CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.0INTRODUCTION
The social construction of sales and usage of second hand clothing has been a contemporary issues in Nigeria which cannot be overemphasized. Secondhand clothing (SHC) traces their origin from wealthy westerners who contribute their obsolete clothing as donations to charity organizations (Dougherty, 2004; Slotterback, 2007). Larger charities first sort through the donations to add to their stock stores and then sell the surplus to secondhand clothing dealers to help generate funds towards assistance programs. Slotterback (2007) reported that about 80% of the donated clothing is usually sold to secondhand clothing merchants. The merchants sort the secondhand clothing by condition and then categorize in groups which they bundle in bales whose prices vary according to quality of the contents. Clothing merchants from the importing countries visit the offices of exporters to ascertain the quality, negotiate the price, pay for the bales and then ship the clothing to the country of origin (Olumide, 2011).  It has been observed presently that Nigeria and Kenya is one of the largest importers of secondhand clothing (locally referred to as ‘Okirika, Benddown boutique and Tokunbo while Kenya called it “Mitumba’ meaning ‘onslaught’) in Sub Sahara Africa respectively.
Buying behaviour according to Dawson et al (2006), are set of attitudes that characterize the patterns of consumers' choices. Apart from the essential internal factors, which are recognized as influential to buying behaviour, there are a number of external situational contexts that affect consumer choices. Consumer behaviour is a combination of customers' buying consciousness and external incentives which are likely to result in behaviour remodeling. The society’s culture such as norms, philosophies, settlement, customs religion, festivity, class, lifestyle and other subculture influence how individual consumers buy and use secondhand products, and help explain how groups of consumers behave.  There has been a current need for individuals and families to develop sustainable ways of living. One of the important areas of sustainable living is through maintainable clothing and textile consumption. Maintainable consumption is using resources in a way that minimizes harm to the environment, while supporting the well-being of people (OECD, 2008). Maintainable clothing or fashion consumption is the use of clothing for purposes beyond utilitarian needs which is achieved while enabling the
future generations to meet their needs (Nordic Initiatives, Clean and Ethical (NICE, 2012).  Secondhand Clothing trade (SHCT) represents an insignificant proportion of the total global trade in clothing (0.5%), more than 30% of the imports goes to the Sub Sahara African (SSA) countries (Baden & Barber, 2005). Despite being overtaken by imports from Asia to Africa, the use of Secondhand Clothing still significant.
According to Mangieri (2006) and Slotterback (2007) opined that having increased drastically since 1990 the global Secondhand Clothing trade (SHCT) is worth more than USD 200 billion each year with almost all countries in the world becoming involved in it either as exporters, processors, re exporters or importers. Used clothing markets exist in over 100 countries globally (Slotterback, 2007). The United States, the Netherlands and Japan participate in SCHT as major exporters while the developing countries like Nigeria are the major importers and consumers of Secondhand clothing (Baden and Barber, 2005).
1.1STATEMENT OF  PROBLEM
The economic downturn of the past has affected nearly every segment of the Nigeria economy of the past has affected nearly every segment of the Nigeria economy .The sales and usage of secondhand clothing is one of the business, people are engaging themselves with and its increasingly gaining ground in Nigeria. The rapid increase of population unemployment is one of the major factors pushing many individuals to sell and buy secondhand clothing, all over the world.
Nigeria as a country is posed with a lot of problems, which includes poverty ,unemployment, lack of resources, and low wage income are making individuals sell and use secondhand clothing.
Typically, the importation of used clothes would result in a downward shift of the demand curve in the new apparel industry. According to studies (Slotterback 2007) many reasons accounts for the sales and usage of secondhand clothing.
1 .Unemployment among individuals.
2..Poverty, both relative and absolute poverty.
3. Low wage income and lack of better job opportunities.