Global InformationKantamanto Market information
Kantamanto Market is a market area situated in the central business district of Accra, in Ghana. The market consists mostly of the typical Akan tribes of Kwahu's and Ashanti's. It is a well known market in Accra with a specialization in clothing resale. The site is an important part of the informal economy of the city.[1] At its peak it was the largest used clothes market in West Africa.[2]
The site received increasing international attention after sustainable fashion activists and journalists identified the market as one of the main receivers of imported unusable used clothing in the fast fashion industry.[3] Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 40% of the garments that enter the market and are sorted by traders get discarded into landfills.[4][5] The market and its informal economy play an important role in the city's economy, and COVID-19 restrictions greatly harmed the trade in the city.[5]
A December 2020 fire, which some reports suggest were set by real estate developers, decimated the market.[6][7] Though some vendors tried to return to the site,[1] developers announced in March 2021 are building a new shopping center at the site.
- ^ a b Okoye, Victoria. "After Market Fire: Opportunity for Participatory Planning | Smart Cities Dive". www.smartcitiesdive.com. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ Heidger, Tara. "Fast fashion? No thanks. I care about our planet Earth". news-decoder.com/. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ "The Horrifying True Cost Of Fashion Fashion". Marie Claire. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ "Used clothes choke both markets and environment in Ghana". Hindustan Times. 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ a b "Ghana's Used Clothing Market Falters as COVID Bans, Poverty Intersect". VOA. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
- ^ Fire guts parts of Kantamanto Market | Citi Newsroom, retrieved 2022-04-22
- ^ "Kantamanto fire outbreak: We're not surprised, our market was set ablaze - Traders claim". GhanaWeb. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2022-04-22.