Fabrics

We find 4 types of fabric in Ghana

• Handmade woven: Mudcloth and Kente

• Printed: Batik (handmade) and Wax (industrially produced)

The biggest producer of wax in West Africa is Vlisco group. Their brands are Vlisco, Woodin, Uniwax and GTP. It’s an European group with almost all their factories in Africa. Only the Vlisco products are still produced in Holland. They are the only truly Dutch Wax Prints remaining on the market.

Africa's Fabric Is Dutch
By Robb Young (14 November 2012)
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/fashion/15iht-ffabric15.html

The Fabled Cloth and its IP Future
by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
http://www.wipo.int/ipadvantage/en/articles/article_0177.html

The Cha Textiles Group is an other big player. They are Chinese. Their brands include Akosombo Textiles Ltd (ATL) and ABC Wax.

Today, the majority of the products available on the African markets are low-cost reproductions made in China. They are called Hitarget, Fancy print or Imiwax. They don’t use the proper wax-resist techniques to dye the fabric. They only print one side of the fabric.

West Africans are ditching Dutch wax prints for Chinese ‘real-fakes’
By Nina Sylvanus (30 August 2016)
https://qz.com/africa/769792/west-africans-are-ditching-dutch-wax-prints-for-chinese-real-fakes/

We can always control the origin of a fabric by reading the details printed on the selvage.

Some authors made a point to prove that the term ‘African print’ is a misnomer for the wax print.

The “African Print” Hoax: Machine Produced Textiles Jeopardize African Print Authenticity
by Tunde M. Akinwumi (July 2008)
http://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol2no5/2.5_African_Print.pdf

And others keep saying, it’s a complicated story…

The Fraught History Of African Textiles
by Meg Miller (4 March 2017)
https://www.fastcompany.com/90108110/the-fraught-history-of-african-textiles

English edition also available