A Must-Watch: Frida Lidbom’s Powerful Doc Exposes the Toxic Truth of Waste Colonialism—While Honoring the Radical Brilliance of Ghana’s Secondhand Artisans

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Season 1 | Episode 19

What if your donated trousers did more harm than good?

In this compelling episode of Compost, Cotton & Cornrows, host Dominique Drakeford sits down with Norwegian and Ghanian sustainable fashion advocate and filmmaker Frida Lidbom to dismantle the myth of the “charitable” secondhand clothing industry. Through the lens of her groundbreaking documentary Threads of Resilience, Frida exposes waste colonialism—where discarded Western goods flood Global South communities, not just with fabric, but with entire cultural systems of consumerism and economic dependency.

Together, they unpack the deep colonial roots of textile waste, the erasure of traditional crafts, and the ways Western narratives often rob local communities of their agency, brilliance, and innovation. From local upcycling innovators, to the 30,000 workers powering Accra’s secondhand markets, this conversation re-centers the resilience and knowledge of the very communities most impacted.

Whether you're in fashion, philanthropy, or just questioning your next thrift haul, this episode is a mirror, a magnifying glass, and a movement.

***Since this recording, the Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana—the heart of the documentary’s focus—has tragically burned down. In the wake of this devastation, the local community, in partnership with dedicated organizations, is actively working to rebuild and restore this vital cultural and economic hub. **** 

MORE ABOUT FRIDA

Frida Nakarma Lidbom is a sustainable and ethical fashion writer, activist and filmmaker passionate about exploring the intersection of fashion, sustainability, and ethics. Her latest documentary, "Threads of Resilience," delves into the creative ways Ghana’s local communities respond to the overwhelming influx of second-hand clothing from the Global North. Through her work, Frida brings attention to the ingenuity of artisans and designers who turn fashion waste into innovation. She aims to inspire conversations on responsible consumption and ethical fashion globally.

“It’s so many documentaries and stuff out there that is highlighting the issue of textile waste and how bad it is. But the problem is that especially when it’s Western media behind it, it puts the countries in such a… petty position. It’s like, poor people, they’re drowning in the waste and blah, blah. And it doesn’t show the resilience. It doesn’t show the skills, the knowledge that these people have. And that’s what was so important for me with the documentary to have the angle where it’s not like, you know, the saber complex coming through, but also like, but these people, know what they’re doing. They’re so innovative. They’re so creative and it really needs to be highlighted because that’s also like a colonialist mindset that we have in the West that nobody don’t have knowledge, don’t have education, but it’s so wrong, it’s so far from it. … but how am I going to find that balance of like, yes, it is a huge issue. It is an environmental disaster, but also highlight that these people are not helpless. And but at the same time, not making it like everything is great.”

— Frida