The psychological damage done by second hand clothing in Africa.

[sl8]

From http://www.therealafrican.com/2017/10/the-psychological-damage-done-by-second-hand-clothing-in-africa/ :

The psychological damage done by second hand clothing in Africa.
15th October 2017
Nii Commey
African Opinions & Analysis, Regional News

KIGALI, Rwanda — In Kenya, they are called the “clothes of dead white people.” In Mozambique, they are the “clothing of calamity.”

They are nicknames for the unwanted, used clothing from the West that so often ends up in Africa.

Now, a handful of countries here in East Africa no longer want the foreign hand-me-downs dumped on them because they’re trying to manufacture their own clothes.

But they say they’re being punished for it — by the United States.

...

More at link.

[Portland_Anni]

1. Since Africa has become a dumping ground of hate...

... Where anti homosexual and transgender activists - like the old Oregon Citizen's Alliance's Scott Lively have spread hatred seeding it into religious organizations and government officials there. I prefer to see an Africa with strong resistance to bad ideas from hateful activists importing bigotry.

Self identity and sense of responsibility to resist carpetbagging wannabe Hitler level stooges can be helped by cultivating pride in African cultural roots.

[Throck]

2. The editorial comes with mixed blessings.

Every country should seek to establish it's own safe, environmentally friendly economy. A hand-me-down economy is not much of an economy.

Yet in my college days, my friends, my girlfriend and myself never had a problem shopping at thrift stores to make ends meet. I still pick up clothing at the thrift stores. The kids from my son's old scout troop use to pick up camping clothing layers instead of the new overpriced. Ages 0 thru 6 lots of my kids clothing came from garage sales and thrift stores.

On the flip side we've also donated clothing over the years to various men's and women's shelters. My kids outgrew stuff and there were lots of miles still left. Some women of domestic abuse head to shelters with their kids and only the clothing on their backs. Over the years I've spotted a winter coat or two and a few donated sweatshirts that previously may have come from my family on a street person or two.

Apparently there's a ying-yang about donated clothing.

[msongs]

3. PBS had an hour long show on the effects of dumping used clothes in africa. cant recall the name tho

but it showed how the used clothes were killing many businesses local to africa and other places receiving all this stuff.

[SharonAnn]

4. It's the same with agriculture food donations. It can kill the local farm economy.

We need to rethink that way we provide food aid. In some cases, shipping corn/wheat/etc., while it provides emergency food, can also destroy the local farming economy. There are things we can do in structuring the aid so that the impact is not so negative on the local economy. Farmers in these countries can't make a living growing food so it destabilizes the local economy. Then, in some cases, they start growing opium poppies or coca or ??? to make a living.