Mainly in developed countries, the most common way to dispose of one's worn-out clothes is not only to throw them away but also to sell them at recycle stores or donate them. In particular, recently, apps have made it possible to easily buy and sell used clothing from home, making used clothing more accessible than in the past. In addition, used clothing donation activities, such as collecting used clothing and sending it to people in need around the world due to poverty or disasters, are also becoming more popular.

In reality, however, only a small percentage of such clothing is sent to those in need due to poverty or disaster, and much of the used clothing is exported, not only donated but also resold to low-income countries in Asia and Africa. It is a fact that even those who donate clothes with the intention of helping those in need are either hindering effective aid activities or damaging the development of local communities. In this issue, we will focus mainly on Africa and take a closer look at the current state of used clothing donation activities and how this is putting pressure on donation recipients.

Clothes on hangers (Photo: Peter Heeling /Skitterphoto [CC0])

The State of the Global Secondhand Clothing Industry

First, let's look at the current state of the used clothing industry. The large amount of used clothing collected mainly in developed countries is mostly sent abroad: in 2016, 750,000 tons from the United States, 500,000 tons from Germany, 350,000 tons from the United Kingdom, and 240,000 tons from Japan were sent out of the countryexportIn the United Kingdom, the collected secondhand clothing was In the United Kingdom, the collected used clothing70%.are being sent abroad. It is also a large market in terms of value, with used clothing in 2013export valueare, from the country with the most, US$687 million in the U.S., US$612 million in the U.K., and US$504 million in Germany.

Exports of used clothing not only take the form of resale, but also in the form of donations, which deliver free clothing from developed countries to low-income families in Japan and abroad, but this is only a small part of the used clothing industry. And the donation activities are largely driven by charitable organizations, mainly in Europe and the United States. For example, the U.S. "Volunteers of America, Inc.The "Collection Boxes" set up throughout the city, where used clothing and shoes are collected. In some cases, they actually visit the consumer's home to collect the clothes, which has the advantage of saving the consumer the trouble of taking them to a store and making it easier for them to dispose of their worn-out clothes. In addition, the "The Salvation ArmyIn the "donation" section, people who donate clothes they no longer wear can obtain a certificate and receive a tax deduction when they file their taxes. In this way, various efforts have been made so that donors can also receive benefits.

Used clothing collection boxes in the United States (Photo: Dwight Burdette/Wikimedia Commons) [CC BY 3.0].)

Also, the British "Oxfam (OXFAM)The "donate to charity" program allows donors to receive points when they donate used clothing or when new clothing is purchased, which can then be used, for example, for clean drinking water for the world's poorest countries or for teacher training. Donations can be linked to new donations, and the donor can make that choice.

In addition to such donations by charitable organizations, there are also corporate donation activities. For example, major Japanese fashion makers UNIQLO and GU have been making donations to theAll product recycling activitiesThe company collects its own products, which are no longer worn by consumers, at its stores, and focuses on emergency disaster relief for refugee camps and disaster-stricken areas.65The company is engaged in activities around the world, such as delivering used clothing to countries and regions in the world. In fact, by the end of August 2018Approx. 30 million itemshave been donated.

Problems in the Secondhand Clothing Industry

However, such donations of used clothing come with a number of problems. To begin with, the amount of clothing produced in developed countries is far greater than the amount needed, and the speed at which consumers turn around their clothing purchases in response is fast, for example, so there is a large surplus of clothing. In fact, in the United Kingdom, approximately US$540 million is spent each year on clothing purchases, 30% of which is never worn and ends up in the wardrobe.have become (formal, literary)The clothes are collected in a variety of ways, but the amount collected exceeds the amount that can be reused. Although used clothing is collected in a variety of ways, the amount collected exceeds the amount that can be reused, and many of the donated items are unusable, and many end up being incinerated as garbage. In fact, in the United Kingdom, the annual1.4 million tonsof clothing end up in landfills. This cycle of mass production and mass consumption of clothing is not only a problem for the used clothing industry, but also for the environment.

Another problem is that the used clothing sent does not meet local needs. In some cases, the supply side's convenience takes precedence over local needs. As a result, coats are sent to countries with high temperatures even in winter, and in some cases, the necessary sizes are not available due to differences in body shapes and other factors. Also, camouflage clothing for refugees isbe sentIn some cases, it may be difficult for the sender to understand that the person wearing it may look like a military person, or it may cause trauma in countries that have experienced armed conflict.

Furthermore, in refugee camps and disaster-stricken areas, the needs of each household are different, creating a situation where there is a lack of necessary items other than clothing and a surplus of clothing as unnecessary items when it is sent, which may end up being bartered or resold to other people. Under such circumstances, it is inefficient to transport large quantities of clothing in containers as relief supplies without taking needs into consideration, and it is difficult to ensure the smooth operation of relief activities.hindranceIn the past, the use of cash for aid has been the norm in many NGOs. For this reason, many NGOs have recently shifted from providing aid in goods to cash aid.shiftThe company has been doing this. This allows each person to get what he or she needs, and also stimulates the local economy.

Cash aid in South Sudan (Courtesy photo/Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain])

Furthermore, not all of these donated clothes are distributed free of charge to those in need; some are resold to local merchants. Even used clothing donated with the hope that it will reach those in need is used for business.Commodities.The secondhand clothing that is collected is sometimes left unused because there are too many of them. The collected used clothes are sometimes left unused because there are too many recipients, and they are either disposed of or purchased by a company that specializes in buying them. The used clothes purchased by these companies are sorted by type and design at sorting factories, and then exported to foreign countries and sold as "merchandise.structureIt is. Such used clothing is often sent to African countries; in fact, in sub-Saharan Africa, donated clothingone thirdis newly marketed.

In the East African Community (EAC) countries (*1), imports of used clothing in 2014, including those resold or donated, wereMore than US$3 millionof all African imports,a quarterThe clothing purchased by the local people also accounts for In addition, the clothing purchased by local people90%.In Africa, used clothing is a big business.

Woman selling used clothing in Kenya (Photo: Biva2017/Wikimedia Commons) [CC BY-SA 4.0].)

One of the reasons for the growth of the secondhand clothing industry in Africa is the trade liberalization policy that was expanded in the 1980s and 1990s at the request of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and others. Trade liberalization policies made it easier for used clothing to enter Africa by removing import restrictions. When clothing is collected through donations, there are no production costs; the only costs are generally for sorting, exporting, and selling the clothing at the destination. This makes the clothing available to consumers at a lower cost. In fact, in Mozambique, used jeans cost about US$3.5 and T-shirts about US$1.8.Sold.Mozambique. The average daily income in Mozambique isApprox. 1.2 U.S. dollarsTherefore, the demand for used clothing, which can be purchased more cheaply, is increasing, and the used clothing industry is growing.

However, the growing momentum of this used clothing business has resulted in an economic blow to Africa. With the entry of large countries and the development of the used clothing industry, the local textile industry is losing growth opportunities and declining. Imported used clothing is less expensive than locally produced clothing, and the quality of used clothing sent from large countries is often of higher quality, so consumers have been attracted by this trend and clothing manufacturing plants have been forced to close. And there has also been a massive restructuring from this. As the local textile industry declines, the people who worked in it lose their jobs. In fact, Ghana lost 80% of its clothing jobs between 1975 and 2000, and Zambia went from 25,000 workers in the 1980s to less than 10,000 in 2002Decreased.... Thus, many problems lurk in the used clothing business.

Textile factory in Lesotho (Photo: World Bank Photo Collection/Flickr) [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0].)

Resistance to the Secondhand Clothing Industry

However, African countries are not tacitly accepting such a situation of the secondhand clothing industry: In the 1980s, former Burkina Faso President Thomas Sankara implemented various reforms intended to break away from low-income countries and their dependence on high-income countries, and one of them was the local production of cotton for local consumption. So, he had domestic civil servants wear traditional clothes made from their own cotton to work, for example.policyThe company did the following. By doing so, he tried to revitalize Burkina Faso's economy and industry. However, in 1987, former President Sankara was assassinated and this policy was no longer implemented.

In addition, at a meeting of the East African Community (EAC) in 2016, the import of used clothing was banned for three years.decisionhave been made, especially in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, which actively prohibit the import of used clothing.postureIt is. The goal is to protect and develop their own textile industries by banning the import of used clothing. However, the U.S. is pressuring the three countries to remove the import ban. Since the U.S. cannot afford to lose a profitable market without incurring too much cost, it claims that the three countries' decision to ban imports is a violation of free trade agreements and that it will encourage economic growth by expanding the number of duty-free imports from African countries.African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA)Review of theinitiatorand suggested that the three countries could be exempted from AGOA. This is putting pressure on Africa in the form of semi-trade sanctions. This could result in the removal of the import ban, but only in the imposition of tariffs on imported used clothing.

Port of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Photo: World Bank Photo Collection/Flickr) [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0].)

New Challenges

However, import bans do not always produce good results. In Zimbabwe, an import ban in 2015 was replaced by a ban in 2017.Mitigated.The import ban had led to a sharp increase in the demand for locally manufactured clothing. The import ban has led to a sharp increase in demand for locally manufactured clothing, but the local textile industry has been unable to meet this demand. As a result, the black market for illegally imported used clothing has expanded, making a complete ban on used clothing imports extremely difficult to achieve. However, it is not a simple matter of banning used clothing imports unless the local textile industry is well established, which is costly and difficult to achieve. It cost Africa US$50,000 million in 2016 to create and revive a local industry, a figure that is expected to rise to US$93,000 million by 2025.reportThere are also It will take more time for the local textile industry to fully function.

Even if imports of used clothing are banned, they could be replaced by inexpensive new garments manufactured in China and other countries. China ranked the U.S. as Africa's top trading partner in 2009.aboveThe textile industry in Africa is a very important sector for the development of the world's textile industry. This will not ultimately lead to the protection of the African textile industry. We need to rethink trade with other countries, not only in used clothing, but in clothing in general.

Old clothes being thrown away (Photo: Bicanski/PIXNIO [CC0])

In this way, the donation of used clothing may unexpectedly lead to suffering in the country or region where the clothing is donated. In the first place, mass production and mass consumption is the usual model for fast fashion, and the donation of used clothing is meant to atone for this. However, such a model generates a large amount of waste and is also a burden on the environment, and in the end, it may be said to be a way for large countries to take advantage of countries such as Africa. It could also be said to be a pretense of "contributing" to the world. In order to effectively contribute to Africa's development, it is necessary to boost the local textile industry, rather than sending large quantities of used clothing as has been done in the past. However, this situation will not disappear easily because it is a very profitable market for large countries, and also because African consumers can obtain clothing at low prices. Supporting African industry should lead to development, but even major manufacturers in large countries are forced to rely on the extremely cheap labor force in low-income countries.errand boyWith the apparel business continuing to increase in efficiency, will there ever be a day when Africa can regain its local textile industry?

1 A community formed by the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.

Writer: Wakana Kishimoto

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