Пепел в шкафу: от благотворительных магазинов до горящих рынков; скрытое преступление моды

From charity shop drop-offs in London to burning markets in Africa, this is the hidden story fashion doesn’t want you to see. When a middle-class donor clears out their wardrobe on a rainy morning, it feels like a good deed. But across the ocean, their floral dress and faded jeans may soon lie in a Ghanaian dumpsite, smouldering in the aftermath of another catastrophic market fire. In Ashes in the Wardrobe, Arisekola weaves together the voices of traders, waste pickers, firefighters, and activists to reveal the devastating afterlife of second-hand clothing. Through vivid storytelling, we follow: Ama, a young trader rebuilding her livelihood after fire sweeps through her stall. Joseph, a waste picker scavenging among charred fabric and new arrivals. Uncle Mensah, a retired firefighter who knows markets burn faster than anyone can fight them. An unnamed donor, certain their bag of clothes has gone to “a good cause.” This is not just a story of fabric and flames, but of global injustice stitched into every seam. The book exposes how fast fashion’s “greenwashing” promises collide with African realities of toxic ash, mounting waste, and fragile economies. Yet within the ashes, there are embers of resilience: community-led rebuilding, grassroots resistance, and a vision of markets rebuilt differently. For readers of Katherine Boo, Arundhati Roy, and Naomi Klein, this book blends literary nonfiction and investigative reporting into a searing meditation on what happens when fashion’s good intentions burn the Global South. Ashes in the Wardrobe will change the way you see your wardrobe and the world it fuels.