Is donation the right choice?

Where Does Used Clothing Wind Up?

What do you picture when you hear the term second-hand clothing? Maybe damaged, maybe stained or maybe cool because it’s vintage? Some people don't like to wear second-hand clothes. Everybody has a different picture of what second-hand is.

The popularity of second-hand clothing is rising nowadays because it’s affordable and eco-friendly to reuse. Even celebrities are wearing second-hand. The reputation of second-hand has been changing rapidly in recent years.

According to the resale platform thredUP, the US second-hand market is expected to more than double by 2026, reaching $82 billion. The global second-hand apparel market is expected to grow 3X faster than the global apparel market overall.

The idea of donating clothing sounds better for the environment. And it is a great solution for everybody! Unnecessary clothing purchased impulsively often sits in the closet unworn. So people bring them to the donation facility. That is great and somebody will be excited to have it. But what happens to the clothing which didn’t sell at the donation center? The rest, which is about 2/3rd, goes to places in Africa or Asia like India and Malaysia. Those stores in Asia sell to local people in a bundle for a very low price. Then, some people pick sellable items from the bundle and resell them via platforms like Etsy and Grailed to American and European customers. 

I know a bunch of major clothing brands are made in Asian countries and sold to the US and other countries. But when I think of second-hand clothing sent back to Asia or Africa and resold back to the US? Funny! 

Although reselling used clothing sounds good for the businesses, what about the second-hand clothing which they didn't want or couldn't sell? You know the answer. It has become trash. 

Since the mass-production of cheap, disposable clothing became popular in late 1990’s when fast fashion kicked off, the amount of clothing and textile related waste has been rising nonstop. 

In the beginning, unsold or second-hand clothing in the US was sent to developing countries for another life. And it worked out for a time. But over the course of years, those countries were having economic growth and people were able to get better clothing rather than leftovers from the US. Some African countries announced that they would ban incoming clothing by 2019. A rule which can protect their homegrown garment industries as well. In some ways “donating clothing” begins to seem like a way of dumping what we don't want onto other countries.

So where will all of America's unwanted fast fashion go in the future? Nowhere. 

We love clothing. But if you keep filling the closet every week with more disposable clothing, and decide to donate it after you lose interest - that behavior is irresponsible. The idea of donating clothing may make you feel better and possibly somebody is happy to have the donated clothing. But the truth is a lot of donated clothing has nowhere to go and winds up in the trash. 

Think again what donation means to you.