Ghana receives millions of second-hand clothes every week, often estimated at around 15 million items—with a large portion of them coming from Western countries. A significant share is unsellable due to poor quality and becomes waste.
Multi-disciplinary artist, Percy Nii Nortey, from Kumasi, Ghana, uses second-hand materials in his art. He explores identity, memory, labour, and decolonisation through installations, performative objects, and moving sculptures.
In September 2025, Patsy Toland of ChangeMakers Donegal visited Percy Nii Nortey in the beautiful surrounds of Artlink Fort Dunree where he was Artist-in-Residence for the month. In-keeping with our educational approach of linking local and global issues to encourage action for a fairer world, they spoke about Percy’s artistic practice and his perspective on the impact of fast fashion, over-consumption and colonisation.
Rooted in personal history and Ghana’s socio-economic realities, Percy transforms second-hand fabrics into large-scale textile archives that honour resilience and collective memory. Exhibited internationally, his work turns everyday materials into acts of resistance, storytelling, and healing.
Our hope is that these three conversations can be shared in our global justice workshops and that they might inspire you to take action when it comes to fast fashion and over-consumption. Visit our You Tube channel to listen.
To find out more about Percy’s work, visit: https://percyniinortey.com/
To take action yourself, consider signing up to our Sustainability Passport programme at www.changemakers.ie/sp