After a fire earlier this year, fashion companies and advocacy groups are seeking funding to reconstruct Accra’s Kantamanto Market in Ghana.
One of the world’s largest secondhand clothes markets, the fire started on New Year’s Day and destroyed over 60%. According to a news release from the Or Foundation, a fashion industry environmental justice charity, the damage affected over 10,000 people’s stalls, tools, and merchandise. Two died in the fire, and three more in the last two weeks, according to the foundation.
The nonprofit in the U.S. and Ghana is working with Vestiaire Collective to ask fashion industry members and resale shops to donate to rebuilding. Per the statement, recycling tech startup Debrand, Puma, eBay, and several Belgian brands have donated to relief efforts.
The Or Foundation projected that rebuilding and covering lost wages and materials would cost $5 million.
Kantamanto Market receives 15 million used clothing from the Global North weekly, per Or Foundation. Over 30,000 merchants, tailors, and upcyclers recycle 25 million pieces of clothes per month.
Over 9,200 fire victims received $1.5 million from the Or Foundation. The group said this initial funding helped directly. Additional funds will be used for medical and machine purchases.
The market and nonprofit agreed to add fire lanes and 1,000 extinguishers after the fire. Both factions are developing a market re-electrification proposal.
The Or Foundation tackles fashion waste. The nonprofit helps Kantamanto Market upcyclers and tailors grow their businesses, and it collaborated with Vestiaire last year on a range of repurposed apparel fashioned from market items.
