ACCRA, Ghana -- On the Printex Ltd. textile-factory floor is a closed door bearing a sign that reads: "Out of bounds. Anyone seen entering without permission will be severely dealt with." ...

Soon, the new fabric edged out indigenous materials like the earthy blue tye-dye Adire of the Yorubas in Nigeria and the flashy, hand-woven Kente of the Ashanti and Ewes of Ghana, which were ...