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Really interesting having just come back from a project in Kenya (and a vacation in Uganda) and one of the really striking things was how many older American/EU

Really interesting having just come back from a project in Kenya (and a vacation in Uganda) and one of the really striking things was how many older American/EU clothes were on the street (e.g. sweaters from smaller colleges, shirts referencing mid-sized sporting events for american football). I asked a few of the people I was working with about it and they were quite negative, along with cheap Chinese imports, it has really hurt the domestic textile market to the point where it's basically been wiped out of existence because they can't compete with these imports. https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-markets/africa-vs-the-usa-a-secondhand-clothing-showdown https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-markets/af...

MomoXenosaga 5y ago
That is true of the European textile industry as well, although Italy still makes clothes. Made by Chinese that moved there.
- foobarian 5y ago
  I'm disappointed by the shuttering of textile industries in east Europe. It's not just the manufacturing of finished garments; the raw fabrics that used to come out of there were above and beyond what I can find today even in fancy stores. It's like fabric manufacture centralized behind the scenes until everyone has access to the same thin, cost-optimized material and just puts their brand name on it.
- Zababa 5y ago
  Not sure about that. I knew a few people working in textile, and most of if was made in Eastern Europe because the delays were shorter. They were high-end brands though.
dhosek 5y ago
I couldn't help thinking of this: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/12/11/250200378/we-found-this-20-year-old-t-shirt-in-kenya-the-internet-found-the-original-owner https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/12/11/250200378/we-f...
erfgh 5y ago
Do you mean that if people there only had access to more expensive clothing they would be better off?
- cryptonym 5y ago
  Fair price locally can generate more work for local people, wealth and redistribution. Overall, more expensive clothing could also help reducing waste. Cheap fast-fashion fails to significantly improve my life (and, from post, negatively impacts lives).
  - only_as_i_fall 5y ago
    How does banning the import of secondhand clothing reduce waste? Unless you can prevent westerners from getting rid of clothes in the first place this really seems like paying people to dig and refill holes. Work for the sake of work.
    - cryptonym 5y ago
      I didn't mention banning import of secondhand clothing, so I leave it to you. One way to prevent "westerner" from getting rid of clothes is by having them buying quality products at a fair price, including waste treatment. Now how that would be implemented, no idea. We all know any change will have side effects as we are in a complex economy and that doesn't mean we cannot try. Just to keep the discussion open on reducing waste, some random ideas: tax fast-fashion, ban disposable clothes, prevent waste export (non-wearable clothes qualify as waste).
      - only_as_i_fall 5y ago
        Ok, but this is literally a thread about how cheap second hand clothes coming from western countries affect the local industries of African nations so I don't really know what you're on about
        cryptonym 5y ago
megablast 5y ago
I mean, it’s a pretty common media story that these cheap imports are hated by the local textile shops. Weird you claim It like it’s your discovery.

MomoXenosaga 5y ago

That is true of the European textile industry as well, although Italy still makes clothes. Made by Chinese that moved there.

foobarian 5y ago
I'm disappointed by the shuttering of textile industries in east Europe. It's not just the manufacturing of finished garments; the raw fabrics that used to come out of there were above and beyond what I can find today even in fancy stores. It's like fabric manufacture centralized behind the scenes until everyone has access to the same thin, cost-optimized material and just puts their brand name on it.
Zababa 5y ago
Not sure about that. I knew a few people working in textile, and most of if was made in Eastern Europe because the delays were shorter. They were high-end brands though.

dhosek 5y ago

I couldn't help thinking of this: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/12/11/250200378/we-found-this-20-year-old-t-shirt-in-kenya-the-internet-found-the-original-owner https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/12/11/250200378/we-f...

erfgh 5y ago

Do you mean that if people there only had access to more expensive clothing they would be better off?

cryptonym 5y ago
Fair price locally can generate more work for local people, wealth and redistribution. Overall, more expensive clothing could also help reducing waste. Cheap fast-fashion fails to significantly improve my life (and, from post, negatively impacts lives).
- only_as_i_fall 5y ago
  How does banning the import of secondhand clothing reduce waste? Unless you can prevent westerners from getting rid of clothes in the first place this really seems like paying people to dig and refill holes. Work for the sake of work.
  - cryptonym 5y ago
    I didn't mention banning import of secondhand clothing, so I leave it to you. One way to prevent "westerner" from getting rid of clothes is by having them buying quality products at a fair price, including waste treatment. Now how that would be implemented, no idea. We all know any change will have side effects as we are in a complex economy and that doesn't mean we cannot try. Just to keep the discussion open on reducing waste, some random ideas: tax fast-fashion, ban disposable clothes, prevent waste export (non-wearable clothes qualify as waste).
    - only_as_i_fall 5y ago
      Ok, but this is literally a thread about how cheap second hand clothes coming from western countries affect the local industries of African nations so I don't really know what you're on about
      - cryptonym 5y ago

megablast 5y ago

I mean, it’s a pretty common media story that these cheap imports are hated by the local textile shops. Weird you claim It like it’s your discovery.