2. Argument
Should we send used clothes to be given to
people in the Third World countries? Or should we
help people there to make or buy their own
clothes?
Do secondhand goods around the world benefit or
hinder countries?
- Developing countries who don’t have established
economies- benefits
- Opposition:
Countries look towards becoming developed
through focusing on exports rather than imports .
- They are relying too much on SHC imports.
3. Secondhand Clothing Industry
Industrialization Mass Production Halt (domestic production)
Growing business
> 2002 The New York Times reported that of the approximately 2.5
billion pounds of clothes donated to charity in America each year, as
much as 80 percent is shipped globally
United States- 1 of the largest exporters
Toronto, CA
Biggest importers of secondhand clothing: Sub-Saharan Africa,
Central and South America, Asia, and Eastern Europe
Different meanings around the world
Affordability or Mimic Western Style
Some of the largest donators of clothing include: USA, Germany,
Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands
4. Globalization
“Globalization is the process whereby
the world’s people are becoming
increasingly interconnected in all
facets of their lives—cultural,
economic, political, technological, and
environmental”
Developed vs. Developing-
secondhand clothing due to lower
levels of income
Developed- Export SHC
Developing- Import SHC
Secondhand clothing trade is
dominated by economics unless there
is governmental interference
Secondhand clothing can be found in
more than 100 countries across the
world
5. Charitable Organizations
Largest source of SHC
United States: Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries,
St. Vincent de Paul, Amvets
Europe: Oxfam, Terre, Humana, Abbey Pierre
Dispose of their massive stock for a large sum of
money to secondhand dealers Salvation Army, Colorado Springs,
CO
Many bins in the United States often appear that
they are for third-world relief, when in reality they
feature names of non-existent charities
Norwich, England
Germany
6. Thrift Stores
Buffalo Exchange (San Francisco,
CA
Other major contributor
Warehouse feel
Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange-
growing businesses
Buffalo Exchange is growing in which
their earnings topped $3 million in
2006 with $43 million in revenue-
They recognize top fashions and
receive products from fast fashion
mavens Zara and H&M
Plato’s closet- guides for the
employees on whether or not they
should accept specific clothing based
on the style and year of the product
(they have to be within the last year)
“Thrill side”- hunt of fashion
7. Secondhand clothing process
Garments are passed on through donations
to charities, community groups, or
commercial collection banks
Sold to textile recycling plants- are sorted,
graded, and put into bales
Recyclers look for type, fabric, and quality of
the garment when sorting
Clothing can be categorized into more than
400 groups
Poor quality garments may be processed
into fibers or used as rags in industrial
establishments
Lower quality items are also sent off to Africa
and medium-quality is sent to Latin America
Bales of clothing may be received by local
traders or local trader’s market stall in which
people can buy the clothing right away
Oxfam International
8. SHC helps countries around the
world
Can be thrill-seeking: satisfy
specific needs, recreate
16-foot mountain of secondhand clothing- Hong Kong
clothing
The world’s largest
destination of secondhand
clothing is in Sub-Saharan
Africa- 26% of total world
exports in 2004
Exports of this trade:
Malaysia, Singapore,
Pakistan, Hong Kong, Japan,
India, and Cambodia by
receiving close to 20 percent
of word’s exports in 2004
Other: Tunisia, Kenya,
Uganda, and Guatemala
Developed countries: Japan,
Belgium, Luxembourg, and
the Netherlands
9. The meaning of SHC
“Thrill” side consumers throughout the
world like to rummage, browse and
look for clothing in different places to
satisfy their specific needs they cannot
find elsewhere
“Quality-and style-savvy consumers
recognize the potential that may not be
immediately apparent in garments” -
Karen Hansen
September issue (2011)- Marie Claire Recreating the clothing into “something
-6 of Australia’s top fashion designers visit St else by means of embellishment,
Vincent de Paul Society op-shops to recreate patchwork, buttons, and trim, among
garments many other practices” Hansen
-They made 6 one of a kind creations that were
auctioned through Marie Claire to raise money
for St Vincent de Paul Society.
10. SHC in Kenya
Second hand designer bags: Gucci and Louis Vuitton
Clothes and shoppers at the Adams
Arcade market, Nairobi
“Although the second
hand clothes imports
have undermined the
textile industries in
Kenya, they have
provided more
affordable choices for
Kenyans and employed
many, hence a welcome
trade.”
http://www.iq4news.com/lauramkenya/fashion-second-hand-
clothing-booming-business-kenya
11. The meaning of SHC- Zambia
Satisfy individual preferences- mediates
between individual and collective desires
Worn by any class, not just the poor wanting to
mimic western style
Referred to as “Salaula”- both men and women
prefer to reconfigure clothing to mimic western
dress
Appreciate the clothing they receive
12. The meaning of SHC- Haiti
Secondhand clothing trade from shoppers in Boston and
Miami deals with a large unregulated market of pepe
Beyond significant for survival- tents or stuffing in
upholstery
Hanna Rose Shell and Vanessa Bertozzi documentary-
visuals of the streets explicitly show rags of all colors
lying on the roads
Far worse problems
Enjoy refashioning the garments Bundles of used clothing being unloaded from
large cargo ship in Miragoane, Haiti.
Miami and Boston in the United States are large
intergenerational markets
13. The meaning of SHC- Haiti
Countries are able to purchase far
cheaper clothing than they would be
able to afford with domestically produced
clothing.
Zimbabwe and Kenya: affordability of
clothing is more important especially
during harsh times
Zimbabwe: SHC should not be the
blame of their economic disadvantages
as it is often due to political wars and
government exploitation
Secondhand clothing may complement
domestic production rather than hinder it
Not producing “equivalent competing
goods”- garment makers in Zimbabwe,
they do not blame SHC and do not view
it as competition.
http://www.secondhandfilm.com/project.html
Western style clothing
14. Employment Opportunities
In developing countries the trade
is creating more jobs than ever
Trade helps with the global
economy creating jobs such as
wholesalers, importers, traders,
and vendors
Cleaning, repairing, re-styling, and
distributing
Rwanda- textile and
manufacturing facilities provided
no employment to their people Used shoes for sale in the Nyamirambo market
until the secondhand clothing
trade developed there creating
jobs in handling, cleaning,
repairing, and restyling
15. Recycling and the environment
Keep the textile and apparel industry more
environmental friendly
Recycling reduces environmental impact if
consumers are properly educated
Consumers can easily buy secondhand
clothing which reduces affect on the
environment because the life of a garment
is extended
Yarn and fibers can be recycled and used
for a future product
India doesn’t allow importing of SHC, they
do recycle their clothing domestically
involving barter, donations and resale
16. Opposition
Lack of domestic production- hurts developing countries
Destruction of local livelihoods
There are several challenges for industries in developing countries
1.) Unreliable and expensive infrastructure
Nigeria experiences high fuel prices, a lack of consistency with power and electric,
and a lack of water supply
Affect how long producers have with producing garments and other textile products
2.) The cost and availability of raw materials for textile producers
One of the biggest raw materials that causes problems for developing countries is
cotton which requires constant quality development to meet standards
3.) Cost and availability of fabrics for clothing producers
Senegal and Ghana struggle with sourcing options
4.) Other challenges include: competition from imports, widespread customs fraud,
outdated capital and failure to take advantage of trade preferences
17. Opposition
Job loss
According to Oxfam International, it is hard to
determine how many jobs have been lost
because there are other factors that may affect
this other than secondhand clothing trade
alone.
18. Opposition
Dishonesty
Complex process of secondhand clothing, Philippines
information regarding products can be
misconstrued
Anthropologist Karen Hansen discovered
that many people believe their cast-off
clothing is just going to charity for a good
cause when it is really sold to the poor.
It allows countries to rely on imports rather
than improve domestic production- Veseth
Charities not honest, don’t always have best
intentions- charities should come clean
Clothing bins that are placed on the street in
the United States and Western Europe
which claim to belong to charities when they
are not
19. Countries who do no import
SHC
Philippines- believe it harms their local
production but is recently finding imports
due to illegal shipment from Hong Kong
Philippines also does not import due to
dumping
Haiti also experiences dumping where
clothing often covers the ground
India- does not allow imports of SHC but do
allow imports of woolen fibers which are
used for blankets, knitting yarns and wool
fabrics
Other countries do not participate in imports
of secondhand clothing due to health
reasons. Charity shop tags, trimmings &
leftover wool garments from India
Tanzania-prohibit the import of used
underwear to prevent from diseases
20. Summary
There may be negative sides to the industry such as lack of
domestic production, the positives outweigh this main factor
Many developing countries rely on the trade for a means of clothing
since they cannot afford infrastructure to produce their own clothing
The meaning of secondhand clothing differs amongst countries but
this is significant when determining who accepts the trade
Some prefer secondhand clothing because they may not be able to
afford the latest fashions, while some prefer SHC just for the thrill of
finding new fashions that they can recreate
Second-hand clothing is falling as a share of total clothing imports
due to the increase of cheap imports from Asia
21. Sources
http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/assets/english/shc_0905.pdf
Garner, M. & Kunz, G. (2011). Going Global
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1627026,00.html
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3694995
Hansen, K. (2001). Salaula: the world of secondhand clothing and Zambia
http://www.bergfashionlibrary.com/view/bewdf/BEWDF-v10/EDch10032.xml
http://reason.com/archives/2008/07/25/the-afterlife-of-american-clot
Rivoli, P. (2005). The travels of a t-shirt in the global economy: An economist
examines the markets, power, and politics of world trade.
Veseth, M. (2005). Globaloney: Unraveling the myths of globalization
Notes de l'éditeur
Even though these two countries prohibit imports of this trade, they still find themselves receiving and benefiting from products of this trade