Disappeared clothing from brands such as Next, George at Asda, Primark, H&M, Zara and Marks & Spencer were discovered in new landfolter in the protected wetlands of Ghana. These are one hour outside of Accra, the capital of the region.
According to an examination by Unearthed and Greenpeace Africa, synthetic fast fashion from Great Britain and Europe was found in two recently created landfill in the wetlands of the Densu Delta. Other landfills clog the local waterways. The clothing is washed onto the beaches and the banks of the river, which leads to the nature reserve.
Ghana already has the inglorious title of the global “fast fashion cemetery”. The current investigation by Unearthed shows that new landfill sponsors are spreading beyond urban areas. This increases the environmental concerns for local wildlife and causes problems for people who live or work in the affected areas. The investigators: Inside, further concerns about the possible existence of microplastics and chemicals as a result of the landfill.
According to Unearthed, drone shots of the AkkaWay landfill, the latest landfill in the wetlands, show a “large area of wetlands whose vegetation was removed”. There “there are a pile of waste on the naked earth”. There is no lined floor or visible systems for reduction in pollutants, both of which are typical for proper landfills. A second landfill was identified in Glefe. It was built four years ago and is higher in places than a two -story building.
Unearthed spoke to the retailers: inside whose products were found in the landfills – with the exception of Next, which did not respond to a request for comment. Some of them, Marks & Spencer, George at Asda and Primark, emphasized the integration of circulatory systems. This includes withdrawal programs and repair services, of which you hope that you will help to extend the useful life of your clothing.
Primark found that none of the items of clothing that were collected as part of their own textile withdrawal program or has authorized unsuccessful inventory to be sent to Africa somewhere. Marcus Hartmann, Head of Public Affairs and Sustainability at H&M in Great Britain, said that the company recognizes its role in the development of the problem, “especially when our products achieve markets with inadequate or missing waste disposal or recycling infrastructure”.
A spokesman for Zara’s parent company Inditex, meanwhile, emphasized that the brand released two seasons per year and that the proportion of synthetic fibers used was 37 percent in 2024. The explanation continued: “We believe that the progress in the direction of a common legislation in this area will create a uniform framework that determines the same rules for all actors. We understand that the separate collection of textile waste is the basis of a circulatory model. That is why we not only promote new textile recycling technologies, but also develop the necessary skills to make them realizable.”
This article was used with digital tools translated.
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