Britain’s shoddy second-hand clothes are being washed up on the shores of Ghana in West Africa.
The items are shipped for resale – but much cannot be resold because they are cheap and poorly made.
The UK is the world’s second largest exporter of waste clothes to Ghana.
America tops the infamous league table.
The dramatic pictures of Ghana being choked by unwanted garments were taken near the country’s capital Accra by Muntaka Chashunt.
He chronicles the everyday life in the city and how the environment is endangered by pollution.
Around 15 million garments arrive in Ghana every week from Britain, America, the rest of Europe, and Australia.
More than 40 per cent cannot be recycled and are dumped in landfill sites, rivers, and seas.
Many items are made of polyester and synthetic materials that choke canals and rivers – therefore threating marine life.
Ghanaians call these clothes Obroni Wawu, or “Dead White Man’s Clothes.”
UN Goodwill Ambassador Roberta Annan said that this is a disaster in the making for marine life.
She added: “You can’t take it out.
“You have to dig. It’s buried. It’s stuck.
“Some of these clothes are polyester and other synthetic fabrics that go into the waterway and choke the fish and marine life.”
Fast fashion brands sell clothes in the UK for next to nothing prices.
Many are worn no more then three times before being discarded.
A Photography Journal of Emerging Issues – Muntaka.com
