Art and Style | March 10, 2009 | 2 comments

‘Dead White People’s Clothes’

source: http://topics.myjoyonline.com/features/200903/27311.asp

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anjoru
It's impossible to have a conversation about fashion in Africa—traditional or contemporary — without talking about the used-clothing industry and how damaging some people say it’s been.

A whole industry has cropped up around apparel that's been donated to charities located oceans away, imported throughout the African continent and then sold cheaply in African marketplaces. These low prices undercut local retailers and undermine the entire textile and garment business in Africa.
  1. groups:
    Art and Style,   Culture,   Fashion
  2. tags:
    Culture,  Art and Style,  Economy,  Fashion,  4 more
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2 comments // ‘Dead White People’s Clothes’

  • unclecharlie
    • 0
      unclecharlie  

    • First time I ever saw clothing sold by the pound was in Brownsville, Texas....a block or two away from the International Border.....a bit of the stuff was brand new clearance stuff from Sears, JC Penney that still never sold at clearance prices. It works good here in the States, too bad it can't work overseas...

    • 4 years ago
  • Pennylane
    • 0
      Pennylane  

    • It's an interesting article. It's sad that charitable clothes steel the business from the African textile industry. However, the article also stated that the used clothing industry sold more because they had lower prices. Obviously African's can't afford to spend the amount priced on the African-made clothing. What's wrong with being able to buy clothing cheaper? It's not like America is making a profit.

      Basically what I got from this article is you're damned if you do and damned if you don't...

    • 4 years ago
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