I’ve always appreciated the proud look of West African women who wear clothes created from the beautiful cloth produced in their native countries. Their dresses are exotic – different from what American or European women wear. Seeing West African women in this vibrant attire makes me happy to be a global citizen. There is still diversity in fashion despite our globalized economy!

The design and production of cloth is an art I would love to see continue, especially in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast.

But the tradition is dying. I recently caught up with my colleague Tony Carroll, who has been studying the harm from counterfeiting on West African textiles. His words were not promising.

He says the cloth production business used to be the number one employer after the government in this region. But what was a torrent of creativity and good jobs has become a trickle. The cloth industry is experiencing “de-industrialization.” According to Tony, in 1985 there were a quarter million people in West Africa who worked in textiles. Now, he counts only about 40,000.

Did people in Africa suddenly stop wearing clothes?

No. The problem, says Tony, is that African textile manufacturers are being driven out of business by factories in China that are knocking off traditional West African designs and then selling them to Africans at a price cheaper than what the cloth would cost if produced locally. Tony says the Chinese manufacturers often mislead African consumers by masking their goods with a “Made in Nigeria” label. It seems West African shoppers can go to market and believe they are buying locally when they aren’t.

Tony urges the governments of the West African nations to take a stronger stance: “African law enforcement authorities should seize and destroy textiles which fake local manufacturers’ trademarks and falsify country of origin.”

China has been cultivating closer trade ties with African nations in recent years as its growing economy thirsts for the oil and minerals so abundant in Africa. Given that, I can’t help but think it would be in China’s interest to better enforce international trade rules on its manufacturers.