Vanessa Obenewaa Antwi Doe studies effect of second-h和 clothing market on Ghanaian seamstresses

为世博会做准备

Vanessa Obenewaa Antwi Doe spent seven years living in Ghana, enjoying the custom-made clothing created by local seamstresses, but she 和 her friends also wore fast fashion second-h和 clothing that arrived from afar into the nation's ports.

Now a master's student at newbb电子平台 studying communication 和 social change, Doe is asking questions about the lives 和 livelihoods of the seamstresses, the economics of free-market capitalism, 和更多的. She'll talk about her research, "Implications of fast fashion’s second-h和 clothing market on seamstresses in the Ghanaian Textile Industry,“在…… 学生世博会 4月7日.

"I always wondered how the mass importation of the cheap second-h和 clothing affected seamstresses. I chose to embark on this project because I am a Ghanaian, 美国出生的, who has seen the effects of fast fashion first-h和 during my stay in Ghana from 2013 to 2020,多伊说。, 一名学生 Master of Arts in Communication 和 Development Studies in the Center for International Studies.

"I was introduced to both cultures, getting clothes custom-made for occasions, 特殊的程序, 学校和工作, while also experiencing scrambling for the ‘first selection’ (the best of the lot) of second-h和 clothing in the markets of Accra,多伊说。, 谁也在追求一个 Graduate Certificate in Women's, Gender 和 Sexuality Studies in the College of Arts 和 Sciences.

Doe's study is exploring the effect that the second-h和 clothing market in mass-produced fast fashion is having on seamstress’ business 和 livelihoods in Ghana. And one of her foci involves questions about formal 和 non-formal education the within the trade. Drawing on 12 semi-structured interviews in Accra, 加纳首都, she argues that background, 位置, skill 和 the education of seamstresses all impact the seamstresses' business 和 livelihoods.

"The results suggest that there are both positive 和 negative impacts of the fast fashion second-h和 market. 除了, it shows that education is complicated, as both formal 和 non-formal avenues of training are accepted in the custom-made industry,多伊说. “此外, fast fashion is portrayed as just one of the many ways neoliberalism affects the economy 和 the movement of materials between the global North 和 the global South."

One result of her work might be that "policy makers 和 development planners can use the insights presented in this work to support legislation 和 programming that limits the importations of damaged second-h和 clothing into Ghana to curtail the influx of textile waste being shipped into the country on a daily basis through the ports,她说.

Doe noted that the best part of her project "was hearing the stories from the seamstresses 和 listening to their perspective. So many times their perceptions are overlooked by assumptions. So it was fun hearing from them their thought on the research."

She also has thanks for the mentorship of her thesis committee, Risa惠特森 和 埃德娜的店 from the Geography Department in the College of Arts 和 Sciences 和 环球裤子 in the School of Media Arts 和 Studies in the Scripps College of Communication. "They have all been very instrumental to my research 和 they have inspired me in various ways,她说.

"The chair of my committee is Dr. 惠特森, has been key in guiding me throughout my research journey, giving me great suggestions to my overall project, 和 ensuring I produce my best work. Dr. Wangui has been amazing in inspiring me to think about a project that would be important to the overall climate of gender 和 environment in Africa, 特别是加纳. She was one of the biggest inspirations for this project,多伊说.

"Dr. 裤子, 我的项目主管, always reminds me to think development 和 to think about the core tenant of CommDev, which is the participatory approach in creating a dialogue for people to share what their problems are 和 suggest their own solutions to the issues. I have learnt so much from working with these three professors. They have been more than just faculty to me, they have been my mentors."