> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.castleandcloister.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Pèpè: the Byproduct of Globalisation Suffocating Haitian Fashion
- URL: https://www.castleandcloister.co.uk/pepe-the-byproduct-of-globalisation/
- Published: 2026-07-23T09:07:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-25T18:47:24.000Z
- Description: Bea Lambert traces Haiti’s pèpè trade as a story of global fashion, inequality, and local reinvention.
- Author: Bea Lambert
- Tags: Culture, Fashion

It is no question that the fashion industry is supported by layers of politics and inequality. Our own garments’ provenance is not neutral, and the ability to understand the spatial relations that operate within this exploitative system remains to be a key issue that has yet to be tackled. A very clear example of this occurrence is through the notion of Haitian pèpè.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/c3/10c3a558-e975-4210-8566-55248bcfbb5d/content/images/2026/07/5f6deb65-cc56-4003-b6a3-994658324630_4032x3024-jpeg.jpg)

/ Tim Wildsmith

For context, Haiti—the small nation situated on the island of Hispaniola located in the central Caribbean—has been significantly impacted by neocolonialism since its declaration of independence in 1804\. Haiti has since been burdened by colonial debt and punitive economic arrangements imposed by France and other powers, which systematically restricted the state’s capacity to invest in infrastructure, industry, and social services. These structural constraints have contributed to enduring economic challenges and a development index (HDI) ranking in 2023 of 166th out of 193 countries.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/c3/10c3a558-e975-4210-8566-55248bcfbb5d/content/images/2026/07/bee322a2-ee01-4305-9fe9-9270bfdae6ff_632x506-jpeg.jpg)

/ Victor Duruy

Haiti’s exposure to seismic and climatic hazards has further complicated development paths because global systems of finance, aid and insurance have repeatedly prioritised short‑term crisis management over long‑term, locally led planning. In this context, international aid and NGOs have become central actors, giving rise to the phrase “republic of NGOs” while also raising questions about whose visions of progress are being implemented and whose are sidelined.

Pèpè can be translated to be second-hand clothes, the notion of which may bring to mind the subject of sustainability, and the possibility of a new life for garments. This is not exactly the case. For many Western audiences, pèpè is encountered through social media posts of Paolo Woods’ photographic series “Pépé,” where slogans on T‑shirts are immediately legible to foreign viewers but not to those wearing it. These images travel quickly on Instagram and other platforms, often stripped of context, and the “shock” of seeing a bold American phrase on a Haitian street becomes the hook for engagement.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/c3/10c3a558-e975-4210-8566-55248bcfbb5d/content/images/2026/07/a520ecfe-3340-4e01-ad12-792997b23f92_1340x1340.png)

/ Paolo Woods

Some garments circulating in pèpè markets may have been manufactured in Haiti to begin with, exported to be worn elsewhere, then sent back as donations or surplus. This circular movement highlights how Haiti is positioned simultaneously as a production site for global brands and a destination for their discarded stock, a pattern unfortunately shared with other garment hubs in the Global South.

Large American TNCs, exemplified by Target and Levi’s, have capitalised on economies of scale by outsourcing production to countries with lower labour costs, including Haiti. Preferential trade programmes and investment incentives have helped expand the country’s apparel sector, and Haitian factories now produce higher‑quality garments as well as commodity basics for export.

![Pépé: The Phenomenon of Second-Hand Clothing in Developing Countries —  Strike Magazines](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/c3/10c3a558-e975-4210-8566-55248bcfbb5d/content/images/2026/07/7f6424fe-8e6b-4089-a0e9-b35f92e6d38e_967x552-jpeg.jpg)

/ CNN

The Haitian state has supported textile investment through incentives offered to multinational firms such as the South Korean company Sae-A. In practice, however, this often means that global brands wield significant power in negotiations over wages, hours, and safety. Haitian garment workers frequently report low pay relative to living costs, a situation driven not by national culture but by profit pressures embedded in fast fashion and just‑in‑time production models.

At the same time, the dominance of foreign firms can make it harder for domestic fashion businesses to scale up. Local designers and tailors operate in a market saturated by imported second‑hand clothing and export‑oriented factory production, limiting their visibility and their ability to compete on price. This is not unique to Haiti. It reflects how the north-south relationship has been exploited as the north discard their problems onto the south, leaving communities like Port‑au‑Prince, Dhaka, and Phnom Penh to deal with the brunt of the negative externalities.

Domestic tailors remain less visible within the wider clothing market, which can limit the growth and visibility of locally developed fashion design. Haitian fashion culture has been shaped by inherited global consumer patterns and unequal trade flows. Pèpè embodies the unequal relationships that persist between wealthy countries and Haiti within global fashion and trade systems. Haitian designers and cultural workers continue to face limited visibility in global fashion discourse due to globalisation’s ever-widening socio-geographic distances within systems of fashion production and consumption.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/c3/10c3a558-e975-4210-8566-55248bcfbb5d/content/images/2026/07/1cf23504-a492-46bf-83fd-9858cc540294_3360x2240-jpeg-1.jpg)

/ Bailey Torres

[Subscribe](#/portal/signup)

*Thank you for reading Castle & Cloister. To stay up-to-date, you can subscribe for free and follow our pages on* [*Instagram*](http://instagram.com/castleandcloister?ref=castleandcloister.co.uk) *and* [*LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/company/castle-cloister/?ref=castleandcloister.co.uk)*.*