Grapevine

How secondhand clothes took Zimbabwe by storm – and hammered retail

Harare, Zimbabwe – Kimberley Dube takes great care with her appearance. She always looks sharp and fashionable in smart-looking jeans, t-shirts, sweatpants, tops, and designer sneakers.

“I love jeans – can’t get enough of them,” the 35-year-old says.

But while she may give the appearance of someone with money to spend on expensive apparel, the self-employed entrepreneur laughs when she says, “You are wrong! These clothes are inexpensive; I get them from secondhand clothes sellers.”

Dube, who lives in Harare, is just one of a multitude of Zimbabweans who have turned their backs on home-grown fashion brands, opting for the booming market in secondhand – or “pre-loved” – imports from overseas instead.

“There’s no shop in this country where you can pay as little as $2 for a pair of jeans,” she scoffs.