Daniel Mawuli Quist draws attention wherever he goes. It is not only the tall stature and presence of this stylist and entrepreneur from Ghana, but also his aesthetics when it comes to dressing. Round sunglasses with metal frames, a red scarf tied around the neck and a black bowler hat share the spotlight with pants made from a combination of different fabrics. On the little fingers of both hands, huge golden rings with a woman’s face. “I designed them,” he explains proudly.
Mawuli participates in mid-May in the VIII Creative Textile Recycling Marathon organized by La Casa Encendida in Madrid, an event in which, through talks and workshops, people are invited to reflect on the consumption of clothing, the transformative power of society through fashion and the potential of recycling, the second hand and the circular economy. The Ghanaian participates by teaching a workshop with Fred Nabi Yankey, another stylist and designer from his country, and also as a member of The Or Foundationa non-profit entity based in the United States and Ghana that works for social and environmental justice and fashion development.
The nerve center for second-hand goods on the African continent—and practically worldwide—is located in Kantamanto, in Accra, the capital of Ghana. This immense market is nourished by clothing discarded in the West and sent to third countries in the so-called Global South. Every day, thousands of huge packages of used clothing from Europe, the United States or Australia are unloaded in the Ghanaian capital. They are bought by local merchants who select what can be sold and discard what is dirty or in poor condition.
The problem is complex. More and more useless clothes arrive, increasing environmental damage, turning Ghana and many beaches in the Gulf of Guinea into a landfill for richer countries. On the other hand, the fast fashion industry does not stop producing, outsourcing labor and the consequences of its actions and making the situation increasingly unsustainable. Just do a search for Kantamanto on Google to see images of rivers full of garbage, beaches full of long tentacles of clothes tangled in the sand, or large landfills where cows graze on mountains of clothes and plastic.
Mawuli Quist knows how Kantamanto works very well: it is its main source of resources. Trained in cinema, in an interview he explained that he worked as a promoter in a club, and that seeing everyone dressed the same horrified him. That search for identity—and that people began to ask him about the clothes he wore—made him consider the idea of selling the second-hand clothes that he bought in the market. “My relationship with Kantomanto comes purely from necessity. This market saved my life in the sense that it was where I found my creativity, where I was able to find things that allowed me to express myself and do so in a unique and personal way. And when the time came and I had to make a living, it was easy to say: well, what if I share this thing that I love?”
Kantomanto saved my life in the sense that that was where I found my creativity, where I was able to find things that allowed me to express myself and do it in a unique and personal way.
Daniel Mawuli Quist
The second-hand market employs thousands of people in Kantamanto. Since the kayayei (carriers who carry bales of more than 50 kilos on their heads and who are mostly migrants from the most impoverished areas of the country), to the network of small retailers who buy those bales and resell them. “Ghana was the country with the most tailors in all of Africa (…). People here are still used to taking their fabric, going to a tailor and asking them to make a custom suit for them,” explains Liz Ricketts, co-founder of The Or Foundation, although she adds that many of these local companies have closed because they cannot compete. with second-hand prices.
“I always thought that young people were excited about things happening outside of Ghana, but what excited me were the possibilities that Accra offered,” says Quist, who insists that he was born and raised in the city and has never had interest in leaving. “I love fashion, I’m a stylist and I had a small retail position. I was one of the first people who started curating second-hand things, selling them on-line, using a platform to spread the idea that second-hand is something attractive.” His specialty is accessories, which he recycles and gives a new life to: glasses, hats, scarves, jewelry… he puts his trademark on everything. Also in The FortyFivethe fashion and lifestyle space he has created in the Ghanaian capital.
Quist explains that he also likes to create objects that tell stories from a West African perspective. One of the reflections he raises is how to refer to important cultural figures such as the Asantewa, a female figure of power and leadership of the Ashanti people, an Akan ethnic group in Ghana. “There are ways that all of these people, who have been very influential figures in our cultural narrative, can be reimagined and represented, and fashion is a tool,” he details. “When the quality of the clothes I found on the market began to decrease, I began to investigate other ways of living through fashion. I make custom and second-hand glasses.”
Mawuli Quist’s speech has gone through different stages. At first it was more about anger towards the West and the export of resources as a new form of colonialism. That second-hand clothes arrive in Africa is not a problem in itself, he clarifies. The problem is the millions of dirty, torn and useless clothes that are sent and end up in landfills, sewers and African beaches. Added to environmental pollution is market saturation and damage to the social and cultural fabric.
Although he says he sometimes feels very angry, he affirms that he has evolved towards action, and The Or Foundation plays an important role there, where he is a member of the board of directors. According to your report Waste Landscape, About 1,500 tons of second-hand clothing arrive at the Kantamanto market every week. Many of the actions and campaigns of this entity are focused on holding large fast fashion brands responsible (fast fashion).
“We do not want to cancel exports of second-hand clothing. A dependency has been created and as a consequence of their actions they have caused permanent damage to our communities. Someone has to take responsibility. Meanwhile, we play those political games about what is right and what is most profitable,” reflects the Ghanaian entrepreneur.
We do not want to cancel exports of second-hand clothing. A dependency has been created and as a consequence of its actions it has caused permanent damage in our communities
Daniel Mawuli Quist
In 2022, the Shein brand reached an agreement with The Or Foundation in which it donates $50 million to them over five years, establishing a responsibility fund. According to the agreement, a pioneer in the sector and not without controversy, the funds will be used to address the global management of textile waste and advance the development of a circular economy. In April of this year, the European Parliament approved the due diligence directive which will force companies and their supply chain partners to avoid, end or reduce their negative impact on human rights and the environment.
Mawuli Quist insists on the importance of telling how what is happening in Kantamanto affects communities. Fashion can be a narrative tool to talk about this social and structural change, which involves informing and involving companies, consumers and institutions. “I am a part of a bigger machine. So everything I do should be a model that allows other people to be able to build on it. So we can progress and be good as a community.”
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