Yayra Agbofah: The Revival

Yayra Agbofah, an entrepreneur, social impact-minded, founder, and sustainability advocate from Ghana, West Africa. He works in Accra at the largest secondhand market, Kantamanto and a place drowning in fast fashion’s dump from the western countries—and just when things couldn’t get worse, the market recently was affected by fires. We covered the heartbreaking crisis here. Read our blog - Kantamanto Market Fire 2025—A Wake-Up Call for the Fashion Industry.

Yayra is the founder of The Revival, an initiative to upcycle clothes from Kantamanto. A sustainability advocate who quit his full-time job because of the waste he witnessed and how he saw Ghana being turned into a dumping ground. Wanting to take action, Yayra became an entrepreneur to do his part in the crisis - creating solutions for the climate and the environment. The Revival is his response: a way to upcycle, to fight back, to push change with education where it actually matters.

Through intentional collaborations, podcasts, social media, and international platforms, Yayra addresses textile waste in West Africa and how irresponsible actions and a throwaway culture create a massive, painful impact. Fast fashion keeps pumping out waste, feeding an unhealthy, low-cost consumption cycle with a hidden price, one that the planet and people pay for. 

FAST FASHION’S DUMPING GROUND

Kantamanto is where fast fashion’s excess clothes from the West are dumped here, thanks to the unfortunate cheap, low-quality overproduction that fuels overconsumption. 

Yayra’s TEDx Accra lays it all out and shares a heartfelt, raw take on the secondhand dumps and the mountains of waste arriving every single week, almost 15 million used clothing, far more than what can be handled. The textile waste, the toxic cycle of overproduction and disposal, and why this is not Ghana’s problem alone but it’s everyone’s mess.

THE REVIVAL

The Revival is an upcycling nonprofit that turns waste into new wearables. They amplify social and environmental issues, creating a community-led space for artists to revive discarded clothing into upcycled pieces. 

They’re creating employment, educational resources, and awareness, making upcycling a normal, everyday solution and the real sustainable alternative to break the overconsumption cycle and fight fast fashion waste. 

The Revival has diverted over 1 million garments from landfills, and is pushing to do more.

“The illegal burning and dumping of garments in Ghana is polluting the air, soil, and water at an alarming rate—creating a growing public health and climate crisis.” - The Revival

The Reality. Unfiltered.

If you see the image below, taken by the Revival Team, Yayra says: "This is not Photoshopped. It's not AI-generated. This is our reality in Accra, Ghana."

Just look at this image. Just one picture. And even this is only a tiny part of what gets dumped. The actual amount is unimaginable.

And if you think landfills are bad, please watch this 5-minute pitch at What Design Can Do Amsterdam 2024, where Yayra reveals how textile dumps are ruining Ghana and shows a beach—not filled with sand, but buried under piles of waste clothing.  

Landfills. Oceans. Nothing is spared from fast fashion’s destruction. And if you look closely at what Yayra is wearing, he says it’s all upcycled, as in clothing saved from landfills.  

The Fight Against Clothing Waste

More leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers like Yayra are stepping up to fight the excess clothing waste crisis—where low-quality fast fashion floods markets like Kantamanto, but most of it ends up in landfills and oceans because it’s too poor in quality to be worn again.  

More of us are waking up to the real impact of textile waste, but the movement needs to grow. But here’s the thing: we don’t have to accept it. The cycle only continues if we let it. It can be countered when we all say no to mass consumption and demand real change. 

We would love to know your take on the fashion’s unsustainable cycle. What changes do you want to make? Please drop your thoughts below and reach out to us @refash_

Your voice matters. It holds real power.