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Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

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Re: Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

#161

Post by 8589934591 »

telesilla wrote: post #149
wccrawford wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an American that doesn't buy new clothes often, but I want to provide my view. My clothes last a lot longer than 2-3 years. To get to the point that they're ragged or faded takes a long time for most of them. (The very cheapest t-shirts from online sites are the exception. I don't buy those any more.) On the other hand, my wife gets great pleasure from getting new clothing. She has a lot more than I do, and still…

In case she is open to discussing this, it's a fairly common problem. It can be resolved by finding another source of praise, for example volunteer work or teaching, or exceeding in extra activities in her field. She is not needing new clothes but attention, and there are healthy ways to achieve that. Experience: my own (as a woman) and various friends over the years.

Hey please have a look at my reply above. My wife would definitely love to make better friends to talk about something other than clothes/earrings. As a woman how do you handle such situations when your self worth is evaluated by the newer clothes/things you wear as opposed to talking about your success in your career?

Re: Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

#162

Post by rightbyte »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #132
McMiniBurger wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

>Maybe major brands should research & launch clothes with "eco-friendly cloth-fiber" that disintegrates / can be recycled / etc? Such as cotton?

Or wool.

Maybe plastics should just be banned for any cloths but like shoes, jackets and cover pants. That would solve much of the long term waste problem.

Re: Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

#163

Post by boeingUH60 »

gexla wrote: post #27
DoreenMichele wrote: post #21

In Ghana, imported secondhand clothes are called obroni wawu, dead white man’s clothes. In Malawi, they are kaunjika — literally “clothes sold in a heap.” In Mozambique, they are known as calamidade, calamity, for their historical association with disaster relief aid. Fascinating article if only for such an interesting glimpse into Africa and African culture and how it is being shaped by its relationship to the large…

In the Philippines it's Ukay-Ukay, which originates from a term which means "to dig." So, they're digging for good finds. ;)

Here in Nigeria, they’re called “Okrika”. Pretty funny names.

Re: Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

#164

Post by sokoloff »

rightbyte wrote: post #162
AussieWog93 wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Maybe major brands should research & launch clothes with "eco-friendly cloth-fiber" that disintegrates / can be recycled / etc? Such as cotton?

Or wool. Maybe plastics should just be banned for any cloths but like shoes, jackets and cover pants. That would solve much of the long term waste problem.

Plastic buttons are pretty damn useful.

Re: Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

#165

Post by tiborsaas »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #69

I'm in e-commerce, and reading through this thread I think many people have the misconception that people make purchases to solve problems and want that solution to last as long as possible. In reality, and this is something I spent a long time coming to terms with, much shopping is done because it's fun. Spending money isn't a cost - it's the whole point of the exercise.

I'm in the minority then, I hate shopping it only brings me stress and not joy. I think I haven't bought new clothes (except underwear) in the past two years.

Re: Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

#166

Post by regularjack »

parenthesis wrote: post #151

Once an item of clothing wears out too much to wear in public, I wear it around the house or sleep in it. During the pandemic I've rarely had to wear `decent' clothes. On video calls I just temporarily put on a non-worn-out top over whatever I'm wearing. Unfortunately I do have to buy replacement footwear quite regularly (50+ miles on foot per week). But a worn out pair of shoes does for working in the garden, and wo…

I'm the same. My girlfriend is constantly wanting to throw out some of my clothing items, and I'm thinking "I could probably still wear that for another 10 years!"

Re: Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

#169

Post by jsymolon »

sokoloff wrote: post #164
rightbyte wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or wool. Maybe plastics should just be banned for any cloths but like shoes, jackets and cover pants. That would solve much of the long term waste problem.

Plastic buttons are pretty damn useful.

Might even include zippers into that also.

Basically: reduce reuse recycle

The point being materials science gave us a lot of materials that are better performing for a lot of use cases.

Consider the amount of single use plastic in the medical field.

Re: Many clothing donations end up in African landfills

#170

Post by crispyambulance »

bujak300 wrote: post #123
sangnoir wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did shopping become fun because fast-fashion clothes were cheap, or did clothes become cheap because shopping is fun? I'm also e-commerce-adjacent, but I believe fast-fashion (especially synthetics) is bad for humanity. Sure, people are making loads of money[1], but it's an ecological disaster in the making. 1. Me included, but only getting a little. Shein is getting ALL the money.

In fact the processing of "natural" fibers is much more harmful to the environment then synthetics.

Whether it's harmful or not depends on the lifespan of the garment and whether or not that "natural" garment replaces enough throw-away garments to make it worthwhile.

Sure, it's totally possible for a well-made synthetic garment to last as long or longer than a natural one (many of our dead uncle's double knit polyester slacks are still kicking-it in a thrift store somewhere). But we're talking here about "fast fashion", which is entirely cheaply made garments that, by definition, have a short lifespan. These are typically synthetic fabrics or cotton/polyester blends.

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