THE ROLE OF FASHION DESIGNERS IN THE SUSTAINANCE OF THE GARMENT AND TEXTILES INDUSTRIES IN GHANA: A CASE STUDY OF TUMU IN THE SISSALA EAST DISTRICT

ABSTRACT 

The main purpose of the study was to assess the role of fashion designers in the sustenance of the garment and textiles industries in Ghana. The research design for the study is case study. Qualitative research methods were used for the study. The population for the study involved fashion designers, customers in fashion shops in the Tumu the Sissala East District. The research used the random sampling technique to select 66 respondents for the study. Questionnaires were the main research instrument used for data collection. Statistical package for social sciences version 18 was used to analyse data. Data was presented using Tables and figures to display findings. The study findings concluded that the role of fashion designers is to use intelligent fashion designs to reduce the social and environmental impact of a fashion product’s lifecycle, to create a longer-lasting and better-functioning product, thereby reducing the need to replace clothes often, to consider the environmental effects of the colours and prints they choose for their fashion collection. Moreover, the study results concluded that the challenges faced by fashion designers are the brand imitation of fashion design and piracy, lack of funds to expand the fashion design business, lack of records keeping practices among fashion designers, inability to reduce the amount of solid and hazardous waste in packaging are challenges affecting fashion designers in the industry. To sustain development and growth of the fashion industry, the stakeholders in the fashion industry must check brand imitation of fashion design and piracy to improve profitability in the fashion design industry, fashion designers must be encouraged to reduce the amount of solid and hazardous waste in their packaging, fashion designers must keep proper records of transactions to improve the business, the banks, Microfinance and financial institutions must provide flexible loans to fashion designers to expand their business.