Historical accounts trace the used-clothing industry back to the aftermath of the First World War when surplus military uniforms were dumped in colonial Africa. Today, almost half a billion dollars worth of second-hand clothing is imported into sub-Saharan Africa each year. The popularity is a bit surprising, given the widespread belief by many Africans that these used clothes have been stripped from the body of a dead person. The phrase "Dead White Man Clothes" is a common term in Uganda's marketplace. In Ghana, (where I spotted a Winnipeg Jets jersey in 2005) the phrase in local Twi is "obruni we wo." Translation: "a white man has died." After all, why else would anyone give up these perfectly good clothes?