Where does all the stuff that we donate go? Turns out we handle the overwhelming amount of donations like we handle a lot of our waste. We send it to other countries to deal with. In 2017 alone, some $173 million in worn or used clothing was exported from Canada to countries and regions around the world. 75% of the clothing that is donated doesn’t even end up getting sold in the thrift shops we donate to according to CBC. “No rational businessman would ship stuff to East Africa or West Africa or Central America just to have it burn in a field.” -Bank and Vogue Co There is a huge secondhand market there but it’s hurting local businesses. Kenya’s new garment industry had half a million garment workers a few decades ago but now only has tens of thousands. The East African Community even tried to ban new imports of clothing from coming in but was pressured heavily by the United States. In Nigeria they are known as kafa ulaya (the clothes of the dead whites). Donated clothing was previously given away for free in East Africa. It then became a commodity to sell, which is what suppressed the local textile sector. This is not to deter people from donating. Just be more mindful when donating. Donating clothing is definitely far better than landfilling, but it does not erase the impacts of the clothing. A lot of thrift stores don’t actually know where their clothing is sent. There needs to be more transparency and clothing needs to be tracked. Solutions
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AuthorHi everyone, I’m Elizabeth! I am a Chinese American and Canadian environmental activist focused on creating awareness on environmental justice issues and tying them to fast fashion and our waste and climate change crisis. I’m very open about my mental health. I talk about these important topics on my platform Archives
March 2021
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