BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES CLASS READING - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL - ENVIRONMENTAL
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GLOBAL RECYCLING OF FABRICS
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World textile trade now includes large amounts or recycled fabric, usually in the form of used clothing and household linens. Statistics on this rapidly expanding industry evolve constantly and rapidly, but in 2002, 822 million pounds (373 million kilograms) of recycled apparel was exported to the developing world from the U.S. alone, and Australia, Japan, and many countries in Western Europe were also active suppliers. The U.S. doubled its exports between 1990 and 1997, and the industry has been almost exponentially expanding since then ... The significance of this is clear if we consider the fact that used clothing is currently America's single most important export to Africa.

Wealthy countries have an incredible glut of usable clothing; garments are relatively inexpensive to purchase and the international cosmopolitan fashion system demands that we replace clothes quickly in order to stay in style. We tire of these textiles long before they actually wear out. Some people simply them away, sending them directly to the landfill, but aware of how wasteful that is, others donate their unwanted items to charity organizations. These groups distribute some of the donated material to local shelters and needy populations, and sell another portion of it in their thrift shops, using the profits to support their charitable activities. However, there is far too much material to dispose of it all that way. At least half of the textiles donated to these organizations are now shipped overseas, where they are sold in thriving second-hand markets. First World discards have a second (or third or fourth) 'life' in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and parts of the Middle East ...

Those who receive and distribute second-hand clothing are not passive recipients - these developing world markets are not 'dumping grounds' where individuals feel grateful for any cast-offs they can get. On the contrary, entrepreneurs in each market are are very specific about what they will be able to sell ...

Used clothing goes by different names in Africa: in Zimbabwe it is called 'mupedzanhamo', which can be translated as 'where all problems end'. In Nigeria, the world is 'okirika', or 'bend down boutique', and Zambians use the descriptive term 'salaula', meaning 'selecting from a bale in the matter of rummaging'. Tanzanians and Ghanaians use words that translate as 'dead white people's clothes'. Despite negative labels, the business is unstoppable. A 1996 article estimated that one third of the population of sub-Saharan Africa was wearing second-hand clothing ... Even poor people can afford high-quality used clothing ...

The second-hand clothing business provides thousands of jobs in the developing world, from truck drivers to salespeople, to tailors who do modifications on clothes in the outdoor markets,to people who clean the clothes. Oxfam's research team in Senegal estimated that 24,000 people were active in the business in 2005. In countries were the local economy is weak, laid-off workers, widows, self-sponsored students, and others take to the trade because it requires little start-up capital and they can turn a small profit almost immediately ... At the same time, there is a definite downside to the trade, including a loss to local textile industries and clothing producers. (Gordon, 2013, pp.196-7).
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REFERENCE

Gordon, B. (2013 [2011] ) Textiles. The whole story - uses, meaning, significance. London: Thames and Hudson.