Ghana Secures Historic Protection for Kente Cloth as First Geographical Indication

Ghana conscionable made a determination that matters. The country’s authorities has officially granted Kente cloth Geographical Indication (GI) status, which means lone cloth woven successful designated Ghanaian communities tin legally beryllium called Kente. The factory-printed fakes are done. The mass-produced imitations sitting successful fast-fashion stores cannot transportation that sanction anymore. Full stop.

Only the real, handwoven cloth from communities similar Bonwire, Adanwomase, Kpetoe, and Agbozume counts arsenic genuine Kente now. It is Ghana’s archetypal GI product, joining the aforesaid ranks arsenic French Champagne and Italian Parmesan. These are brands protected by planetary instrumentality due to the fact that they correspond thing irreplaceable, rooted successful a circumstantial spot and circumstantial people.

For years, Kente patterns person shown up connected planetary runways, successful manner houses, and crossed online stores. Often without recognition oregon outgo to the Ghanaian weavers who made the cloth ineffable successful the archetypal place. Each signifier carries meaning, celebrating wisdom, unity, resilience, and heritage. They archer stories. For excessively long, others person profited from that quality and that psyche without acknowledging wherever it really comes from. Now, with GI protection, lone registered Ghanaian weavers and their communities tin nett from the sanction and the legacy.

The announcement came officially successful September 2025 astatine La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel successful Accra, with Ghana’s Registrar-General’s Department and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) making it official. This designation besides builds connected Ghana’s occurrence successful getting Kente inscribed connected the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage database successful 2024. These moves enactment unneurotic to support Kente connected each level.

This GI presumption gives Kente ineligible extortion worldwide, prevents misuse and imitation, and boosts the worth of locally produced fabric. It opens planetary marketplace entree for Ghanaian artisans, helping tiny weavers link straight to manner houses and planetary buyers. It is simply a milestone that says: this is ours, and the satellite needs to cognize it.