Devastating Fire at Ghana’s Kantamanto Market: A Blow to Global Circular Fashion and Local Livelihoods

A devastating fire swept through Ghana’s Kantamanto Market in the early hours of January 2, displacing thousands of clothing recycling and upcycling businesses and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Known as the largest secondhand clothing market in West Africa—and one of the largest globally—Kantamanto has long been a hub for creative reuse and recycling. Now, the fire has thrust the global fashion industry’s limited options for handling textile waste back into the spotlight.

The market, located in the heart of Accra, is a cornerstone of West Africa’s circular economy. Every week, 15 million used clothes are delivered to Kantamanto Market from the Global North, and the more than 30,000 employees there are in charge of reusing, repairing, remanufacturing, and reselling 25 million pieces of used clothing each month. It is an essential substitute for rapid fashion and a thriving center of creativity. Following devastating losses for merchants, upcyclers, and other market participants due to the destruction of goods, stores, tools, and equipment, the fire has left many families in distress.

The market handled enormous volumes of secondhand clothing that would otherwise end up in landfills or be incinerated. Kantamanto’s destruction, the ripple effects will be felt across the fashion sustainability movement worldwide.

The damage has been described as catastrophic by The Or Foundation, a Ghanaian-American nonprofit deeply involved in the community. The foundation is currently spearheading relief efforts, emphasizing the immense challenges faced by traders and artisans whose livelihoods have been wiped out overnight. For many, the market wasn’t just a place of business—it was a cornerstone of their lives, offering a path to economic empowerment through the circular economy.

Kantamanto Market symbolized a successful model of grassroots sustainability, inspiring global efforts to promote secondhand fashion and reduce textile waste. Its destruction highlights the fragility of such systems and underscores the need for better support and investment in informal recycling economies. For decades, it has served as a vital node in the global secondhand clothing trade, where imported used garments are repaired, upcycled, and resold. This informal yet highly effective system has offered both an economic lifeline for thousands of Ghanaians and an environmentally friendly alternative to landfill waste. Now, much of that ecosystem lies in ashes.

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