanto immediately. Following her doctor’s advice and taking medication improved her health.
Her experience reflects a wider, largely unseen health risk facing thousands of workers in Ghana’s second-hand clothing markets.
At Kantamanto alone, an estimated 15 million pieces of used clothing pass through every week.
Most of these imported clothes are made from synthetic materials like polyester and nylon. As bales are opened, shaken, cut and reworked, they release microscopic plastic fibres into the air. Traders inhale these particles daily—often without protection or awareness.
Behind Kantamanto’s colours and commerce, experts say, the real cost of fast fashion is quietly being paid with traders’ health.
Last April, Ruth, Linda and other women learned how dangerous this exposure is. The Or Foundation, a Ghana-based organisation advocating for workers in Kantamanto, commissioned scientific tests to assess microfiber levels in workers’ bodies. Preliminary findings were disturbing.
“We have sampled spit, urine, faeces and even breast milk. Broadly, we found microfibres in all of them,” said Mr Branson Skinner, co-founder of the Foundation.
Tests also detected restricted lung function among many traders, with symptoms including shortness of breath, wheezing and persistent coughing. Four in every five workers reported eye problems such as irritation, conjunctivitis and difficulty reading labels.
Mr Skinner cautioned that the results are still preliminary, with analysis ongoing.
“As we wait to publish the findings, our focus is on improving access to healthcare for market members, as the need is clear.”
GNA independently tested air quality in the market using a portable sensor over seven Saturdays. The device consistently detected high levels of the most harmful pollution particles, rated at the second-highest of five levels—classified as “very polluted” and likely to cause respiratory illness with prolonged exposure.
Experts explain that when inhaled, tiny microfibres can lodge deep in the lungs, triggering irritation, coughing and respiratory stress.
Many fibres carry chemical dyes and additives that increase toxic load on the body. The smallest particles can enter the bloodstream, affecting organs and worsening conditions including diabetes, heart disease, infertility and cancer.
Microfibres also pose a threat to eyesight through irritation, infection and potential long-term damage.
“Microfibres are largely chemical in nature. When they appear in traders’ secretions, it means the work environment has become hazardous,” said Dr Louisa Ademki Matey, Municipal Director of Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
She described the Or Foundation’s findings as alarming.
“The presence of microfibres in faecal matter suggests ingestion, which can lead to bowel irritation and frequent defecation,” she said.
Chemical exposure may also raise the risk of serious diseases, including cancer, if immune responses are triggered excessively.
Dr Matey warned that children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable. Children may develop digestive disorders, while expectant mothers risk harm to unborn babies, including miscarriage or stillbirth.
GNA checks revealed that thrift traders in Kumasi, Tamale, Cape Coast and Takoradi work under similar conditions, without protection.
The pollutants also contaminate soil and waterways, putting thousands more at risk. With Ghana’s weak waste management systems, large quantities of damaged or unsold clothing are dumped or burned, allowing microfibres to spread into surrounding communities.
These fibres carry harmful chemicals and pollute rivers and coastal waters, where fish and other animals ingest them—further threatening livelihoods and public health.
Large volumes of second-hand clothing enter Ghana because wealthy countries produce far more clothing than they need. Fast fashion brands make cheap garments, often synthetic, that shed microplastics and wear out quickly.
In the United Kingdom, for instance, the average person buys about 44 new clothing items each year, discarding older garments rapidly.
As a result, charities and collectors in Europe and North America are inundated with low-quality donations, which they sell to traders instead of recycling.
Many of these unwanted garments end up in donation bins and are later exported to markets like Kantamanto.
Advocates say this practice shifts the environmental burden onto low-income countries least equipped to manage it.
In 2021, Ghana became the world’s largest importer of used clothing, receiving $214 million worth of garments. Accra has also become a dumping ground for electronic waste, compounding environmental pressures.
Experts warn the crisis is intensifying.
“It is a volumes-over-value business model that threatens to collapse the global second-hand trade,” said Mr Skinner.
“Polyester, with no growth cycle and seemingly unlimited supply, is the root of the issue. No country has the infrastructure to manage this waste, but the Global North uses second-hand clothing markets to avoid confronting the consequences of overconsumption.”
Ghana’s government faces a difficult dilemma. The industry provides livelihoods for thousands of low-income earners.
“The waste we collect from Kantamanto has increased more than fourfold,” said Mr Solomon Noi, Director of Waste Management at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
“Our dump site is filling quickly. If care is not taken, we will struggle to find new landfill space.”
A recent visit to the market showed vendors calling out prices, tailors stitching in dim corridors, laundry workers scrubbing stains until their hands burned, and designers digging through heaps of discarded clothing for upcycling projects.
“Kanta” boys cleaned waste and loaded it onto trucks headed for landfill each night.
“All the people in the value chain are exposed,” said Mr Desmond Appiah, Country Lead for the UK-based Clean Air Fund.
“The bales are compacted. Once opened, pollutants escape. Both patrons and sellers shake clothing without knowing the health consequences.”
The Or Foundation has supported many traders, providing training and financing for basic healthcare, including spectacles for those with eye issues.
Ruth has learned new, safer ways to use waste fabric, producing boxers, tote bags, hats, laptop sleeves and yarns made from cotton.
Linda now sells household items like soap, tinned food, oil and rice. She earns less than she did at Kantamanto but prioritises her health.
Not everyone has the option to leave the trade; without retraining, Ruth and Linda say they would have remained exposed.
Experts recommend that traders, at minimum, wear nose masks, goggles and gloves, and ensure proper ventilation when handling fabrics. They are also encouraged to exercise regularly and undergo hospital check-ups, especially for eye health, blood pressure and lung function.
To address the growing crisis, the Government of Ghana has drafted the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Bill. The proposed law would require companies that manufacture or import products to take responsibility for the waste they generate.
Businesses that bring electronics, plastics, packaging or other goods into Ghana would help fund their collection, recycling and safe disposal—including second-hand goods.
The money collected would support safer recycling systems and reduce harmful practices such as open burning.
“We have developed a first draft with the involvement of the World Bank, and it is about to be discussed,” said Mr Lawrence Kotoe, Deputy Director in charge of Petroleum at the Environmental Protection Authority.
He expects the bill to go to Parliament before the end of the year.
Alongside the bill, Ghana’s Garment and Textiles Roadmap seeks to promote a circular economy that reuses, repairs and recycles.
Mr Godfred Fiifi Boadi, Head of Climate Action Sustainability and Partnership at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, said the roadmap aims to link policy with practical action.
However, the Country Lead for the UK-based Clean Air Fund, Mr Appiah has emphasised the importance of strong government leadership.
While regulations are critical, he said, authorities must first invest in infrastructure rather than shifting responsibility entirely to the private sector.
By Albert Oppong-Ansah
Source: GNA
This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Clean Air Reporting Project. Funding was provided by the Clean Air Fund, which had no influence on the content.
