China is Leading Source of used Clothes for Kenya

China was the leading source of second hand clothes and footwear to Kenya in 2020, said a report released in Kenya on Thursday.

Kwame Owino, the Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), disclosed this in Nairobi.

Owino said one of the reasons for significant imports into Kenya was that China “has a huge textile sector and thus the capacity to export both used or out of season textile and apparels.”

The report published by IEA seeks to examine the structure and extent of the used clothing industry and its contribution to the economy.

The report indicated that China accounted for 41 per cent of all imports of second hand clothes in 2019, with Pakistan, Canada, Britain, and the U.S. as other major sources.

The report showed that 97 per cent of Kenya’s imports of second-hand textiles were made in about 20 countries.

The study described Kenya as one of the largest importers of second-hand clothes in sub-Saharan Africa because of its use and export to other countries.

“The volume of imported second-hand clothes and footwear reflect the domestic demand for these goods among the Kenyan population,” says the IEA report