Developing a Sustainable Second-Hand Clothing Tracer in Ghana
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF BUSINESS, LAW AND ART WINCHESTER SCHOOL OF ART DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE SECOND-HAND CLOTING TRADE IN GHANA by Kenneth Amanor Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2018 University of Southampton Research Repository Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis and, where applicable, any accompanying data are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis and the accompanying data cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content of the thesis and accompanying research data (where applicable) must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder/s. When referring to this thesis and any accompanying data, full bibliographic details must be given, e.g. Thesis: Author (Year of Submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University Faculty or School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Data: Author (Year) Title. URI [dataset] i 0BABSTRACT Ghana is flooded by the excessive importation of low-grade second-hand clothes (SHC) from America, Europe and Asia. The second-hand clothing trade, which is mainly undertaken in the Kantamanto market within the central business district of Accra, Ghana is unsustainable. This situation has not been given significant attention by successive governments, state agencies and city officials making it an under researched area. This research aims to develop a conceptual understanding of a sustainable second- hand clothing trade based on the integration of the three essential dimensions that traverse sustainable development; (economic, environmental and social). The sustainable developments of the second-hand clothing trade hinges on effective regulation and reuse and recycling systems (a Three-R framework) to advance the economic growth of the trade, and to promote healthy commercial environments and the social well-being of both traders and consumers. The research critically examines theories on sustainable development, waste management hierarchy, development of the second-hand clothing trade and contemporary global second-hand clothing trade practices to create a conceptual framework for the sustainable development of the second-hand clothing trade in Ghana. The research employs a qualitative approach for collecting data through semi- structured interviews and participant observations from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) U.K., the Textiles Recycling Association (TRA) U.K., the Kantamanto Used Clothes Sellers Association in Ghana, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), the Ministry of Railways Development, and the second-hand clothing importers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers within the Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana. The emergent themes from the empirical data were categorised in accordance with the research questions and literature reviewed, and constantly analysed using comparisons and reliability checks. The research contributes to knowledge by presenting a conceptual framework that bridges the existing gap in the sustainable development of the Ghanaian second-hand clothing trade. ii Table of contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... i List of tables ........................................................................................................ vi List of figures ...................................................................................................... vii DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ..................................................................x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. xi DEDICATION .................................................................................................... xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................ xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 16 1.1. Research Context ............................................................................................ 16 1.2. Purpose of the study ............................................................................................ 21 1.3. Research aim ....................................................................................................... 22 1.4. Research questions .............................................................................................. 22 1.5. Research objectives ............................................................................................. 23 1.6. Significance of the study ...................................................................................... 23 1.7. Structure of the study .......................................................................................... 24 1.8. Summary ............................................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND COUNTRY CONTEXT ......................... 28 2.1. Background of Ghana’s SHC Trade ........................................................................ 28 2.2. Country Context .................................................................................................. 31 2.2.1. Accra Context ........................................................................................................ 35 2.2.2. Kantamanto Market Context ............................................................................... 39 2.3. Ghana’s Sustainable Development ....................................................................... 43 2.3.1. Relevance of SHC trade development to SDGs. .................................................. 46 2.4. Problem statement .............................................................................................. 49 2.5. Summary ............................................................................................................. 50 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................... 52 3.0. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 52 3.1. Sustainable Development .................................................................................... 52 3.2. The Three Dimensions of Sustainable Development .............................................. 60 3.2.1. Economic Dimension ............................................................................................ 62 3.2.2. Environmental Dimension .................................................................................... 63 3.2.3. Social Dimension ................................................................................................... 64 3.2.4. The Three Intersected Rings/ Circles ................................................................... 66 3.3. Sustainable Development Policy .......................................................................... 71 3.4. Sustainable Trade ................................................................................................ 73 3.5. Sustainable Consumption .................................................................................... 79 3.6. Critiques of Sustainable Development .................................................................. 84 3.7. Development of the (SHC) Trade .......................................................................... 86 3.7.1. Economic Liberalization and SHC Trade Development in Developing Countries 90 3.7.2. Emergence of Sustainable SHC Trade .................................................................. 93 3.7. 3. Global Scope of SHC Trade .................................................................................. 98 iii 3.8. Three-R framework for Sustainable Development .............................................. 102 3.8.1. Regulate .............................................................................................................. 106 3.8.2. Reuse ................................................................................................................... 116 3.8.3. Recycle ................................................................................................................ 119 3.9. Summary ........................................................................................................... 124 CHAPTER 4: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .............................................. 126 4.0. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 126 4.1. Propositions ...................................................................................................... 127 4.1.1. Proposition 1 (P1) ............................................................................................... 127 4.1.2. Proposition 2 (P2) ............................................................................................... 130 4.2. Theoretical contribution .................................................................................... 134 4.3. Summary ........................................................................................................... 135