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Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

abc.net.au

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Re: Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

#91

Post by mumblemumble »

dylan604 wrote: post #71
gambiting wrote: post #53

We run a processing company for second hand clothing in Poland(as well as our own shops), and while I can't comment on exports to Africa or elsewhere, that's definitely not the case for us. Primarly because we try to make use of absolutely everything we import, but also because few years back certain legislations were introduced that basically prevent companies like ours from producing large amounts of waste, with dr…

>why would anyone "donate" these is a different matter This is a very big question though. WTF are people thinking? There's a difference between no longer wearing something because it no longer fits but is otherwise in good condition to not being used because it's completely ruined. What mental block exists in the original owner from just throwing away the ruined items vs just holding onto them to donate so someone e…

To add to what others have said, I think that a lot of people have this idea that "trash = bad" so deeply internalized that they're heavily biased toward only putting things in the bin when there can be no doubt whatsoever that it is garbage.

You also see this when people put greasy paper take-out food containers in the recycling. No, it's not recyclable, and worse, it might further contaminate other things and render them non-recyclable as well. But, when I ask houseguests not to put them in our recycle bin, they seem to be honestly startled by the request. Oftentimes they assume it's because I'm a lax recycler and would rather throw things away than sully my pristine recycle bin with uneaten curry.

Re: Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

#92

Post by dylan604 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #86
dylan604 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>take away from it that cars don't actually contribute to climate change that much, which is not true. The time during pandemic lockdown where traffic levels plummeted and how quickly the air cleared pretty much proves that personal auto traffic is huge contributor to bad air quality.

Climate change != local climate != local emissions (gases, particulate matter, noise). The thing that people noticed during the 'rona was almost exclusively the latter... especially the noise and particulates. I could hear birds outside when the windows were open, the street-facing windows accumulated a lot less dust.

Local pollutions just don't stay local. They eventually become part of the entire global climate. Global climate is the sum of all of the local climates. There's no walls protecting CityA from CityB's pollution. Look at the effect of wild fires on parts of the globe without fires.

This is just a sad way to look at things. Changes have to start somewhere. They can start small, and then grow larger. People like you saying "too small, not effective" just need to sit down and be quiet, thank you very much.

Re: Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

#94

Post by dylan604 »

whimsicalism wrote: post #90
dylan604 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>why would anyone "donate" these is a different matter This is a very big question though. WTF are people thinking? There's a difference between no longer wearing something because it no longer fits but is otherwise in good condition to not being used because it's completely ruined. What mental block exists in the original owner from just throwing away the ruined items vs just holding onto them to donate so someone e…

I mean, it seems like you're directing a lot of ire at what the above commentator says is an extremely small (less than 1%) share of donated items. Clearly having this sort of "mental block" is not an extremely common thing.

My ire was not directed at the original post at all, but towards the people that were specifically called out in that post. I took one part of that post and expanded on it. The natural progression of conversations.

Re: Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

#95

Post by whywhywhywhy »

jnwatson wrote: post #48

It is articles like this that remind me that we so desperately need a carbon tax. Making a t-shirt in China, shipping to the US, wearing it for a few times, and then shipping it to Africa should not be economically viable.

Or you know, just don't make it in the first place.

If all low quality fast fashion were $20 instead of $7 across the board people would still gorge themselves on it.

They're not buying stuff for the need to have clothes, they're buying things for the experiences of buying it and the novelty of something new.

Re: Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

#96

Post by Swizec »

dylan604 wrote: post #71
gambiting wrote: post #53

We run a processing company for second hand clothing in Poland(as well as our own shops), and while I can't comment on exports to Africa or elsewhere, that's definitely not the case for us. Primarly because we try to make use of absolutely everything we import, but also because few years back certain legislations were introduced that basically prevent companies like ours from producing large amounts of waste, with dr…

>why would anyone "donate" these is a different matter This is a very big question though. WTF are people thinking? There's a difference between no longer wearing something because it no longer fits but is otherwise in good condition to not being used because it's completely ruined. What mental block exists in the original owner from just throwing away the ruined items vs just holding onto them to donate so someone e…

I often donate my running shoes to the street.

After 700km they're no longer good for running. But they're perfectly fine for walking around and as general footwear. Better shape than a lot of what I've seen folks living in the streets wear.

Someone always takes them within 3 hours of putting them out.

Re: Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

#97

Post by woodwireandfood »

francisofascii wrote: post #33

Any tips on extending the life of our clothes? I love new t-shirts, but they seem to wear down quickly. Maybe there is a way to wash them and get the sweat smell out without wearing down the shirt. I always use cold water, and only wash/dry when necessary. I heard washer agitation is a problem.

Silly one that I discovered: my t-shirts all developed a hole in the center of the stomach area first, before any other damage. It appears to be from rubbing between the seat belt of the car and the zipper/button area of my pants. So I've started pulling the shirt out of that spot after I put the seat belt on. Too early to tell how much of a difference it's made.

Re: Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

#99

Post by JamesSwift »

dylan604 wrote: post #71
gambiting wrote: post #53

We run a processing company for second hand clothing in Poland(as well as our own shops), and while I can't comment on exports to Africa or elsewhere, that's definitely not the case for us. Primarly because we try to make use of absolutely everything we import, but also because few years back certain legislations were introduced that basically prevent companies like ours from producing large amounts of waste, with dr…

>why would anyone "donate" these is a different matter This is a very big question though. WTF are people thinking? There's a difference between no longer wearing something because it no longer fits but is otherwise in good condition to not being used because it's completely ruined. What mental block exists in the original owner from just throwing away the ruined items vs just holding onto them to donate so someone e…

For myself, I tend to be in the "let the professionals decide what to scrap" camp.

If the alternative is that I throw it in the garbage, what is the net loss by letting the workers who do this all day long decide what should be thrown in the garbage? As the OP says, they have various uses for items, so it makes sense to let them handle the sorting through of junk to decide what is ultimately landfill material. Sure, I could educate myself better about the details on what happens once I hand it over, so that time isn't being wasted, but I am, of course, lazy.

Re: Many of the clothes we donate to charity end up dumped in landfill

#100

Post by mschuster91 »

dylan604 wrote: post #92
mschuster91 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Climate change != local climate != local emissions (gases, particulate matter, noise). The thing that people noticed during the 'rona was almost exclusively the latter... especially the noise and particulates. I could hear birds outside when the windows were open, the street-facing windows accumulated a lot less dust.

Local pollutions just don't stay local. They eventually become part of the entire global climate. Global climate is the sum of all of the local climates. There's no walls protecting CityA from CityB's pollution. Look at the effect of wild fires on parts of the globe without fires. This is just a sad way to look at things. Changes have to start somewhere. They can start small, and then grow larger. People like you say…

edit to add: particulate emissions (diesel soot, tire and brake wear) stay local and don't ever become global.

The focus on "individual action" is a talking point that BP invented in the 70s (see https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sh...). I won't stop anyone from reducing their footprint, but we have tried this shit for decades now and it clearly hasn't worked a single bit.

We need to hold the big emitters of greenhouse gases accountable, they haven't been for about half a century. Remember the "ozone hole" and the CFC ban? That one worked, because the companies bringing CFCs into circulation were tackled instead of pushing the blame to consumers.

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