0:00:08 > 0:00:12Every day we give thousands of bags of our old clothes away to
0:00:12 > 0:00:17charity shops, and I'm on a journey to find out what happens to it all.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20It's like being at the January sales, it's incredible!
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Oh, no, I've got move! It's non-stop, there's another truck.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Most of us think it's put on racks in charity shops and sold,
0:00:28 > 0:00:32but loads of it actually ends up thousands of miles away
0:00:32 > 0:00:33here in Africa.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- It's good stuff? - It's the best quality.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Ralph Lauren, wow.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Even though we give away our second-hand clothes for free,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44some of the world's poorest people pay good money for them.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47And they can't get them quick enough.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52But with cheap western clothes flooding the market,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55the local clothing industry has been decimated.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58From the olden days, this place has been a dumping ground.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00When are we going to stop it?
0:01:00 > 0:01:02It is killing our culture.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07You might have forgotten about them,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10but your old cast-offs have a secret life.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24In Britain we spend £60 billion on new clothes every year.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Disposable fashion, made by cheap foreign labour, costs less
0:01:29 > 0:01:32than ever, and we're buying more and more of it.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I know I've got too many clothes, but as the fashions change
0:01:39 > 0:01:42each month so does my wardrobe, and I make space for the new stuff
0:01:42 > 0:01:45by giving my old things away to charity.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50I always thought that those clothes were sold in the charity shops.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51But I was wrong,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55in fact charity shops can only sell a fraction of what's been donated.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Most of our unwanted clothes actually get sold
0:02:01 > 0:02:04to recycling businesses, like this one in the Midlands.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10- Hello, how are you? - Very good.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14- I'm Paul Robinson. How you doing? - I'm Ade. What is going on here?
0:02:14 > 0:02:18This has just come back from a charity shop, Salvation Army, RSPCA.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21This is all what they can't sell in the shop, we buy it off them.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Businesses like Paul's pay around £500 per tonne
0:02:26 > 0:02:29to buy their donated clothes.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33That money goes to the charities we want to support.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35And this is all the stuff that we give away.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39- Yes. Unbelievable isn't it? - It is unbelievable.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41And that's every day, five days a week.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43These are all handbags.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47My girlfriend's got a pair of shoes like this. Look at that.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49There's nothing wrong with them.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51No. Probably out of fashion, I don't know.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54They obviously couldn't sell it in the shop, that's why we've got it.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56That's from Salvation Army.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59I never ever thought about it, it didn't cross my mind,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01what do they do with the stuff that they don't sell.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03- I just thought they just sold everything.- No.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Wholesalers like this are just the first stage in a journey
0:03:08 > 0:03:12that can take our clothes thousands of miles.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14So when I'm driving down the motorway
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and I see one of these big trucks, you know the last thing
0:03:18 > 0:03:21I'd think in my mind is that it would be full of clothes.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24All these clothes are going abroad, and there's one country that
0:03:24 > 0:03:28imports more of our old cast-offs than any other.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36SONG: "Birth Of Ghana" by Lord Kitchener
0:03:41 > 0:03:42# Ghana is the name
0:03:43 > 0:03:45# We wish to proclaim
0:03:45 > 0:03:47# We will be jolly, merry and gay
0:03:47 > 0:03:50# The 6th of March, Independence Day... #
0:03:50 > 0:03:55Every year 30,000 tonnes of used clothing from Britain
0:03:55 > 0:03:58arrives here, in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03# The national flag is a lovely scene
0:04:03 > 0:04:05#With beautiful colours, red, gold and green... #
0:04:05 > 0:04:10Everywhere as far as the eye can see is bales of clothes.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Oh, my word! That shirt that you gave away last week,
0:04:16 > 0:04:22or those trousers or those unwanted shoes, have ended up here.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28The wholesale market here is dominated by Ghana's
0:04:28 > 0:04:33biggest importers. They do deals with British traders like Paul
0:04:33 > 0:04:37to ship thousands of bales into the country every three days.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47In Ghana you have a special name for the second-hand clothes?
0:04:47 > 0:04:51- I keep hearing people saying, erm... - Obroni wawu.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53What does, obroni wawu, what does it mean?
0:04:53 > 0:04:58Like white man's dead clothes, no? Obroni wawu.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Eric Forson is one of Ghana's new breed of wholesalers,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06feeding a huge demand for dead white man's clothes.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09So why do people in Ghana love obroni wawu so much?
0:05:09 > 0:05:13I mean, all of this madness that's going on here...
0:05:13 > 0:05:14Concentrates on obroni wawu.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16..is because of obroni wawu. What's this all about?
0:05:16 > 0:05:20OK, it depends on what a person wants to buy, but obroni wawu goes
0:05:20 > 0:05:26faster because it's a little bit cheaper for the masses to afford.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Like having 50 Ghanaian in pocket, you go to the market
0:05:28 > 0:05:31and buy a lot of shirts, but when you go to the shop you buy only one
0:05:31 > 0:05:33or two shirts,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37whereby I prefer to go to the market and buy the used ones.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39So all of the stuff you get is from the UK?
0:05:39 > 0:05:40The United Kingdom, yes.
0:05:40 > 0:05:46We used to get some from Manchester, sometime we go to Leeds,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50sometimes we go to Coventry. This is UK from Birmingham.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52- Birmingham? - Birmingham.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56So why do you choose to get your stuff from the UK in particular?
0:05:56 > 0:05:59In terms of second-hand clothing, the UK stuffs are best
0:05:59 > 0:06:03and they mainly imported more than the other stuffs.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- So what about yourself, are you wearing obroni wawu?- Yes.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08- All of this? - I do, yeah.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12- What's the make of your shirt? - It's Marks & Spencer
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Marks & Spencer shirt, and your trousers?
0:06:15 > 0:06:18- Calvin Klein. - That is an interesting combination,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21because in the UK I couldn't imagine seeing someone wearing
0:06:21 > 0:06:26Calvin Klein trousers with Marks & Spencer shirt, no disrespect.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28But it happens like that sometimes.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35The clothes that we give away may be of no value to us any more,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37but here they've created a whole new economy.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49On a good day, your best day of buying these bales,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51how much money did you make?
0:06:59 > 0:07:03100,000 Ghana cedis? Which is about £25,000?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07- In one day?- Yes.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I can't believe the figures that are involved in second-hand clothes,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33and he's probably one of thousands of traders all over this country
0:07:33 > 0:07:37that's making money out of the clothes that we don't want to use.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Asiedu is the next link in the chain.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53He comes to the market to buy clothes on the day new bales arrive.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04Asiedu selects the best clothes to sell in his designer boutique.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07What's the best item of clothing you've found?
0:08:11 > 0:08:15And Paul Boateng is a high, high label, and you found that?
0:08:15 > 0:08:20Yes. So many, many shirts. This one Ben Sherman.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24It's funny to be so far away from the UK and to see Ben Sherman.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33- You prefer the UK? - Yeah.
0:08:33 > 0:08:34Why do you prefer UK?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45- OK, so you like the slim fitting? - The slim, slim fit.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49So if you eat too much pounded yam then you wear USA?
0:08:49 > 0:08:52- Yes, but we don't like it! - OK, I understand.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59For reasons of hygiene, selling used underwear is banned in Ghana.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02But the rules don't seem to have had much effect.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06These are boxer shorts, are they second hand?
0:09:21 > 0:09:26All the clothes are divided into first, second and third class items.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29The customers for Asiedu's top-end designer gear are mostly
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Accra's hip young urbanites who've got money to spend.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Because almost everybody in Ghana wears obroni wawu,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38even better off people.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46- Marks & Spencer. Blue Harbour - And this?
0:09:46 > 0:09:48- First class.- This is first class?
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Yeah. We use the name for the first class.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55So the label and the name makes it first class.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Poorer Ghanaians buy the second and third class clothes,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02which are older or damaged.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Can you show me a second class T-shirt then?
0:10:08 > 0:10:12So this is second class because of the arm.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14This is really, really interesting.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Now this is George, I think that's a make from ASDA.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21It was in Mind for £5.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- And is there 3rd class then? - We have 3rd class.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25This is 3rd class?
0:10:25 > 0:10:28I don't know price.... Price would go low.
0:10:28 > 0:10:29This is low.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38And what about myself? Is this first class? Be careful!
0:10:38 > 0:10:39No idea, no idea.
0:10:40 > 0:10:41No idea!
0:10:42 > 0:10:44The cheek of it!
0:10:44 > 0:10:46I'm going, man.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Man's just laughing at my clothes.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59The second-hand clothes trade in Ghana is worth £50 million a year,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03and Accra is only the first stop on the journey of our old cast-offs.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08To find out what happens next, I needed to head north.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09One, two, three!
0:11:25 > 0:11:28A lot of the clothes that I saw being bought and sold
0:11:28 > 0:11:31in Accra market get moved on to other places around the country,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35and one of the main cities that they end up in is Kumasi.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46I was heading into Ghana's Ashanti region, one of the most famous
0:11:46 > 0:11:48ancient kingdoms of Africa.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Its power was built on trading gold which is still mined in the
0:11:56 > 0:12:00area today, and is why this part of Africa is known as the Gold Coast.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15The commercial heart of this area is Kumasi,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17home to West Africa's biggest market.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21This is where I caught up with the bales of clothes that had
0:12:21 > 0:12:23been driven up from Accra.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Trucks everywhere! And there's even more round the corner here.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38It's a never-ending supply of trucks.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45If you didn't know it you'd think a precious supply of gold
0:12:45 > 0:12:48had arrived, not our second-hand clothes.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53There are hundreds of wholesalers in Kumasi, who buy bales of clothes
0:12:53 > 0:12:57directly from the big importers in the capital.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59- So you buy the stuff from Accra? - Yes.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Do you go to Accra?
0:13:01 > 0:13:03And how much stuff do you buy?
0:13:05 > 0:13:06Bales?
0:13:08 > 0:13:11The wholesalers here sell the clothes on to smaller traders
0:13:11 > 0:13:14who buy a few bales each to take to market.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Each bale can cost up to £40, and these women are supposed to buy them
0:13:27 > 0:13:31sight unseen, so they're taking a big risk every time they buy.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36They'll only make a profit if the clothes they end up with
0:13:36 > 0:13:40are clean and in good condition, so tensions often spill over.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13There's an argument over the bales.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17This lady has ordered one type of bale, but she feels she's received
0:14:17 > 0:14:18the wrong type of bale.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23I expected that to happen because just look at this place, look at it.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44This to me is business in the rawest sense.
0:14:49 > 0:14:50What's the problem?
0:14:56 > 0:14:58So what's the matter with the stuff?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Investing your money in these bales is a gamble for a lot of these
0:15:06 > 0:15:09people because they don't know what's in there.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12You know, you could get a top quality pair of pants,
0:15:12 > 0:15:17you could get high fashionable jeans or you could get a load of rubbish.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19So it's a massive risk, so to me
0:15:19 > 0:15:22I suppose that's the reason why the emotions run so high.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40The scale of the trade is truly staggering,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and I wanted to understand the impact it is having on Ghana.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46So the next morning I took a deep breath
0:15:46 > 0:15:50and headed into Kumasi market, probably the world's biggest hub
0:15:50 > 0:15:52for second-hand clothes.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57The great thing about this place is it's so vibrant,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00even at this time in the morning there's always something going on.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06More than half of all the clothes bought in Ghana
0:16:06 > 0:16:09are cast-offs from Europe and America.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12And across Africa, second-hand garments have literally
0:16:12 > 0:16:14flooded the market.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18There's second-hand shoes everywhere, and I guarantee
0:16:18 > 0:16:22if at any point in your life you've given away second-hand clothes
0:16:22 > 0:16:26to a charity shop or anywhere, it's probably come through this market.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33These sellers are trading straight off the side of the pavement,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36running what are known locally as "bend down boutiques."
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- Do you sell these shoes? - Yes.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Where did you get the shoes from?
0:16:43 > 0:16:47This is all from Britain? How do you find the pairs?
0:16:49 > 0:16:52I see one trainer, this is the right foot, where's the other one?
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Oh, so this is your security system?
0:17:05 > 0:17:08So if you lay them all out and you don't lay them
0:17:08 > 0:17:11- in pairs no-one can steal, unless they have odd shoes.- Yeah.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14So if you see someone walking with odd shoes that means they've
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- stolen your trainers. - Yes.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Visiting an African market is an experience in itself
0:17:30 > 0:17:33cos when you look around you see what's going,
0:17:33 > 0:17:39there's a vibrancy and you can buy absolutely anything here.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Most of it, if not all of it, is second hand, you know?
0:17:43 > 0:17:49They haven't got the same hang-ups that we have over second-hand stuff.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Everywhere you look something is being sold or bought,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55and that's life here in Africa.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04Oh, my days! Look at that!
0:18:04 > 0:18:08As far as the eye can see it's just market stalls and traders.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13I'm going in, I'm going in...
0:18:13 > 0:18:1720 years ago this was a normal market, and second-hand clothes
0:18:17 > 0:18:20were sold alongside the more traditional West African textiles.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Ghana's well known for its brightly coloured clothes,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29but the explosion in disposable fashion in the rich world
0:18:29 > 0:18:31has caused a revolution here.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50There are now thousands of stalls selling our old cast-offs,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53swamping the traditional African garments.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55So tight in here!
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Recycled clothes have taken over from local dress,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09even on some of life's most traditional occasions.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Hello, what have you got here?
0:19:11 > 0:19:13What are these?
0:19:13 > 0:19:15This one is wedding dress.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Wedding dress. So these are second-hand wedding dresses?
0:19:19 > 0:19:21- Yes.- Can we have a look?
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Second-hand wedding dress.
0:19:24 > 0:19:25That's beautiful.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28And do people in Ghana, do they love buying the second-hand
0:19:28 > 0:19:29- wedding dresses?- Yes.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- So at a Ghanaian wedding they would wear one of these dresses?- Yes.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35How much would one of these cost?
0:19:35 > 0:19:39This cost 50 Ghana cedis.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44So that's like £10-15 for one of these dresses.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59This is like the boutique end of the market, you know.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02You know, it's like the equivalent of Bond Street.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03You can see some of the shops
0:20:03 > 0:20:06are slightly more marbled and more expensive stuff.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Look at this.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Hello, how you doing?
0:20:10 > 0:20:12- Good.- What have you got here?
0:20:12 > 0:20:14- You've got some big coats here.- Yeah.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Where are the coats from, which country?
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- England.- England?- Yeah.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20So who on earth would buy these coats,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22they're so hot and warm in Ghana?
0:20:22 > 0:20:24They take to travel.
0:20:24 > 0:20:25They take to travel?
0:20:25 > 0:20:27So these coats are obroni wawu,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30- they're second-hand, they come from Europe.- Yeah.- To Ghana?
0:20:30 > 0:20:32And then back to Europe.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35- And then back to Europe again. Full circle.- Yeah.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Ha! You even sell goggles.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Yeah, for big machine
0:20:42 > 0:20:43What, for motorbikes?
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Yeah, like this.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Our old cast-offs are not just sold here -
0:20:53 > 0:20:55they've inspired a whole industry.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58So what's going on here?
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Excuse me, sir, could you tell me what you're doing, please?
0:21:01 > 0:21:02Ironing?
0:21:07 > 0:21:11'This is where our tired old clothes come to get a make-over.'
0:21:17 > 0:21:19You've got to love this place,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23there's a guy just over there who's turning trousers into skirts.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25You've got this guy here,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27who's adding dye to jeans,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30making old, second-hand jeans look brand-new.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31You've got this lady,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33who's making shirts more fitted
0:21:33 > 0:21:35because they come from North America.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37And you've got this guy, who's ironing.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39You've got a whole mini factory
0:21:39 > 0:21:42all based around second-hand clothing.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Every year, the market grows bigger,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50and now it even sprawls across an old railway yard.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Thank you.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Way!
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- One cedi.- One cedi! OK.- One cedi.
0:22:06 > 0:22:081.5!
0:22:09 > 0:22:12HE LAUGHS
0:22:12 > 0:22:14In this part of the market
0:22:14 > 0:22:17I found people selling cheaper clothes for just 25 pence!
0:22:17 > 0:22:20OK, let me do it right. How do I do it? Like that?
0:22:20 > 0:22:22And then like that. Yes!
0:22:22 > 0:22:24That's the African way.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Even when clothes are this cheap there's still a pecking order.
0:22:29 > 0:22:30When we came here
0:22:30 > 0:22:34we heard people selling stuff for one cedi, two cedis,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37but your stuff is selling for four cedis,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40what's the difference between your stuff and their stuff?
0:22:40 > 0:22:42TRANSLATION:
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Many of Florence's customers
0:22:56 > 0:22:58have travelled miles to buy clothes
0:22:58 > 0:23:01they can then take back to their villages to sell on.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Florence, is it always like this when you open a bale,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50is it this chaotic all the time?
0:23:55 > 0:23:57The women here can remember a time
0:23:57 > 0:24:01when West African markets weren't dominated by used clothes.
0:24:03 > 0:24:04TRANSLATION:
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Why don't you buy Ghanaian clothes?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Why are you only buying second-hand European clothes?
0:24:32 > 0:24:36So if you had money, would you buy traditional Ghanaian clothes
0:24:36 > 0:24:38or would you buy second-hand European clothes?
0:24:42 > 0:24:44TRANSLATION:
0:25:06 > 0:25:07I was born in nearby Nigeria,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09and I remember my family wearing
0:25:09 > 0:25:12brightly coloured West African fabrics.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Now everybody's wearing western cast-offs
0:25:14 > 0:25:16and I couldn't help wondering,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19what had happened to all those traditional clothes?
0:25:29 > 0:25:31So I headed into the countryside
0:25:31 > 0:25:34in search of a more African kind of clothing.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Going to need skills to get across here.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46Which I obviously have!
0:25:55 > 0:25:57This is Kente cloth.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Traditionally it's only worn on special occasions
0:26:01 > 0:26:03by state officials and royal families.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Wearing a piece of cloth
0:26:08 > 0:26:11makes you more gorgeous - like a king!
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Osei-Bonsu is a local historian
0:26:15 > 0:26:17who has studied the traditions of Kente.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19To be able to do this,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22one has to undergo training,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24a year or more,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27to learn how to weave the very simple Kente.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30And how long would it take to make something like this?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Because it looks so intricate.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Well, this will take you about four months to weave.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- Four months?!- Yes, four months. - Why so long?
0:26:38 > 0:26:40I know it's intricate, but why?
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Very intricate.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Each piece of cloth has its own name
0:26:44 > 0:26:47and symbolises a particular event or proverb.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52There were times that we could not read and write
0:26:52 > 0:26:57and so we were keeping our history in the clothes that we wear.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59So the cloth speaks volumes.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03History, philosophy and literature -
0:27:03 > 0:27:04everything.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08In Ghana now, I see more people wearing obroni wawu,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11or second-hand clothes, you know, than ever.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14So are traditional prints still as popular -
0:27:14 > 0:27:16not just Kente, but the traditional clothing?
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Economics come into play,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23second-hand clothing brought in from Europe and America,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25it's cheaper, far cheaper.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28And what kind of impact do you think that's having
0:27:28 > 0:27:30to the culture in Ghana?
0:27:30 > 0:27:35Because everybody seems to be dressed more like the west,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37like westerners rather than Africans.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Well, we were trained,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42even when I was young,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46to believe that everything west
0:27:46 > 0:27:48is civilisation.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52Our belief and respect for our own things
0:27:52 > 0:27:54has faded to a degree
0:27:54 > 0:27:56that, if we are not very careful,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58sometime, somewhere, someday,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00we would have to...
0:28:00 > 0:28:03We would not see some of our own things any more.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05I'm quite frustrated,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08because Africa has a rich history
0:28:08 > 0:28:11and a lot of people travel to Africa to see that.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14And being someone who was born in Nigeria,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16I'm proud of that past.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21These days everybody is keeping an English name
0:28:21 > 0:28:24or a western name,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26in addition to his own name.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29And they prefer being called the western names
0:28:29 > 0:28:32to being called their local names.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34That alone should tell you.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36The food that we eat has changed.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39We're eating more western food than our own food.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41It is killing our culture.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43If there's no obroni wawu
0:28:43 > 0:28:47a lot of people would turn to the local type of dress.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55But there is more at stake here than just traditions and culture.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58Ghana used to have its own thriving textile industry
0:28:58 > 0:29:01making the famous printed, colour fabrics.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06Factories employed more than 25,000 people,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09but today most of the textile companies have closed
0:29:09 > 0:29:11and the jobs have gone.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13I headed East towards Lake Volta
0:29:13 > 0:29:16to meet some of the people still working in the industry.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22I'm off to one of Ghana's last remaining factories
0:29:22 > 0:29:24that produces traditional cloth.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Akosombo Textiles is the last business in the country
0:29:30 > 0:29:33that still takes in raw cotton at one end
0:29:33 > 0:29:35to produce its finished fabrics out the other.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44Steve Dutton is from Manchester
0:29:44 > 0:29:47and he's worked in textiles all his life.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50He relocated to Africa 20 years ago
0:29:50 > 0:29:53to help manage a flourishing company
0:29:53 > 0:29:56that once employed 2,000 workers in this factory.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00In 2009 we were producing...
0:30:00 > 0:30:03getting on for 2 million metres a month, OK?
0:30:03 > 0:30:06- And, erm...- Was that your peak production, was that?
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Yeah, that was about our peak. And today, over that period,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13it's gone down by about 75%,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16- so currently...- 75%?!- That's right.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19It's quite an urgent situation,
0:30:19 > 0:30:21we feel as though we're right on the brink
0:30:21 > 0:30:23of not being able to carry on.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25And what sort of impact
0:30:25 > 0:30:28would you say second-hand clothing has had on your industry?
0:30:28 > 0:30:30It's about usage,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33so for traditional cultural events
0:30:33 > 0:30:36people still use African print quite a lot.
0:30:36 > 0:30:42But also, I've no doubt that people will use western-style clothing -
0:30:42 > 0:30:43if I can put it that way.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45And if they're going to do that,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48they're going to go to the second-hand clothing market,
0:30:48 > 0:30:49because it's a whole lot cheaper.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54But as well as the challenge from the second-hand clothes,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57this factory faces another threat.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Their unique Ghanaian designs have also been copied and undercut
0:31:01 > 0:31:03by cheap fakes from the Far East.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08What is really the biggest threat to our business and to the jobs
0:31:08 > 0:31:10is the fakes and the copies.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14For example, this one has got a ticket of ATL,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Number One, Akosombo Textiles Limited.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19We have never produced a ticket like this.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22- So that's a fake?- That is a fake. - That's a Chinese fake?- Absolutely.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26And they're cheeky enough to even put on that...
0:31:26 > 0:31:28Yeah, they're using the brand, the logo.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31We know it's a fake because of the overall quality.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33So how does all of this make you feel?
0:31:33 > 0:31:37It's difficult for me to overemphasise
0:31:37 > 0:31:40just how close we are
0:31:40 > 0:31:42to closing down.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46I'm very, very worried that this copying,
0:31:46 > 0:31:48if it's not challenged, if it's not stopped,
0:31:48 > 0:31:50if it's not minimised,
0:31:50 > 0:31:52is going to destroy us.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01With poor infrastructure and high costs,
0:32:01 > 0:32:03African businesses struggle to compete
0:32:03 > 0:32:06with China's mighty clothing industry.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11We survive at the moment
0:32:11 > 0:32:14basically on our special designs for particular events,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17but is that enough to keep us going?
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Honestly, I doubt it.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22It really is touch-and-go now.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25We are talking to the government here
0:32:25 > 0:32:27to try and get some assistance.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30So, if help is there, we've got a chance.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34If it isn't there, I think our days are numbered.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40It's really sad that the Ghanaian textile industry
0:32:40 > 0:32:43is struggling so badly.
0:32:43 > 0:32:44And the irony is,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47the only thing that's keeping this factory alive is death.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53The company's last lifeline is making traditional fabrics
0:32:53 > 0:32:55specially designed for funerals -
0:32:55 > 0:32:58which are often huge social events in Ghana.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02Funerals are such a big part of the culture here
0:33:02 > 0:33:03and everywhere you go
0:33:03 > 0:33:07you see posters and banners of family members
0:33:07 > 0:33:09inviting people to come to funerals
0:33:09 > 0:33:12or to commemorate the lives of the person who's passed away.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19It's still common here to buy a new outfit for a funeral -
0:33:19 > 0:33:21made from the traditional fabrics
0:33:21 > 0:33:24that were once normal in everyday life.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26- Hello.- Hi.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28Sometimes special designs are commissioned
0:33:28 > 0:33:30by the family of the deceased.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33This looks amazing - it's beautiful!
0:33:33 > 0:33:35Here's some African...
0:33:35 > 0:33:38OK, this is the style.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40So, maybe...
0:33:40 > 0:33:43Wow, that looks cool.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Are these all for funerals?
0:33:47 > 0:33:48Yeah, you can wear it for a funeral.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52I mean, obviously the colour has to be black.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54It looks a bit glamorous, though.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57That's the one. Not in pink, though.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02I needed an outfit
0:34:02 > 0:34:06because we'd been allowed to film at the funeral of a local celebrity.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Clothes at Ghanaian funerals are dominated by two colours -
0:34:10 > 0:34:12black to symbolise death
0:34:12 > 0:34:15and red to convey the anger of loss.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23MUSIC: "Viva Nigeria" by Fela Ransome Kuti and His Koola Lobitos
0:34:25 > 0:34:29You wouldn't know you were coming to a funeral. It's so glamorous.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Ronnie Coaches was a well-known musician who died tragically young.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39Mourners from all walks of life had come to his funeral.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50It's like nothing I've ever seen before - dancing and performing,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53photographers everywhere. The atmosphere's incredible.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57I've never seen so many smiles and so much happiness at a funeral.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04BLUESY MUSIC
0:35:05 > 0:35:10But as Ronnie's coffin was taken for burial, the mood changed.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14SOBBING
0:35:14 > 0:35:16It's a real roller coaster of emotions
0:35:16 > 0:35:18when you come to a Ghanaian funeral
0:35:18 > 0:35:22because one minute everybody's up, the next minute it's really sombre
0:35:22 > 0:35:25and now they're taking the body off to the graveyard
0:35:25 > 0:35:27and just heavy emotions.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30SHE LAMENTS IN HER OWN LANGUAGE
0:35:34 > 0:35:38I feel like this is a real taste of Ghanaian culture -
0:35:38 > 0:35:41the colours, the people and the celebration.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56After six hours of music, partying and prayers, the 500 mourners
0:35:56 > 0:35:58who had come to pay their respects
0:35:58 > 0:36:00arrived at Ronnie's final resting place.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Throughout the day, I'd been struck by the fact that even here
0:36:08 > 0:36:12at a funeral, there were just as many western clothes as traditional.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16# Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen
0:36:18 > 0:36:22# Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen... #
0:36:22 > 0:36:27This is the last and final respect we are giving to our son.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35At a funeral, you are showing off
0:36:35 > 0:36:38not only the status of the one who's dead
0:36:38 > 0:36:40but the status of those who are alive
0:36:40 > 0:36:44so you don't want to wear the kind of clothing where
0:36:44 > 0:36:47everybody will brand it that you've been to folk's line to pick.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52'Professor Irene Odotei writes about popular culture.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56'She believes that Ghana's traditions are being undermined.'
0:36:56 > 0:37:00People are beginning to be more dressed up at funerals.
0:37:00 > 0:37:06In the olden days it was, like, more sombre, kind of toned down
0:37:06 > 0:37:11but these days, people wear very long high heels
0:37:11 > 0:37:14and really, you see this,
0:37:14 > 0:37:18you can even think they're going to a dinner party.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22The idea of dressing in western dress to funerals,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24where did that come from?
0:37:24 > 0:37:28It's globalisation. People are watching a lot of television,
0:37:28 > 0:37:36they themselves have not been really brought up to traditional values.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40We are losing ground because urbanisation too has come in,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43a lot of them have come from the villages of wherever they are,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46where they had these influences, traditional influences,
0:37:46 > 0:37:50they've come to settle in the cities and in the cities you lose track.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52These things with the second-hand clothes,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55what is it doing to the traditions in Ghana?
0:37:55 > 0:38:00From the olden days, this place has been a dumping ground for stuff
0:38:00 > 0:38:03and it continues to be a dumping ground.
0:38:03 > 0:38:04When are we going to stop it?
0:38:06 > 0:38:10The Ghanaian textile industry relies on big occasions like this
0:38:10 > 0:38:13to make money and to sell clothes
0:38:13 > 0:38:16and I think, if people aren't going to wear traditional dress
0:38:16 > 0:38:20at big occasions like this, when are they going to wear it?
0:38:31 > 0:38:35It was time to get back on the trail of our second-hand clothes
0:38:35 > 0:38:38and head into the remote north-east of Ghana.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40I wanted to meet some of the people
0:38:40 > 0:38:42in the poorest regions of the country
0:38:42 > 0:38:44who are wearing our old cast-offs.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53In the market at Kumasi, I'd met women from this area
0:38:53 > 0:38:57buying bales of clothes to take back to their villages.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00The women who travel to Kumasi market
0:39:00 > 0:39:02often go in buses like that one
0:39:02 > 0:39:04and they're cramped in there like sardines
0:39:04 > 0:39:07and it can be up to a three-day round trip for them.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14By the time the clothes get here,
0:39:14 > 0:39:17they have been on an almost unbelievable journey.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21Many were originally manufactured by poor workers in countries
0:39:21 > 0:39:25like Bangladesh and shipped thousands of miles to Britain.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27After a few months in our wardrobes,
0:39:27 > 0:39:31they set off via the charity shops on a new journey to Africa.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34From the port in Accra, they're driven hundreds of miles
0:39:34 > 0:39:38via Kumasi market, to this ferry port on the shores of Lake Volta.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44On the ferry over to Kete Krachi, I met Osei.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47He's one of the biggest local traders of what they call
0:39:47 > 0:39:49dead white man's clothes.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52- Morning.- Morning. - How are you?- I'm fine.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54So, this bale, is this yours?
0:39:55 > 0:39:57And where did it come from?
0:40:03 > 0:40:07So you prefer obroni wawu to the traditional clothing?
0:40:08 > 0:40:09Why?
0:40:13 > 0:40:15So it makes you unique?
0:40:16 > 0:40:17You stand out?
0:40:44 > 0:40:48Is there an alternative to obroni wawu? Is there anything else
0:40:48 > 0:40:52that the locals in Krachi or the Ghanaians could wear?
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Before the obroni wawu stalls arrived here ten years ago,
0:41:10 > 0:41:13people had to make their clothes last for years.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Clothes that you find here in Kete Krachi - they've been rejected
0:41:24 > 0:41:26by everyone all over Ghana.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29They're not going to be the ones picked in the capital city,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33Kumasi and Accra, people are not going to have these clothes
0:41:33 > 0:41:36and they're a bit more damaged, they're not high-end fashion.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39It's like the clothes you'd find in a jumble sale
0:41:39 > 0:41:43and I can't imagine how many pairs of hands they've been through
0:41:43 > 0:41:46and we might not want them, but I reckon they're gold dust here.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52MUSIC: "Brand New Second Hand" by Bob Marley and the Wailers
0:42:01 > 0:42:03# Brand new second hand
0:42:05 > 0:42:07# Don't bother show us
0:42:07 > 0:42:10# Brand new second hand
0:42:12 > 0:42:14# You're just a nuisance
0:42:14 > 0:42:17# Brand new second hand... #
0:42:17 > 0:42:20From the ferry port, the clothes travel along dirt roads
0:42:20 > 0:42:21to the remotest villages.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28The final stage of their journey is often on foot.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33- Hello, good morning.- Good morning.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35I just want to ask,
0:42:35 > 0:42:37how do you manage to balance it on your head? It's just,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40I mean, it's incredible. Isn't your neck getting tired?
0:42:40 > 0:42:41TRANSLATION:
0:42:43 > 0:42:47Can we see how heavy that is? Can I check the weight on your head?
0:42:47 > 0:42:48Oh, no!
0:42:49 > 0:42:51Whoa!
0:42:51 > 0:42:52LAUGHTER
0:42:52 > 0:42:56Yeah! I don't know how she does this, I really don't.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Dina, you can have it back, there you go!
0:42:59 > 0:43:00Medase.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08It's funny how second-hand clothes, you know, and especially football -
0:43:08 > 0:43:11second-hand football stuff - permeates the whole of this country.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13- Chelsea fan?- Yeah.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15And you've got Liverpool shorts on.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19Judging by the size of them, I think they were worn by Jan Molby.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27Dina's a single mum bringing up five children.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31She walks up to ten miles from village to village selling clothes.
0:43:33 > 0:43:34TRANSLATION:
0:43:36 > 0:43:39As we've been walking along, all these people, they know you,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42they stop and talk to you, are they all your customers?
0:43:45 > 0:43:48So why are you selling second-hand clothes?
0:43:56 > 0:43:59So if you weren't selling second-hand clothes, there would be
0:43:59 > 0:44:01no other way for you to earn money?
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Many of the villagers here in Gyen Gyen are subsistence farmers
0:44:29 > 0:44:33living on the equivalent of less than a pound a day.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36Can you tell me why you love these clothes?
0:44:36 > 0:44:38Why you love obroni wawu so much?
0:44:52 > 0:44:54When you look through these clothes,
0:44:54 > 0:44:56you see Superdry,
0:44:56 > 0:45:00Next, Dorothy Perkins...
0:45:00 > 0:45:04I could be on any high street in the UK, but I'm not,
0:45:04 > 0:45:08we're in a small village in north-eastern Ghana.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10HE LAUGHS
0:45:11 > 0:45:13As well as selling the clothes,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16Dina also acts as a personal shopper.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32Hey, hey, hey! Hey!
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Does it look good on him?
0:45:35 > 0:45:37You going to sell it to him?
0:45:43 > 0:45:46Even though these clothes cost less than 25p,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50the villagers here sometimes have to go into debt to buy them.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53Dina, would you sell this on credit,
0:45:53 > 0:45:57so she can take it now and then she pays for it next week?
0:46:14 > 0:46:19Clothes like this we give away for to charity shops in the UK for free.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Are you surprised by that?
0:46:26 > 0:46:28THEY TALK IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE
0:46:28 > 0:46:30Are you going to buy it?
0:46:32 > 0:46:34Oh, you've got a deal. Look at that!
0:46:34 > 0:46:36Do this, do this, do this! Yeah!
0:46:39 > 0:46:42When I give away my clothes to charity shops in the UK,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45this is the last place I'd expect them to end up -
0:46:45 > 0:46:49in a rural village in north-eastern Ghana.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52And what's even more surprising is these people have next to nothing,
0:46:52 > 0:46:56yet they're probably supporting a lot of UK charities.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58And what's even weirder than that
0:46:58 > 0:47:01is those charities are probably giving money to Africa
0:47:01 > 0:47:05to support these people, so it's just a bizarre merry-go-round.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11It was incredible to see where our old clothes end up
0:47:11 > 0:47:14and in some ways, they've come full circle.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18They're cheap garments made by some of the world's poorest people
0:47:18 > 0:47:21that end up being worn by some of the world's poorest people.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29Affordable clothing has benefitted these villagers
0:47:29 > 0:47:32and provided some of them with a living.
0:47:32 > 0:47:33'Across Ghana and Africa,
0:47:33 > 0:47:37'our second-hand clothes drive a vast industry of people,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40'transporting, packing and selling them.'
0:47:40 > 0:47:41Come on!
0:47:41 > 0:47:43'But I do find it a bit sad
0:47:43 > 0:47:46'how Western clothing has spread across the world.'
0:47:46 > 0:47:47Go, go, go, go!
0:47:49 > 0:47:50Oh, nice pass!
0:47:52 > 0:47:55It worries me how it's affecting the culture
0:47:55 > 0:47:57because the last thing I would want to see
0:47:57 > 0:48:00is for everyone in the world to be dressed the same.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03You going to play?
0:48:05 > 0:48:08All right, I'm going to turn around. All behind me.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10That way, that way, that way.
0:48:13 > 0:48:15Ohh!
0:48:20 > 0:48:23The final stage of my journey took me back to the capital, Accra.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33Despite the poverty I'd seen in the countryside,
0:48:33 > 0:48:36Ghana is actually an African success story.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40It's one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42There is a clothing industry here as well
0:48:42 > 0:48:46and I headed to one of its most successful companies.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49Sleek Garments employs around 300 workers
0:48:49 > 0:48:51making a wide range of clothes.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56CEO Nora Bannerman has worked in the industry for 30 years
0:48:56 > 0:48:59and she's experienced its problems first-hand.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04There's some unfair competition from imported garments
0:49:04 > 0:49:07and the worst of it is the used clothing.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10I was going to say, what kind of impact has the second-hand clothing
0:49:10 > 0:49:12market had on your business?
0:49:12 > 0:49:17You know, for those in the industry who focus mainly on the local markets
0:49:17 > 0:49:19it's been very challenging
0:49:19 > 0:49:23and most of them have shut down their factories.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26New shirts made in Ghana
0:49:26 > 0:49:29cost up to 40 times more than our second-hand ones.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33So instead of competing, Nora concentrates on making work-wear
0:49:33 > 0:49:35for local businesses in Ghana.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37This is for a mining company,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40this is a phone company,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43- these are security uniforms. - So you make uniforms?- And so on.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45We decided to focus on that
0:49:45 > 0:49:48and then strategise to get back into the market again.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Because of the tough competition,
0:49:52 > 0:49:56most of the clothes made here are actually exported.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59Locally here in Ghana, the markets are pretty small
0:49:59 > 0:50:04for garments that are of one design, of one colour, of one fabric.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09Our focus is on mass-producing clothing, mainly for export to the US
0:50:09 > 0:50:12and they buy in the thousands. It's just a huge market.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16In an ideal world, what would you like to see happen
0:50:16 > 0:50:18to the textile industry in Ghana?
0:50:18 > 0:50:21We need to be in business to create jobs for our people
0:50:21 > 0:50:23and create the wealth that they need
0:50:23 > 0:50:27to enable them to afford new garments, freshly made garments
0:50:27 > 0:50:30and so we need to look at this in totality and bring a change
0:50:30 > 0:50:34and change is always difficult, but change is always for good.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36Imagine what we can do for our economy
0:50:36 > 0:50:39and once the economy is growing, things will change.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Nora thinks that only higher wages
0:50:42 > 0:50:45and less poverty will end the domination of second-hand clothes.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49You see these young women?
0:50:49 > 0:50:52They work hard and they should be able to afford new clothing.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56Why should they wear clothing that somebody else doesn't want any more?
0:50:56 > 0:51:00Do you think we'll ever see the day where there will be no longer
0:51:00 > 0:51:04obroni wawu or second-hand clothes in Ghana?
0:51:04 > 0:51:07That day will come. That day will surely come.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09It may be slow, but it's coming
0:51:09 > 0:51:12- and it will definitely come for sure.- Brilliant.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19The government here is also trying to persuade people
0:51:19 > 0:51:21to wear locally-made clothes.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28Ten years ago, they introduced a local dress day.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32The idea is that at the end of each week,
0:51:32 > 0:51:36office workers ditch their suits for more traditional colourful shirts
0:51:36 > 0:51:38and "Thank Ghana, it's Friday".
0:51:43 > 0:51:46It's a desire to be Ghanaian.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50It's still a working day so it's not as we are dressing down
0:51:50 > 0:51:52but we are dressing traditional
0:51:52 > 0:51:56- and also making the place a fun place to work, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59The workers in Ellen Hagan's recruitment company have
0:51:59 > 0:52:02embraced the scheme - well, at least, most of them have.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07I noticed not all of your workers are wearing traditional dress
0:52:07 > 0:52:11because I can see some people in that office over there.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Ah! Well, actually, she is.
0:52:13 > 0:52:18She has combined the western style with the African print.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20So she's just trying to be trendy,
0:52:20 > 0:52:23you know, these are younger people, so...
0:52:23 > 0:52:25Has traditional clothing become
0:52:25 > 0:52:27something just for the middle classes,
0:52:27 > 0:52:28something for people with money?
0:52:28 > 0:52:31I don't think so. In everything on the market,
0:52:31 > 0:52:32there are different ranges
0:52:32 > 0:52:35or they prefer to wear non-traditional clothes,
0:52:35 > 0:52:39in which case it is easier to get the suits and the skirts
0:52:39 > 0:52:43from the obroni wawu rather than get a tailor to make a suit,
0:52:43 > 0:52:44a skirt suit for you.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Could we have a show of hands, right, if you were going out
0:52:47 > 0:52:53on a Saturday night to a party and you wanted to impress people,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56how many of you here would wear traditional clothing?
0:52:56 > 0:52:59- To impress, definitely. - To impress, if it is to impress.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02If it is to impress, then traditional clothing.
0:53:02 > 0:53:07That's the majority, except for this man! Who's laughing in the corner!
0:53:07 > 0:53:09LAUGHTER
0:53:09 > 0:53:15Why? Just tell us why would you rather wear western clothing?
0:53:15 > 0:53:19We're the younger generation, we like to look more trendy
0:53:19 > 0:53:24so you see most of the western clothes,
0:53:24 > 0:53:29the foreign clothes are more trendy to the younger generation.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32So more of the times, you will see them wearing the...
0:53:32 > 0:53:34the western clothes.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38I mean, I wonder if you think, the influence of western clothing,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41do you think it's to do with globalisation?
0:53:41 > 0:53:44You can go on YouTube, the MTV channels and you're seeing designs,
0:53:44 > 0:53:46you want to mix it, you want to merge it,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49you don't want to look like you are too Ghanaian
0:53:49 > 0:53:52- when you are going to an event. - Why not?
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Because you want to know that,
0:53:54 > 0:53:58for us, the youth, mostly it's because you know what's out there.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01It's cool to merge the two now.
0:54:01 > 0:54:05A couple of years back, it was cool to be only European.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Now it's cooler to be African.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16I think Ghana's relationship with clothes is changing.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19the younger generation, especially the ones with money,
0:54:19 > 0:54:22like the people we met today, they're creating their own trends
0:54:22 > 0:54:26and mixing traditional styles with Western styles and for them,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29it's all about what looks cool.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38If African clothing companies can't compete with our second-hand clothes
0:54:38 > 0:54:40on price, maybe they can on style.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50I went to a catwalk show where I met Ghanaian designers
0:54:50 > 0:54:54who are trying to appeal to the country's growing middle-class
0:54:54 > 0:54:57by fusing traditional African prints with high fashion.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11Some of them, like Kofi Ansah and Joyce Ababio, have worked
0:55:11 > 0:55:13or trained in Europe and the US.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17Tell me about the state of the fashion industry in Ghana.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20We are trying to get the whole process cheaper for us,
0:55:20 > 0:55:23so that we can go out there and compete.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28I'd rather see us being able to use our own fabrics to create,
0:55:28 > 0:55:31you know, interpret it in any way that we want to,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33as opposed to obroni wawu.
0:55:33 > 0:55:39My dream is to make 10 shirts as opposed to 100 dollar shirts.
0:55:39 > 0:55:40I'm training the people
0:55:40 > 0:55:43and I'm looking for them to become fashion designers,
0:55:43 > 0:55:46then, you see, I have to look at it from another point -
0:55:46 > 0:55:50I want to see them actually be able to develop in the industry
0:55:50 > 0:55:53and take our clothing or our fabrics to do something
0:55:53 > 0:55:55instead of second-hand clothing.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Because if there's second-hand clothing out there,
0:55:58 > 0:56:01what am I doing with my people that I'm training?
0:56:01 > 0:56:04I want to see them be able to become fashion designers as well.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09As the economy grows, the new middle-class should provide
0:56:09 > 0:56:13a market for these local African-inspired designs.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15And I'm sensing a lot of optimism.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Ghana is changing
0:56:17 > 0:56:19and the hope is that in the future,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22more and more Ghanaians will be wearing cool clothes
0:56:22 > 0:56:24designed by Ghanaian designers.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36The global trade in second-hand clothes has grown
0:56:36 > 0:56:39into a billion-pound business.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42And it's being fed by our own addiction to cheap, disposable
0:56:42 > 0:56:44fashion made in the Far East.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52Before leaving Ghana, I returned to Accra's wholesale clothes market,
0:56:52 > 0:56:56where £1 million worth of obroni wawu arrives every week.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13Over the years, I've given away lots of my old clothes to charity shops.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15I never in my wildest dreams
0:57:15 > 0:57:18thought it would create something like this.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23It feeds so many people, this industry.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37At the same time, it has decimated the country's clothing industry
0:57:37 > 0:57:40and is wiping out some of the traditions that make Africa
0:57:40 > 0:57:42such a vibrant continent.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46It does make me think, you know, do we really need that many clothes?
0:57:46 > 0:57:48But then on the flip side,
0:57:48 > 0:57:51I think it's making a lot of people happy over here
0:57:51 > 0:57:55and it's given a lot of people work, so there's definitely pros and cons
0:57:55 > 0:57:59but I know I definitely don't need as many clothes as I have. I don't!
0:57:59 > 0:58:01I don't need 20 pairs of jeans.