The role of developing countries in the global fashion industry sustainability discourse: Ghana in perspective - A narrative review

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Published: May 20, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22515/sustinere.jes.v8i1.357
Keywords:
Developing countries, Fashion industry, Sustainability, Rethinking opportunities

Main Article Content

Dr Akosua Mawuse Amankwah
Faculty of Art, CABE, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Professor Edward Appiah
Faculty of Art, CABE, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Professor Charles Frimpong
Faculty of Art, CABE, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Professor Anthony Kent
Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Abstract

Fashion Industry practices globally are considered to have major negative impacts on both the environment and society. Production and consumption have increasingly moved towards the industry’s model of take-create-dispose. As this phenomenon is observed to take center stage in more industrialized and advanced nations, developing countries including Ghana, also contribute directly or indirectly to the negative impacts. Fashion production in Ghana is predominantly centered on small to medium-scale enterprises, and their mode of operation allows for customized small runs tailored to specific end-customers, thereby providing an avenue for exploring sustainable strategies that may have a positive impact on the environment and society.  This paper takes a narrative review approach to how the fashion industry in Ghana impacts sustainability and the opportunities to make positive impacts on sustainability at a global level. It demonstrates how Ghana, as a developing country, imports raw materials for both textile and apparel production from counterparts in developing and developed countries and contributes to negative environmental impacts associated with sourcing countries. However, with the emergence of sustainable strategies, local contemporary fashion designers can embrace culturally friendly sustainable models to enhance their practice toward industry sustainability.


 

Article Details

How to Cite
Amankwah, A. M., Appiah, E., Frimpong, C., & Kent, A. (2024). The role of developing countries in the global fashion industry sustainability discourse: Ghana in perspective - A narrative review. Sustinere: Journal of Environment and Sustainability, 8(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.22515/sustinere.jes.v8i1.357
Issue
Vol. 8 No. 1 (2024): pp. 1 - 137
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Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Dr Akosua Mawuse Amankwah, Faculty of Art, CABE, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Akosua Mawuse Amankwah is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Industrial Art, CABE, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. She holds Master of Design in Professional Design for Textiles and Fashion from Heriot Watt University, 2007 and PhD in Fashion Design Technology, from KNUST. She facilitates Design and Marketing related courses in undergraduate and graduate programs. Her Research Interest is in Ghana Fashion Industry Sustainability. She is a member of the Institute of Textiles and Fashion Professional Ghana; The International Learning Network on Sustainability (LeNS); and an outreach member of The International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI)

Professor Edward Appiah, Faculty of Art, CABE, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Coming from Design background, Edward Appiah had his doctorate degree in Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town (South Africa), with a research in Technology in Education. He headed the Department of Communication Design, KNUST for four years; later as the Coordinator, Research and Postgraduate Studies in the department; Vice Dean, Faculty of Art, KNUST; currently the Africa Regional Coordinator for Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability  (DESIS) – a network of design labs, based in design and design-oriented universities, involved in transforming education through design minds and design-oriented activities and also the Director-General, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment; a member of the Ghana Education Service Council and Board Member, National Teacher Council.

Professor Charles Frimpong, Faculty of Art, CABE, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Charles Frimpong is an Associate Professor in Textiles at the Department of Industrial Art of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he has taught for over 20years. His research interest and publications cover advances in Industrial Textile Production Methods, Indigenous Textiles and Fashion. In 2014, he was awarded the ITAA Janet Else Visiting Scholar Award in Charlotte, North Carolina for his dedication and excellence in the teaching and training of students in the area of Textiles and Fashion

Professor Anthony Kent , Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Professor Kent holds a degree in Modern History from Oxford University, an MBA, and PhD from the University of the Arts London. He joined Nottingham Trent University in 2013 as Professor of Fashion Marketing. His current research interests are in the convergence between digital and physical environments with a focus on fashion retailing and his second area of interest is in sustainable fashion. Professor Kent has delivered academic papers at a wide range of conferences including Fashion Colloquia, Design Management International, EURAM and the British Academy of Management. He is Chair of the Research Committee of the International Foundation for Fashion Technology Institutions. His most recent publication is “Understanding Personalisation” with Tom Fisher and Iryna Kuksa, published by Elsevier in 2022.

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