Donating clothes is a common practice for many. When people no longer have use for their clothes, when they no longer fit, or when they simply no longer like them, donating seems like a much better option than throwing them out. We think that by donating our clothes, we are contributing to both an environmental, and a social good. However, this seemingly altruistic practice may in fact be doing more harm than we realise.
Most donated clothes are never resold locally and are instead exported to other countries, with countries in the Global North being the largest exporters, and countries in the Global South being the largest importers. While some garments are then resold within the importing country, an estimated 40% of second hand clothing imports are declared to be unsuitable for reuse or resale, subsequently ending up in landfill, and worsening already struggling waste management systems. This begs the question of whether this practice is best described as ‘dumping’ rather than ‘donating’.
The current situation is largely the result of the sheer volume of clothing that is donated – an inevitable consequence of the fast fashion business model. By design, this model caters towards ever-changing trend cycles, by producing high volumes of low-quality clothing at a minimal cost, all at a rapid pace.
Higher demand for fast fashion has fuelled both the production and consumption of textiles which has almost doubled in the last two decades, from 7kg per person to 13kg. At the same time, garments are being discarded at double the rates compared to 2000, with 85% of all textiles going to landfill each year. This rapid disposal rate is due to the low-cost of fast fashion garments, with consumers not seeing a need to maintain the longevity of a garment if they can simply purchase a new one at an affordable price.
The existence of charities and other clothing donation sites ends up supporting our appetite for fast fashion. The convenience of discarding clothes at the nearest donation or charity collection site, opens up the wardrobe space, and the conscience, for consumers to purchase another fast fashion item as they continue the cycle of purchasing and donating.
In this way, consumers are able to convince themselves they are participating in a circular economy, as they do not see the fate of their clothes, which end up in a distant country. As such, instead of promoting reuse, clothes donating practices are now part of a cycle of overconsumption and overproduction.
Beyond the many publicised environmental impacts involved in the production of clothing, the donated clothes that end in landfill engender environmental challenges that are often overlooked. With Global South countries already struggling with overflowing landfills from food and green waste, as well as single-use plastics, the addition of donated clothing intensifies this problem, with the resulting excesses ending up in waterways and unauthorised, open dumping sites.
Consequently, textile waste that ends up in waterways often clog gutters and drains, leading to flooding in surrounding areas that heightens the spread of disease. The chemical dyes [...]
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