Extensive cleanup efforts are underway in Ghana following a fire that obliterated one of the largest secondhand markets globally.

A massive cleanup effort is underway following a fire that ravaged one of the largest secondhand clothing markets in the world.  Thousands of vendors’ booths were ravaged in the fire that ignited around 10pm on January 1 and engulfed significant areas of Kantamanto market in Accra, the capital of Ghana.  The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) sent 13 fire trucks to fight the blaze. The GNFS reported that items valued in millions of Ghanaian cedi have been damaged.

“This is heartbreaking,” remarked Alex King Nartey, a representative of GNFS. “We haven’t documented major casualties, but the financial damage is significant.”

“Initial inquiries indicate that malfunctioning electrical connections could have ignited the fire, although we are not excluding the possibility of arson,” Nartey stated. Up to two-thirds of the market has been devastated, with estimates suggesting that 8,000 individuals have been impacted, although this figure is anticipated to increase. Alhassan Fatawu ran a stall where he created and sold his own designs using pieces from used clothing, and he was informed in the early hours of Thursday that a fire had broken out in the market.

“The man operating the adjacent stall summoned me and informed me that everything had caught fire.” “I began to feel anxious,” he expressed. He visited the site of the damage personally at around 9am.

“I discovered charred stalls.” “He mentioned that some areas were still ablaze.” “I was unable to recover anything [from my stall].” All has disappeared. Now my daily sustenance has been reduced. I relied on my stall at Kantamanto for my livelihood.

Prior to the fire, Kantamanto was a vast network of thousands of stalls filled with apparel from brands like H&M, Levi Strauss, Tesco, Primark, New Look, and others. Approximately 30,000 individuals rely on the market for their income.

The Or Foundation, which advocates against textile waste in Ghana, states that 15 million secondhand clothes from nations in the global north like the UK, US, and China reach the market each week. The Kantamanto community recirculates 25 million secondhand clothing items each month via resale, reuse, repair, and remanufacturing.

The market serves as a lively center of innovation and a crucial alternative to quick fashion. The blaze has caused significant distress for numerous families following devastating losses for retailers, upcyclers, and various market participants, leading to the destruction of merchandise, shops, tools, and equipment. Yayra Agbofah, the founder of Revival, a community-based organization that raises awareness, creates art, and generates jobs with textile waste in Ghana, lost storage space in the fire. On Friday morning, he was at the market with hundreds of others, removing the wreckage. What was left of numerous stalls were scorched and burnt heaps of clothing and ash.

“The objective is to reconstruct within a week,” he stated. “Individuals need to go back to work since they lack resources.” He mentioned: “There has been no news on what actions the government plans to take. We must take control of the situation and restore our market.

“The traders have lost it all.” Many are in debt. This is their source of income. There are no additional options. We need to discover methods to regain our footing and begin working. The sole choice is to rebuild and begin anew. “It’s a heartbreaking scenario.”  Or Foundation’s creative director, Daniel Mawuli Quist, stated: “Although the industry frequently promotes sustainability as a trendy term or marketing strategy for selling products, Kantamanto demonstrates that genuine sustainability encompasses more than merely new sales.”