The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has announced plans to introduce a regulatory framework to manage the importation of used clothing, popularly known in Ghana as “Obroni wawu.”
The decision comes in the wake of a documentary which exposed the environmental risks caused by the improper disposal of unwearable second-hand clothing imported into the country.
Head of Sustainability and Circular Economy at the EPA, Larry Kotoe, disclosed the development in an interview with an Accra-based television station monitored by happyghana.com on Monday, March 16.
He explained that the proposed policy will adopt an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach, which will place responsibility on fashion brands and importers for the proper disposal and management of used clothing brought into the country.
According to him, the policy is currently at the drafting stage and will soon be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department for legal review.
“We are currently at the drafting stage, where we will be handing over the technical tracker, as we call it, to the Attorney General’s Department. We hope to have it in Parliament in June,” he stated.
