WasteAid is a UK-based international NGO focused on supporting countries to fast track local solutions to the circular economy. It currently has projects in The Gambia, South Africa and Uganda and has previously worked in Cameroon, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Vietnam. WasteAid is beginning a project in Uganda, funded through the Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) programme. As part of the project launch phase WasteAid is issuing a call for proposals to develop a market assessment report on rejected second-hand textiles within Uganda. Uganda imports 80,000T of used clothing each year to meet the demand for affordable clothing. Anecdotally it is thought that a high proportion of imported clothes are not sold and end up in landfill or illegally dumped. The epi-centre of second-hand clothes in Kampala is Owino Market, the largest market in Uganda and home to over 2,000 market traders, many active in selling second-hand clothes. Most traders do what they can to repair and alter garments for sale; despite this, reportedly a high proportion is discarded and ends up in landfills. The long-term vision is that Uganda will develop its own textile manufacturing base, which will reduce the cost of locally-produced garments and reduce the need to import high volumes of clothes from elsewhere. Uganda also strives to increase its remanufacturing & recycling capacities for textiles, which if increased could add-value to 2nd hand clothes in the country, localizing more jobs and income. However, until the textile manufacturing base develops, imported second-hand clothes will remain in high demand. The Uganda Circular Textile project is designed to support a transition to a local Ugandan textile manufacturing base by incorporating clothes that would have otherwise ended up in landfill into new products and designs. The project will assess the existing second-hand textile value chains in Kampala to establish the types of materials that are currently discarded and will explore commercially viable alternative uses for these materials. The project will pilot collection systems to divert unwanted items from Owino Market (led by Kampala Women’s Entrepreneur League (KAWEL)) to a new Textile Reuse Hub situated at the Management Training and Advisory Centre (MTAC) in Kampala and train tailors and designers to repurpose these goods for sale, under guidance from the Uganda Tailors Association (UTA). The project will build separation and sorting systems for the discarded garments, and repurpose them into new items, including new designs, accessories, reusable nappies and sanitary pads, cleaning cloths and soft furnishings. This intervention will demonstrate how applying WasteAid’s innovative whole-system approaches to the circular economy can create jobs, establish and enhance commercially viable secondary textile value chains. It is anticipated that the pilot will have the following impacts: • Upskilling tailors and product designers to reuse secondary textiles – the project offers tailors (90% of which are women) access to training and skills, business mentorship, and youth-expanded technical and enterprise training. • Testing and developing various business models to establish and scale commercially viable value chains in the secondary textile sector. • Repurposing 270 tons of post-consumer textile waste during the project period. Textile Recycling helps avoid methane emissions from landfill decomposition and reduces open burning, contributing significantly to GHG emissions reduction. It also avoids persistent soil and waterway pollution by synthetic plastic fibres which are long lasting in the environment. • Opportunities for inclusion – stakeholder engagement is inclusive, targeting the informal sector and marginalised workers, e.g. Kampala Women’s Entrepreneur League KaWEL and women trader sub-groups and waste collectors. The co-design of the collection network and Textile Reuse Hubs includes such groups.
Market Assessment Outline and Expected Activities. To support the development of the project WasteAid is commissioning a market assessment of the rejected second-hand textile market in Kampala. This would include the expected activities outlined below.
Material flows
• With a focus on Owino Market as major textile hub, data on how much textile is rejected at the market, with identification and mapping of sources, types and amounts of rejected materials.
• Identification and mapping of the current destinations of those rejected second-hand materials and stakeholders involved to provide a clear understanding of any formal or informal systems in place which traditionally capture these materials.
• Stakeholder mapping of the destination (distinguishing between formal and informal).
• Produce a map of Owino Market with significant project “landmarks” (textile bale delivery points, storage and sorting areas, waste collection and dumping points, usable spaces for the project, etc.)
• Conduct cost-benefit analysis on current textile waste management and landfill practices in the business as usual trajectory and potential economies of diversion for re-use.
GHG emissions
• Assess the current environmental impact of discarded textiles by researching the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of rejected materials measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) and develop a methodology to allow eventual calculation of net change of GHG emissions reduced or avoided that can be attributed to the project relative to the assumed business as usual emissions trajectory.
Market study
• Collecting data on income for waste collectors, tailors and other identified individuals. • Mapping the potential off-takers within the environs of Kampala and major towns for repurposed second-hand materials; fashion, household items, such as mops, cloths, shredded materials, etc. and potential extent of demand. This would also include price per kg of materials.
• Mapping the existing eco-system of designers working to repurpose rejected textiles into design or other materials.
• Propose a set of indicators to quantify the economic opportunities for project participants that can be attributed to the project (e.g. access to market, improved income, work benefits), developed with consideration to the SMEP and WasteAid’s theories of change and impact measurement approaches.
Promoting circularity
• Propose a methodology to apply the Circular Transition Indicators (or another recognised set of indicators) to the project.
• Co-facilitate workshop(s) to explore potential new off-takers for secondary textile products (e.g. catering suppliers, sanitary, educational, fashion, soft furnishings)
• Recommendations on promoting circularity in the project context and the Textile Reuse Hub model. Key contacts will include staff from WasteAid, the Uganda Tailors Association, Management Training and Advisory Centre, Kampala City Council, KACITA, KACITA Women’s League, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and Sustainable Manufacturing Environmental Pollution programme, as well as stakeholders in and linked to the market. Similar projects are operational in Nigeria and Kenya. WasteAid will provide contacts and access to their knowledge products/learnings and approaches.
Market Assessment Outcome Desired final outcome: The assessment is a key knowledge output for the project (as well as for the Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution programme at large). The desired final outcome is a comprehensive report identifying type and quantity of discarded materials, their current destination and options for repurposing and potential markets for the repurposed materials.
Similar initiatives are taking place in Kenya and Nigeria and it is envisaged that this market assessment will make an important contribution to a body of knowledge on the secondary textile sector and its contribution to the circular economy (both in terms of environmental and economic impact). It is envisaged that case studies and knowledge pieces will be drawn from this market assessment. The findings will guide action and decision-making towards enhanced circularity and sustainability in textile value chains.
The report will also provide baseline qualitative and quantitative data for the project and support impact measurement.
Project proposals sought: Proposal outlining your approach to the exercise; estimated number of the days per stage of your approach and cost.
Who can apply: Applications are sought from individuals or a small team. The applying individual or team shall have a good track record of:
• Possessing a sound understanding of topics related to sustainable consumption and production topics, life cycle assessment, and trade.
• Proven expertise and experience in the assessment of value chains related to textiles and on how to develop value chains, as well as the environmental / social issues related to sustainable textile production, trade and end-of-life management.
• Proven expertise and experience in research and development of methods relating to identification of hotspots for a specific sector,.
• Proven experience carrying out data collection and analysis in a global context.
• Published high quality reports or peer-reviewed journal papers related to the mentioned methodologies. • Individuals with a strong network of contacts in the textile value chain.
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in written English. Project budget: We would like to see the cost estimate from consultants to carry out the work as part of the bid. Please provide your day rate and number of days to complete.
Timeline for assessment to be completed between is May to June 2024
How to apply
Please email recruitment@wasteaid.org with Uganda Market Assessment in the Subject line to be sent and application form.
• Submission deadline: 4th April
• Notification of selection by 20th April.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview w/c 15th April.