And you thought your donation to the Goodwill actually went to the Goodwill. Turns out a percentage of used clothes are sold at Goodwill, but the rejects are shipped off to Africa where second-hand clothing is bringing down the textile industry.
Missionary Tim Hutchinson commented on the phenomena after seeing it in Africa and reading about it in the LA Times.
Hmmmm … concerns of the textile industry vs. millions of otherwise naked people … in a nation that earns billions per year in oil exports.
It’s clear to me that we’re to blame here.
Tchaa, y’know what? Uh-uh. I don’t think so.
If you’re in Africa and your biggest problem isn’t AIDS, isn’t genocide, isn’t famine, but that your industry’s in decline because the folks are buying used BVDs, your priorities are seriously out of whack. But by all means, blame the West.
Can and should international trade laws be adjusted to make room for African textiles in the global marketplace? I think so. But putting the kibosh on used clothes isn’t going to make domestic textiles more affordable for the average Nigerian, so it isn’t going to do thing one for the economy.
Enabling Nigerian youth to emulate American hip-hop and NBA stars, now there’s something the West has to answer for.
–Chris