What will it take for Africa to build a green and globally competitive textile industry? Africa’s textile and apparel industry has significant potential to drive industrial development, create jobs and strengthen regional trade. However, achieving this potential will require greater…
Tuesday, October 06, 2026 Introduction For much of the African textile and apparel industry, sustainability has traditionally been seen as a compliance issue where international buyers ask suppliers to demonstrate responsible production, environmental management, labour standards, traceability, and evidence of…
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 Introduction Few issues in Africa’s textile economy generate as much debate as the trade in second-hand clothing. The debate is often framed as a choice between two competing positions. One argues that second-hand clothing imports undermine…
Rules of Origin are ultimately about more than trade administration; they can influence the economics of where production takes place. A company considering a new textile or apparel investment does not look at tariffs alone. It may also consider availability…
Even well-designed Rules of Origin will have limited impact if manufacturers struggle to prove that their products qualify. This introduces the cost of demonstrating origin as a second dimension to origin policy: Origin compliance can involve production records, supplier information,…
This is the industrial-policy question at the heart of the debate. Rules of Origin can be viewed narrowly as mechanisms for preventing products from outside a free-trade area from entering through the lowest-tariff member and receiving preferential treatment. But they…
This is where Rules of Origin become particularly strategic for the CTA sector. The textile and apparel industry requires a sequence of transformations from Cotton → Fibre → Yarn → Fabric → Dyeing/Finishing → Garment → Market The location of…
A continental market does not automatically translate into preferential trade for every African manufacturer. For a product to receive preferential treatment under AfCFTA, it must satisfy the applicable Rules of Origin. The AfCFTA Rules of Origin framework provides criteria for…
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Introduction Africa’s textile and apparel industry does not suffer from a complete absence of market opportunity. African producers have access to regional markets through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), while eligible countries have benefited…
Thursday, September 17, 2026 How digital origin verification, interoperable customs systems, and better trade data could reduce transaction costs and strengthen regional textile and apparel value chains. Introduction Rules of Origin establish the conditions under which a product can be…