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African Insights Blog – July 2004
“Dead White Man’s Clothing Get a Second Life in
Africa”
Shopping for Clothes African Style at Owino Market in Uganda:
In America they are called vintage clothing or consignment shops. There
are also the second-hand retail places like the Salvation Army, Goodwill
Stores, Thrift shops of all kinds, where even those who can afford to shop
at department stores go in search of that exclusive designer dress for a
mere pittance.
I have frequented such treasure troves in search of books and other things
and often would peruse the clothing section. On one occasion I found a jacket
that looked brand new, fit perfectly, and made me feel good. After having
it cleaned, I put it on for the first time and the thought came to me, “What
if this is a dead man’s jacket? What if the man died while wearing this
jacket?” It was only a fleeting thought and I wore the jacket on many occasions.
Some years later, as I walked through Owino Market in Kampala, one of the
traders looked at me from his clothing stall, holding up a suit and laughingly
shouting, “Hey, Papa! How about buying a nice dead man’s suit?”
Up to that time I never paid attention to the whole business of clothing
in Eastern Africa, but those words struck a chord within me. I looked at
the people in the market and saw them holding up clothes that had been worn
in places like New York, Toronto and Antwerp, but now being offered again
to cover someone in East Africa. If clothes make a man or woman as some
say, then these bales of clothes sent from afar sure had another day.
Africa used to be a most colorful place when it came to traditional clothing
styles. You can still buy such innovative, African styles at trendy boutiques
in Kampala, Nairobi and Kigali. The problem is that only the well-to-do
and upper class can afford the traditional dresses, while the average person
has to settle for what might well be “dead white man’s clothing.” (You will
see the Busuuti or Gomesi dresses, the wraps (Kanga) but most people will
usually buy clothes at Owino that came from afar.)
The reason is simple: When you have an income of a dollar per day, you cannot
go down to Pioneer Shopping Mall in Kampala and buy a dress from a fashionable
shop for 45 dollars, but you and 100,000 other shoppers wind up at Owino
Market, Africa’s largest market with thousand and thousands of stalls featuring
clothing from various parts of the world, waiting to grace a man or woman
in Kampala. (100,000 shoppers per day, 200,000 during the holidays, this
makes Owino the largest market in Africa)
Ugandans do wonders with the American and European castoffs that came across
the sea in 40-foot containers to be sorted in some warehouse in Kampala
just adjacent to the market. The best stuff goes to higher end traders and
the low-end stuff goes up-country to the villages where the income is the
lowest and people can afford only the smallest amount of money for clothing.
There are also women who pre-select clothing for their clients. They work
almost like “Avon Calling;” taking the clothing to the homes of clients,
knowing their tastes and financial capabilities and so on. Mere words cannot
describe the activities of the market, the energy one feels when going through
there and the throngs of people looking for that special something from
shoes to shirts.
However, this trade in “dead white man’s clothing” is causing some problems
for Uganda and its textile industry, causing them to complain to the government.
Legislation is being considered that would block the “Mitumba (baled) Clothing
Trade.” Second-hand underwear is already banned in much of East Africa for
hygien ic
reason.
As you look around in Africa, you will see that “dead white man’s clothing”
is not the only cast-off found here. Africa has become the world’s dumping
ground for used things, one giant Goodwill Thrift-Store. The roads of Africa
are dotted with old Japanese cars (left-hand drive cars) in the old British
colonies and European cars in the former French-speaking colonies.
Enter a government office and you see people working with used computers.
Yes, many of Africa’s governments are running on used computers that were
recycled by some company in the USA (receiving a tax write off for their
donation).
Go to the pharmacy and drug shop and often the medicine will be outdated,
cast off, or made by some fly-by-night outfit to look as if it was medicine
but in reality is simply sugar. In East Africa, 30% of anti-malarial drugs
are counterfeit.
There are the old refrigerators with Freon oozing out, the medical equipment
in hospitals that was not good enough for Western patients with British,
French, and US markings on them. There are the schools with libraries of
donated books that are 50 y ears
old and not relevant. And don’t forget some of the defective and substandard
food items being dumped into Africa every day. So, one can quickly see that
the second-hand clothing market is just one small part of a greater picture
that needs changing.
Yes, Africa has become a huge dumping ground for the world. The intent,
in many cases, is to be of help, but it is not moving Africa forward toward
its place in the sun of economic success. In fact, Africa is the only continent
that has receded in progress during the last 25 years. (In part this is
due to corrupt leaders who perpetuate the colonial extraction process and
keep its citizens disconnected from who they are.)
Africa needs more than castoffs. Africa needs more than a tin cup for another
handout, another castoff, and another used clothing bale. Africa needs manufacturing
jobs that will give men and women a living wage, a future, and hope. Companies
that come to extract resources from Mother Africa also need to make sure
that the raw-product is made into a finished product that is sold as such.
If we do give something, it needs to be that which will help to make Africa
independent, producing, and not dependent on Western hand-outs, and at the
end of the day, I would miss the energy of the Owino Market, but then Owino
with its African innovation there, could become something better.
Excerpts from a Kenyan Friend's Email:
The second-hand clothing in Kenya is known as "Mitumba" and has now
become a very lucrative business. It is no longer the market for
those earning a dollar or less, even the Yuppies and struggling middle-class
shop at the "Mitumba" markets because clothing and footwear has become
amazingly expensive, even the Bata shoes that were geared more to low-income
people are not affordable even among the working!
I also think that the "death" of African wear was as a result of
slavery of the mind by the colonial governments in Africa. Western
suits or clothing were viewed as reflecting civilized and professional
attire - which was untrue. Unfortunately Kenya lost out and have
no national outfits to identify with unlike countries like Tanzania,
Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Africa and West African countries,
because the leaders bought into that sick mentality and preached it
to the masses. It is now "chic" or "exotic" to have African outfits
which are very expensive - like you mentioned. The only reason
they get expensive is because their manufacture is done in Europe and
then sold back to Africa at challenging prices. Africans - no
let me correct myself - Kenyans do not seem to appreciate or have confidence
in anything they manufacture and give more prominence to imported textiles.
Kenya's Raymond Clothing Company would send their high quality suits
(manufactured in Kenya) to London where Kenyans would go and buy because
they were found in London!!! Very Silly!!! The same suit
could be bought in Kenya at a reasonable price but Kenyans would not
buy it because it is not from London and it is cheaper.
My stand is that Kenyans are socially under-developed and this is
reflected in their thinking and actions. They need to be "emancipated
from mental slavery".
It is always a pleasure reading your articles Jon.
Noni
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