Tanzania has rolled back a ban on the importation of second hand clothing in the country, joining four other East African countries that had banned the clothing in reverting their decisions.
Access to second hand clothes from the U.S. was made possible under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
The East African region accounts for 22 per cent of the U.S. second hand textiles industry exports.
A ban on such imports was however proposed by East African heads of state, prompting condemnation from vendors of the clothes.
For many of them, the second hand clothing business was their sole source of income and as such, ought to have been protected by the governments rather than scrapped off.
Their concerns were shared by millions in the East African countries, who said they were unable to afford new clothing and as such had to rely on the second hand clothing that were much cheaper.
It is however hoped that the second hand clothes will still be banned in the future, but Tanzania should fist develop and boost its own textile industry.
