Proposed EU ban worry for ‘dobha
MBABANE – For 17 years, Nelly Mvubu has been making a living through selling second-hand clothing at the Manzini Bus Rank.
This type of business is widely referred to as ‘dobha phansi’or ‘bend and pick’ and she has been doing it despite the many challenges that come with it.
She is one of the hundreds of emaSwati who happen to be market vendors and make a livelihood from the business of second-hand clothing imported from abroad.
To get her stock, she joins other women who travel to neighbouring countries like Mozambique, where they buy in what is referred to as bales.
For years, she and many other locals have managed to put food on the table for their families through this type of business.
However, these emaSwati might feel the pinch should a ban on the export of second-hand clothes, that has been proposed by countries including France and Sweden to the European Union (EU) become a success.
Second-hand clothes are mainly from Western countries. In these places, the average person doesn’t wear clothes for long.
ENCOURAGED
Instead of throwing them away or disposing them of in landfills, they are encouraged to donate them to charities.
Last month, it was reported on various media platforms that in what would look like a big blow to the global second-hand clothing cartel, France, along with Sweden and Denmark were making a bold proposal to ban the export of second-hand clothes from the EU.
The goal, as reported by Reuters, is to curb the flow of used textiles to countries where they often cause pollution and overwhelm local waste management systems. Currently, the EU is a significant exporter of used clothing.
This mass exportation, it has been reported, has raised concerns regarding pollution in recipient countries, particularly in Africa, where the influx of second-hand clothes has disrupted local markets and contributed to environmental degradation.
For years, the second-hand clothing trade has been a lifeline for communities across Africa including the Kingdom of Eswatini. Vendors, thrift store owners and up-cyclers have woven their livelihoods around this industry, giving millions of people a source of income and providing affordable clothing to the populations.
During a visit to the Manzini Bus Rank last Wednesday, Mvubu said she was not surprised at the news of the proposed ban, as she was once enlightened by one of her close relatives who told her that at some point, the business of selling second-hand clothes could be history.
INCOME
“In the event that the proposal is passed, I believe that God will provide me with another plan of generating income. For years I have survived through this business and this is despite that it has become costly in recent years,” she said.
When asked if she believed that the proposal was justified, she explained that people had different views, especially on issues relating to the environment.
She said the clothes exported to African countries were purchased and not necessarily dumped. It should be noted that there are many other women who are in the same business of selling second-hand clothes, but do not trade at the bus ranks.
Instead, they load their bales in cars and visit workplaces where they showcase to employees.
One of them, Sandra Ndlangamandla from Mpolonjeni said once a month, she travels to Mozambique to purchase the bales, which cost around E2 000.
“I pay around E400 at the border and then I visit different companies where I then sell to the employees. In the next coming weeks, I will be travelling to purchase bales of winter clothing, mostly coats and this is where I make more money,” she said.
Ndlangamandla said she had not heard about the proposed ban, but that if it was to be adopted, she would suffer as she was unemployed.
“I have been paying school fees for my children through this business. I cannot survive without it,” she said.
Another woman, Cebi Sithole, said she takes advantage of events where she pays for a stall to display her second-hand clothes.
“An event such as the Buganu Ceremony is a perfect platform for me to sell my items since it is attended by many people. I used to trade at the Manzini Bus Rank, but the costs became high. I had to fork out money to rent a stall, another for storage and more for the gents who fetch the bales from the storage facility so it became too much. Otherwise, it would be bad if the export of second-hand clothes is banned, we will die of hunger,” she said.
PROPOSED
The news of the proposed ban comes at a time when some of the women who trade at the Manzini Bus Rank are still recovering from the devastating loss they suffered in September 2020.
On the said day, a storage room that houses the clothes they sell, was gutted by a fire. About 430 vendors stored their stock in the facility, all of which was extensively damaged by the burning of the Palm Beach Building.
The fire incident took place at around 10pm and personnel from the Eswatini National Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services had a challenge extinguishing the flames as the entrance was locked.
The fire was put out the following day, and the damage was said to be worth about E8 million, according to a report from the Royal Eswatini Police Service
(REPS).
So intense was the damage to storage room that not only businesspeople were affected, but a chain of others who accumulated money through transporting the bales of clothes for them.
Meanwhile, researchers have claimed that about 1.4 million metric tonnes of used textiles were shipped out of the EU each year and often ended up in African countries, where they overwhelmed local waste management systems and polluted the environment.
SHIPPED
Some of the clothes, between 20 to 40 per cent, according to a research done in Kenya by Changing Markets Foundation, Clean Up Kenya and Wildlight, were reportedly shipped in as waste to begin with and cannot be re-worn without repurposing.
The research also established that tonnes of these clothing ended up being sold as industrial rags, where they may be used to wipe a machine once, before ending up on the dumpsite, or are simply discarded into Nairobi River.
It has also been reported that similar researches from Ghana also showed the devastating impact of second-hand clothing on the environment and in communities.
It was reported that the French Ministry of Environment submitted a proposal to the EU Parliament to ban export of used clothing.
This step was taken as part of the government’s increasingly urgent efforts to tackle the worsening textile waste problem.
The EU had earlier expressed concern about the negative impact of used clothing exports, especially on environment in African countries where items that cannot be resold often end up in landfills.
Overall, data from the European Commission shows that Europe produces around 5.2 million tonnes of clothing and footwear waste every year.
Following the decision by the French Government, the issued was then escalated to the Environment Council meeting in Brussels which took place on March 25.
Feedback contained on the European Council website reflects that during the meeting, there lengthy discussions on waste shipments and that the members engaged on signing off on more efficient and updated rules.
ADOPTED
It was stated on the website that the European Council adopted the revision of the regulation on shipments of waste.
“As revised, the regulation aims to reduce shipments of problematic waste to outside the EU, update shipment procedures to reflect the objectives of the circular economy and climate neutrality, to make use of electronic submission and exchange of information and to improve enforcement and tackle illegal shipments,” reads part of the feedback on the website.
It was also stated that the regulation laid out measures to ensure that waste was only sent to destinations where it was properly treated in an environmentally sound manner.
“Under the new rules, waste cannot be sent to non-OECD countries unless the country indicates its willingness to import such a waste and can demonstrate the environmentally sound management of the said waste through prior auditing by independent bodies and monitoring carried out by the commission” it was mentioned.
DESTINED
Also mentioned on the website is that the regulation bans the shipments of all waste destined for disposal within the EU, except if agreed and authorised under the prior written notification and consent procedure.
This procedure, the website stated, required notifiers within the EU and exporters to third countries to notify and
receive written confirmation from the countries of dispatch, destination and transit prior to export.
It includes specific timelines and deadlines to ensure an efficient process.
Despite the arguments by the French in the proposal, an environmental expert interviewed by this publication shared that second hand clothing did benefit the environment in different ways.
BENEFITS
“In my view, such clothing benefits the environment because instead of the pollution created to make the clothes, you’re reusing them, getting the most out of the garment, as you can and making sure to make it more worth it. Also, by not buying more clothes from fast fashion brands, you’re reducing the need for these businesses to produce more clothing, which causes air pollution to manufacture as well as distribute. There are a lot of carbon emissions caused by the fashion industry, which contributes to global warming,” the expert said.