Discarded clothes from British brands found in Ghana’s protected wetlands

Discarded garments from the likes of Next, George at Asda, Primark, H&M, Zara and Marks & Spencer have been uncovered in new dumps in the protected wetlands of Ghana, an hour outside the region’s capital city, Accra.

According to an investigation by Unearthed and Greenpeace Africa, synthetic fast fashion from the UK and Europe was found in two recently established dump sites inside the wetlands of Densu Delta. Additional dumps were found to be clogging local waterways, washing up on beaches and lining the banks of the river leading to the conservation site.

While Ghana already bears the unfortunate title of the global “fast fashion graveyard”, Unearthed’s recent investigation shows that new dumping sites are spreading beyond urban areas, escalating environmental concerns for local wildlife and causing issues for those living or working in the impacted areas. Investigators emphasised further concerns over the possible presence of microplastics and chemicals as a result of the dumping sites.

Drone footage of the Akkaway dump, the newest dump in the wetlands, shows what Unearthed said was a “large area of the wetlands that has had its vegetation removed”, where “piles of waste sit on bare earth” with no lined bottom or visible pollution mitigation systems, both typical of properly engineered landfills. A second dump site was identified in Glefe, found to have been established four years ago, and sitting higher than a two-storey building in places.

Unearthed spoke to the retailers whose products were found among the dumps – excluding Next, which did not respond to a request for comment – some of which, Marks & Spencer, George at Asda and Primark, underlined their incorporation of circular schemes, such as takeback programmes and repair services, which they hope help to extend the use of their garments.

Primark noted that it did not authorise any of the clothing collected through its own Textile Takeback scheme or any of its unsold stock to be sent to anywhere in Africa, while H&M’s head of public affairs and sustainability in the UK, Marcus Hartmann, said the company acknowledged its role in contributing to the problem, “notably when our products reach markets with inadequate or no waste management or recycling infrastructure".

A spokesperson for Zara’s parent company, Inditex, meanwhile, highlighted that the brand puts out two annual seasons and that the proportion of synthetic fibres used in 2024 stood at 37 percent. The statement continued: “We believe that advancing toward common legislation in this field will establish a unified framework that sets the same rules for all players. We understand that the separate collection of textile waste is the foundation of a circular model. That is why we not only promote new textile recycling technologies but also develop the necessary capabilities to make them feasible.”