Kantamanto Market-- life and livelihood in the throws of fast fashion's waste streams.

In this episode of Weaving Voices, Rebecca chats with:

• Sammy Oteng, a trained fashion designer based in Accra, Ghana who has been repurposing second hand pieces for over a decade. He works with The Or Foundation as Senior Community Engagement Manager, fostering meaningful relationships and advocating for the Kantamanto community.

Here are some highlights:

The Or Foundation

• Rebecca and Sammy introduce The Or Foundation as a community-led, educational, nonprofit organization based in Ghana that is focused on the establishment of a justice-led circular economy in the region.

The Kantamanto Market

• Rebecca explains the importance of the Kantamanto Market; it sees around 15 million garments weekly coming in from the global North, with 40 percent of that import not able to be resold into the secondhand clothing market.

• Sammy acknowledges the job opportunities that the Kantamanto Market provides for the community, with 30,000 registered workers and even more unregistered workers.

• Sammy proudly shares that the Kantamanto Market successfully recycles up to 25 million garments every month.

• Rebecca and Sammy discuss how much Kantamanto relies on kayayei, young women and girls who carry bales of clothing that weigh up to 120 pounds through the marketplace.

• Sammy talks about The Or Foundation’s efforts in helping kayayei obtain chiropractic care, as these young girls often suffer from spinal injuries as a result of their physically taxing work of carrying hundreds of pounds every day.

• Rebecca and Sammy discuss the origins of the Kantamanto Market.

The Fast Fashion Model

• Rebecca and Sammy point out that the fast fashion model was built to create waste.

• Sammy acknowledges how easy it is to ignore the issue of extreme garment waste when you don’t live in a country like Ghana, where they face the brunt of the issue.

• Rebecca and Sammy discuss the culture of buying clothes in pre-colonization times compared to now.

The Solidarity Fund

• Sammy talks about the aid The Or Foundation has been able to give through donations to The Solidarity Fund, including supporting people affected by a fire that hit Kantamanto, and retailers who need help paying their loans and debt.

Extended Producer Responsibility

• Rebecca explains that extended producer responsibility, or EPR, is a social responsibility fee that companies pay in an effort to reduce waste.

• Sammy acknowledges the funding The Or Foundation has received from Chinese fast fashion company, Shein, and that although that money is not a legitimate extended producer responsibility, it does help fund the immediate needs of the people the foundation helps.

Looking Forward

• Sammy talks about what exactly The Or Foundation would do with more funding and how they would support the Kantamanto Market workers and surrounding community.