Senegal: (Global Thrift Store)
00:33
In Dakar, in the district of Colobane, the capital’s second-hand wholesalers come to stock up on jeans, shirts, and even underwear.
00:45
Their income for the week will depend on the finds they make this morning.
00:52
Sold on to small retailers, these second-hand clothes will end up at the capital's endless markets.
00:59
SELLER: “Come on! Let’s go, 1300! Get it here!”
01:02
T-shirts for under 2 Euros, designer jeans, lingerie… At these second-hand markets, the Senegalese can dress themselves from head to toe for the equivalent of a few Euros. Women are the keenest bargain hunters.
01:14
FEMALE MARKET SELLER: “Women are pretty. They love to buy pretty things, to dress well. This nightie will serve her well in the bedroom. In her 'private life' – you know what I mean? Because it's sexy, it's a very beautiful nightie.”
01:31
BACHIR DIOP: “Half of all Senegalese households are poor. To buy new clothes, you need money. The easiest way to get designer clothes at low cost is to buy second-hand. In '79, there were major structural changes: the World Bank forced the country to tighten the screws and there was widespread privation – impoverished families – and out of these circumstances a 'thrift' culture emerged, which really took off in the 90s.”
01:59
In this country of 13 million, thrift rules. It clothes much of the population, and supports hundreds of thousands of traders.
In 2012, 18,000 tonnes of clothing were imported to Senegal.
02:15
These clothes come in large part from France: from places like this, in the north of the country.
02:21
The French are getting rid of clothes by the truckload. 11 kilos a year. These second-hand garments are not redistributed directly to those in need. A large proportion ends up in this enormous sorting centre near Béthune. 'Relay', the leading firm in textile revaluation, sorts, separates, and selects 90,000 tonnes of used clothing every year, and bundles it into bales. Some is resold cheaply in France, or recycled. 50% of the second-hand clothes sorted by 'Relay' are sold abroad – particularly in Africa. Annually, some 5,000 tonnes of used clothing from this centre makes its way to Senegal.
02:59
After 6 days at sea aboard a freighter, our clothes reach the port of Dakar. Taxed upon arrival at 148 Central African Francs per kilogram – or about 38 Euro cents – the cargo is a financial windfall for the Senegalese Government: a sum estimated at around 7 million Euros for the year 2012.
03:22
Due to the popularity of thrift in Senegal, 'Relay' have decided to open a sorting centre 30 kilometres outside Dakar.
03:30
Ahmad Hosseini, the centre's manager, personally takes receipt of the bales arriving from France.
03:42
Next, it's up to his 52 employees to sort these old clothes destined for the Senegalese markets.
03:51
FATOU DIA: “My name is Fatou Dia, I'm 38 years old. I've been working here for 5 years. At first, I didn't know how to do anything. I started over there in pre-sorting. It was there that I learnt how to do my job. This job enables me to feed my whole family. So I like it.
04:15
The majority of these women arrive here without any qualifications. They learn on the job, and help to bring one another up to speed.
04:29
They may have become experts in sorting this material, but no-one appears to be aware its origin.
04:36
FATOU: “The French throw these clothes away? Really? They throw them away? Here we don't throw them away.”
“Initially, it was my husband who worked here, but he didn't stay long. Not even two years. Because he died. During my mourning period, which lasted 4 months and 10 days, the boss asked me to replace him. If I didn't work here, it would be disastrous.”
05:11
Thanks to the second-hand clothing industry, Fatou is able to raise her 6 children and, whenever she can, even help her parents.
05:21
There are two other sorting centres like this one in Senegal, where second-hand wholesalers from all over the country come for their supplies. Aliou Diallo is one of them. Aged 28, this ambitious young man comes here once a week to select his bales.
05:35
ALIOU: “590 for that one? OK.”
05:40
He is looking for mixed stock: unsorted, cheaper to buy. He always deals in very large quantities.
05:48
ALIOU: “I am loyal to this centre. I won't get my stock anywhere else. What matters to me is the quality of the merchandise. It's that that allows me to make a profit. Winter clothes don't interest me because it's hot here.”
06:04
“So you owe me 20,000 francs (30 Euros)...”
06:09
“Lui and Ahmad are the bosses, and they both support me. It's they who tell me 'do this, do that'. They advise me. Because before, I had never sold second-hand. I'm like their son. Their objective is to help others reach their goals, as they've already achieved theirs. I want to be like them.”
06:32
Aliou has just spent over 5 million Central African Francs - nearly 8,000 Euros - on a hundred bales of clothing. A routine purchase for him, but an enormous sum for most Senegalese people.
06:45
He has even invested in a fleet of delivery vehicles. This bus has been adapted for transporting goods. In Senegal, his fortune is extraordinary.
06:57
All of these men work for him, and admire his success.
07:01
ALIOU: “That won't go there!”
WORKER: “Give me another one.”
07:10
ALIOU: “112 bales huh, Ahmad?”
AMHAD: “112.”
07:15
ALIOU: “Guys, hurry up a bit, it's almost night. There are still 20 bales to load.”
07:27
“How many up there?”
07:33
Aliou and his family are originally from Conakry, in Guinea. They emigrated to Senegal in search of a better life. And it is through selling second-hand that Aliou has lifted them out of their former circumstances.
07:43
ALIOU: “Before, I used to be a rickshaw driver. I was a travelling salesman with a cart. I sold onions and potatoes.”
07:53
“One day, I bought one bale. I sold the lot and made 48,000 francs CFA (75 Euros). I did this for 45 days. I earned 300,000 francs CFA (450 Euros). I carried on doing this until I could buy 10 bales at a time. And then, I opened a shop. Today, I'm married, I've got a house, and 25 people working for me every day.
08:34
At the door, the region's retailers await Aliou - and his goods - with impatience.
08:41
Each week, this is an unmissable meeting for them. Their profits for the coming days will be determined by what they can negotiate with Aliou.
08:52
ALIOU: “You could have called to tell me how many you wanted!”
08:59
The buyers scrutinise the stock in search of the best bales. Opening them is not allowed: they must be bought blind. It is like a lottery.
09:12
ALIOU: “You can find clothes for 3,000 (4,5 Euros), for 5,000 (7,5 Euros)... It depends on the bales.”
“Bobo, get that one out.”
09:24
BUYER: “You're not agile enough – you have to go through all the nooks and crannies. Yes, I am nimble! I've looked everywhere, I've rummaged through all the dark corners! I'm not paid for this!”
09:40
ALIOU: “I don't like what you're doing. Even if this bale is yours, you can't open it. You have to be outside to do that. Like I had to, when I went to buy them.”
BUYER: “In Dakar, you get to see the merchandise before you buy it.”
ALIOU: “We're not in Dakar! We're in Thies!”
BUYER: “Aliou, listen to me. Since you arrived, you haven't even said 'hello' to me! I'm cross with you. I'm not happy with you at all.”
10:01
ALIOU: “What's that? You're beginning to weary me. You're annoying me.”
10:12
He may appear a tough businessman, but Aliou gives credit to those who need it. He keeps his accounts without books, remembering what everyone owes him. All while juggling a number of African dialects.
10:26
This merchandise will supply every market in the surrounding area, all the way out to the small villages in the countryside.
10:36
At the 'Relay' sorting centre where Fatou works, today is pay day.
10:44
The manager, Ahmad Hosseini, and his wife prepare the wages.
10:48
AHMAD: “Time and time again, bankers have come and offered to set up accounts for us. The workers didn't want to be paid like that. They would rather we put their wages in envelopes that we can give them today.”
11:13
Pay is the equivalent of 150 Euros a month. Plus an additional 60 Euros from the government, allocated to this type of unskilled labour.
11:30
FATOU: “I'm happy with the money they give me each month. I never worry about my wages. Because they're serious here – they pay you on time. They don't wait for the 10th of the month after next!”
11:43
Fatou, like the other employees, benefits from medical cover for her and her family, relieving her of most of her healthcare expenses.
11:55
Nevertheless, with such a small income, Fatou has just enough to feed her family.
12:07
FATOU: “When I get my wages, I pay my bills – bread, electricity... Once I've paid all that, I don't have much money left. I can't help anyone with what's left. I give everything to my children. I come from a poor family. My mother and father don't have enough to help me. They rely on me themselves.”
12:44
“When I got my first wages, I didn't buy shoes or clothes or anything. My priority was to have a decent roof for my family to sleep under.”
12:56
Fatou lives here, a few kilometres from the sorting centre. Remarried after the death of her first husband, she lives surrounded by her family-in-law.
13:18
FATOU: “Say 'hello' my love.”
13:25
“How are you, kids?”
13:31
Even with her modest income, she has managed to expand the family home.
13:38
FATOU: “This water's not cold!”
13:43
“Before working in the second-hand clothes trade, I had only this room. Now, I sleep in this bedroom and the children sleep here in the lounge.”
14:03
A little away from the city, Aliou is having a large house built: a symbol of his spectacular success.
14:13
Married for 3 and a half years, he lives here with his wife.
14:19
ALIOU: “This is my house. Here is the garden, and down there is the henhouse.”
14:27
“The first sum of money I earned I put towards buying this land. The bank didn't lend me any money, the sorting centre didn't give me credit either. At the moment, I'm finishing the construction work on my house, but I'm already thinking about what I'm going to build on my other plots of land. Because he who doesn't have his own house is nothing.”
14:48
“This is the second floor. It's not finished yet. Here, I want to put a bedroom, a kitchen. Here, a bedroom for my wife. A lounge there. My bedroom will be there, and that will be another bedroom.”
15:07
“And there, that will be an empty space. I've bought solar panels. I used to pay 30,000 (45 Euros) to 40,000 francs CFA (60 Euros) a month for electricity. In the 9 months I've been here, I've not paid an electricity bill.”
15:27
“As far as wealth is concerned, human beings are never sated. I'd like to earn more, for that matter.”
15:43
“I'm overloaded with work. I want what everyone wants – to have enough money to start a family. To run a family, you have to have the means. If you don't have the means, the family breaks up, and it's too late.”
16:25
FATOU: “Senegalese women are flirtatious. They like to look beautiful. They like nice clothes, nice jewellery. There aren't any ugly women. You only have to flirt to become more beautiful.”
16:52
“This is my eldest, she's 21. She's sitting the baccalaureate exams this year. After her exams, I would love for my boss to send her to France to continue her studies.”
17:17
“At the beginning of term, I enrolled all my children in school, but they didn't have any stationery. I'm buying it little by little. I buy one thing, and then the next thing the next month. In this way, I manage.”
17:35
TEACHER: “Good morning, children.”
CHILDREN: “Good morning, Sir.”
TEACHER: “Be seated.”
CHILDREN: “Thank you, Sir.”
TEACHER: “Today, we're doing conjugation. You will remember these are the conjugations that we've covered...”
17:50
In Senegal, one in two people is illiterate. Though primary education is compulsory, many of the poorest students drop out before taking the baccalaureate exams.
18:09
For Fatou, her children's education is a priority.
18:18
As soon as she has the means, Fatou goes with her daughter, Rama, to the second-hand markets to buy her clothes.
18:38
Here, second-hand sellers mix with other traders.
18:43
RAMA: “How much is this T-shirt?”
SELLER: “700.”
RAMA: “It's expensive!”
FATOU: “700! (1 Euro) But that's much too expensive!”
19:00
RAMA: “We don't buy new clothes any more. Because second-hand is less expensive and more durable. It lasts longer. And, what's more, when you buy second-hand your friends can't tell the difference anyway.”
19:33
As well as clothing the younger generations and creating many jobs, second-hand is having a significant impact on the textile industry.
19:42
BACHIR DIOP: “Importing second-hand clothing has a considerable negative effect on the national textile industry. The domestic trade has already been killed by Chinese imports. On top of this, it can't compete with thrift stores. If we developed the textile sector, from spinning to manufacturing, that would be just as many jobs.”
20:08
Senegal possesses the raw material for manufacturing clothes.
20:19
In the eastern part of the country, in the region of Tambacunda, the cotton fields stretch as far as the eye can see.
20:29
This cotton is still cultivated by hand, before being exported abroad – mainly to Asia and Europe – in its raw state, without being spun.
20:45
The spinning mill has long since disappeared.
20:52
“Nowadays, not one gram of Senegalese cotton is sold to the Senegalese textile industry, as there is no textile industry any more! All of the textile industries have disappeared. All Senegalese cotton, without exception, is sold overseas.”
21:09
All textile industries, that is, except for one: situated in Rufisque, 30 kilometres south of Dakar.
21:18
At its head, Aissa Dione, a Franco-Senegalese entrepreneur, oversees 90 employees.
21:26
She creates high-end upholstery fabrics that she exports all around the world.
21:38
AISSA: “Is this what you’ve done for Finland? It’s beautiful. It works well with the raffia.”
21:45
By combining mechanical and traditional weaving methods, Aissa Dione is trying to revive local production, of international brand quality.
21:52
AISSA: “We are an embryo of the textile industry that has resisted the thrift stores, that has resisted the imports.”
22:07
“How many here? That’ll be around 600 metres. We’ve very little time. We’ve just 12 days to do all the work. You do the warping and we’ll speed up the process.”
22:20
To be able to weave, Aissa must have spun cotton. Yet it is precisely this link in the production chain that has buckled, right at the same time across the country.
22:30
AISSA: “The most difficult period was in 2009, at the time of the economic crisis which coincided with the closure of the spinning mill. I found myself with 100 people employed, and unable to dismiss anyone.”
22:44
For months, Aissa has gone out of her way to find a solution, in order to avoid being stuck with kilos of unspun cotton.
22:53
AISSA: “Since there wasn’t a mill, we sent it to Morocco, it was spun in Morocco, and then it was sent back here - but it’s Senegalese cotton. Which is absolutely absurd.”
23:03
“It is really very hard because we are swimming against the tide. Every precedent there has been in the textile industry has ended in bankruptcy. So we have enormous trouble attracting financial backing, meaning we’re practically self-funded.”
23:18
But the woes of the textile industry cannot be attributed solely to second-hand imports, or fabrics from Asia. The textile sector faces many problems, such as a lack of government support, competition from subsidised American cotton, and even energy deficiencies.
23:37
BACHIR DIOP: “In a country like Senegal, we rely on energy generated from hydrocarbons, and we don’t have any, so we don’t produce any. Which means that we are going to have to find ways of putting mills in the right areas, where there are hydroelectric reservoirs, for example. We need to find an area in West Africa where we can produce hydroelectric power at a lower cost, put a large mill there, supply other countries with thread - competitively - so that we have a sustainable model which will allow us to do the weaving, the dyeing and the manufacturing ourselves.”
24:16
Aissa Dione clings onto the hope of one day seeing spinning reborn. In the meantime, she continues to support the last remaining spinners in the country, more than 500 kilometres from Dakar.
24:28
AISSA: “I have worked with numerous villages to get a stock of homespun organic cotton. Since 2004, I have developed a collaborative project with the Federation of Koussanar.”
25:12
In this workshop, throughout the dry season, women spin cotton by hand, using methods passed down through the generations.
25:25
But this activity is far from profitable. It is supported financially by a local NGO.
25:35
AISSA: “How much for the metre?”
SPINNER: “980 (1,50 Euros) a metre.”
AISSA: “Right, sell me what you’ve got. Sell me 2 metres of this, 2 metres of that.”
25:48
All together in the same room, the spinners and weavers produce small quantities - around 40 kilos of cotton a month.
25:59
AISSA: “This is one of the wraps I weave using the hand-spun yarn. I’m going to buy this as it is of the quality that I’m looking for.”
26:11
AISSA: “How much for the whole bag?”
SELLER: “Hang on, we have to weigh it.”
26:24
Aissa Dione loves to find high quality cotton yarn. But there simply isn't enough to buy in bulk. The purchase is symbolic: the gesture of an activist.
26:39
Senegal – and all of Africa – is a victim of globalization in the textile field. But instead of complaining about it, we should show ingenuity and create a network, not just on the scale of a single country, but a textile network that views West Africa as a single and integrated economic zone.
27:08
A common textile network in West Africa is not yet on the agenda. But perhaps in the future these amateur sportsmen will wear kit manufactured on their own continent, and see Senegal finally take its place in the global market.