With the overarching goal of raising awareness of the challenges and impacts of the trade and disposal of used clothing in countries of the Global South, this project aims to foster a connection between Ghana and Germany in order to gain a better understanding of the complexities and different realities surrounding textile waste, and to encourage the development of new solutions for an EPR textile policy in Germany.
FUNDER
Engagement Global, Landesstelle für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (LEZ), and Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung
PARTNERS
The OR Foundation
DATE
January 2024 – December 2024
The challenge
Given the unsustainable practices of the fashion industry, the disproportionate burden of textile waste on the Global South, and the need for collaboration and policy change to address these issues, we want to bring together voices from different parts of the value chain and support the government in establishing these regulations.
Our approach
The project is mainly divided into two main blocks, the first being a physical exchange trip from Ghana to Germany and the second being an online training and dissemination event for German NGOs and multipliers to learn from the results of the exchange trip and to promote the Stop Waste Colonialism campaign.
During the exchange programme, a delegation from Ghana will visit Berlin and take part in a series of tailor-made activities such as:
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Textile waste-related tours/visits
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Multi-stakeholder workshops on textile EPR policies
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Roundtable with German policy makers on the topic of textile waste in the Global South
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Direct involvement of the Ghanaian delegation in official Berlin Fashion Week events
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Hands-on workshops led by designers from Ghana and Berlin where participants will be able to analyse and transform unwanted garments into desirable products.
The outcomes
To promote the importance of diverse and renewed perspectives from different parts of the value chain in relation to the Second-Hand textile trade, with the aim of supporting policy makers in determining what a globally equitable textile EPR policy programme that addresses environmental and social justice as well as textile waste colonialism could look like for Germany.
