4 ms·

All the countries I've lived in during my life (4) have had various types of "boxes" on the street where you can dump clothes, which subsequently gets donated t

All the countries I've lived in during my life (4) have had various types of "boxes" on the street where you can dump clothes, which subsequently gets donated to various organizations that handles giving clothes to people in need. Since I've found this in every country I've lived, I thought this was ubiquitous in the modern world. Am I maybe blinded by my experience here?

superchroma 4y ago
In my country, those boxes go to discount stores operated by these charities which really aren't that cheap. A lot gets discarded, I've heard, because it's not presentable for purchasing. It's a bit sad, hopefully yours are better.
- zerocrates 4y ago
  The article here describes Goodwill's operation in the US, where better-quality items are sold in the stores, lesser at outlet, and eventually things are bundled up and sold in bulk, as scraps, and for other uses like that. The idea is to just maximize the monetary value of the donations and then turn around and spend that money on their actual charitable mission. It removes some of the "romance" of donating items, but as long as you support the mission, I struggle to say it's the wrong move. Of course there are negative effects as well, like the eventual dumping of items on poor countries and the effects on domestic markets for clothing in those places... but at the scale the West buys and discards clothes, there's really no perfect answers.
  - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
    > It removes some of the "romance" of donating items I mean, what did you expect? Honest question: what romantic views did you have about donating used clothes (or anything) to Goodwill? Did you think they handed them out for free at the local soup kitchen for the homeless?
    - tedunangst 4y ago
      I do think people have the idea that they donate a tie to charity, they give it to a homeless man, who wears it to an interview, and lands a job as a bank teller.
pestatije 4y ago
These shops are having a hard time selecting whats sell-able. People dump everything there thinking it is waste.
Apreche 4y ago
There are many such boxes around here. Almost all of them are operated by for-profit cults.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  I knew the Canadian Diabetes Association was a front for big insulin, and this confirms it!
logifail 4y ago
> All the countries I've lived in during my life (4) have had various types of "boxes" on the street where you can dump clothes, which subsequently gets donated to various organizations that handles giving clothes to people in need [..] Q1: To which people? Q2: As a 'donor', how is one supposed to be able to determine what actually happens after your throw your clothes in the box?
- smileysteve 4y ago
  When helping hurts, the best recycling of old fabrics to avoid economic reprecussions is probably for insulation or us dollars. Most of the big name donation centers (GoodWill) will have this setup for their waste product.
- smileysteve 4y ago
  To which people? In best cases, to domestic thrift stores, which are hoping to create retail jobs for people (often a bridge job to get training, a work history) with customers including homeless, thrift treasure seekers, costume shoppers, college students, near poverty, in poverty, makers, reusers and more. Middle case, they get shredded into insulation or dollar bills. Worse case, they flood Africa as finished textiles obliterating the local market.
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
  It's not a literal black box. It has information on it, maybe a website, where you can go research what happens in great detail. Including what clothes are accepted, what the minimum conditions must be, whether they are sold in thrift stores or donated, and to who, etc.
pessimizer 4y ago
They don't want your old clothes, they want your semi-fresh ones.
- sct202 4y ago
  If they're so old they've crossed the line to vintage, they are in demand again.
notacoward 4y ago
OP addresses this. Very little of what goes into those boxes gets sold as-is. Some more gets sold as rags, chopped up for insulation and pillows etc. Most ends up in landfills. The boxes are convenient, but don't really solve the waste problem. They just change who profits from the very small residual value in old clothes, and often not for the better. You're better off selling the very few best pieces (e.g. still-fashionable dress clothes in near mint condition) locally and donating the proceeds to a real charity. The rest will go in the trash anyway so might as well skip the middleman and put it there yourself.
xsmasher 4y ago
There are many clothing drop-boxes near me (SF bay area). They make claims to charity; they sell the clothing and give 10% of the proceeds to a charity. The other 90% goes to the company that owns the box.
kenned3 4y ago
I have to question those large "boxes" and their true motives. Homeless People have literally DIED trying to get things out of the bins. If the goal is to get the clothing to those who need it, why build the bins in such a way that removal is impossible? https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-death-donation-bin-1.4964381 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-... "At least seven Canadians have died after getting stuck in clothing donation bins, and the latest fatality has prompted an advocate to call for the "death traps" to be immediately fixed or removed." It seems the true goal is to accept donations (free) and then turn around and sell the clothing? So you build bins in a way that they are "one-way" doors, and only those with keys can remove the goods?
- staticman2 4y ago
  Wouldn't the goal of the bin be to stop someone from selling the items in the bin?
  - kenned3 4y ago
    How do you know they intended to sell them? Read the article, they were homeless.. i'd guess they were looking for something to stay warm in an uncomfortable Canadian winter? I thought the "goal" of the bin was go put used clothing in the hands of those who need it?
    - staticman2 4y ago
      What I meant is, from the point of view of the creator of the bin, locking the bin prevents a criminal from taking all the donations meant for homeless people. If the charity leaves it unlocked they have no control over whether donations go to somebody who needs charity.
loeg 4y ago
Yeah, we have dumpsters where I've lived, too.

superchroma 4y ago

In my country, those boxes go to discount stores operated by these charities which really aren't that cheap. A lot gets discarded, I've heard, because it's not presentable for purchasing. It's a bit sad, hopefully yours are better.

zerocrates 4y ago
The article here describes Goodwill's operation in the US, where better-quality items are sold in the stores, lesser at outlet, and eventually things are bundled up and sold in bulk, as scraps, and for other uses like that. The idea is to just maximize the monetary value of the donations and then turn around and spend that money on their actual charitable mission. It removes some of the "romance" of donating items, but as long as you support the mission, I struggle to say it's the wrong move. Of course there are negative effects as well, like the eventual dumping of items on poor countries and the effects on domestic markets for clothing in those places... but at the scale the West buys and discards clothes, there's really no perfect answers.
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  > It removes some of the "romance" of donating items I mean, what did you expect? Honest question: what romantic views did you have about donating used clothes (or anything) to Goodwill? Did you think they handed them out for free at the local soup kitchen for the homeless?
  - tedunangst 4y ago
    I do think people have the idea that they donate a tie to charity, they give it to a homeless man, who wears it to an interview, and lands a job as a bank teller.

pestatije 4y ago

These shops are having a hard time selecting whats sell-able. People dump everything there thinking it is waste.

Apreche 4y ago

There are many such boxes around here. Almost all of them are operated by for-profit cults.

Scoundreller 4y ago
I knew the Canadian Diabetes Association was a front for big insulin, and this confirms it!

logifail 4y ago

> All the countries I've lived in during my life (4) have had various types of "boxes" on the street where you can dump clothes, which subsequently gets donated to various organizations that handles giving clothes to people in need [..] Q1: To which people? Q2: As a 'donor', how is one supposed to be able to determine what actually happens after your throw your clothes in the box?

smileysteve 4y ago
When helping hurts, the best recycling of old fabrics to avoid economic reprecussions is probably for insulation or us dollars. Most of the big name donation centers (GoodWill) will have this setup for their waste product.
smileysteve 4y ago
To which people? In best cases, to domestic thrift stores, which are hoping to create retail jobs for people (often a bridge job to get training, a work history) with customers including homeless, thrift treasure seekers, costume shoppers, college students, near poverty, in poverty, makers, reusers and more. Middle case, they get shredded into insulation or dollar bills. Worse case, they flood Africa as finished textiles obliterating the local market.
mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
It's not a literal black box. It has information on it, maybe a website, where you can go research what happens in great detail. Including what clothes are accepted, what the minimum conditions must be, whether they are sold in thrift stores or donated, and to who, etc.

pessimizer 4y ago

They don't want your old clothes, they want your semi-fresh ones.

sct202 4y ago
If they're so old they've crossed the line to vintage, they are in demand again.

notacoward 4y ago

OP addresses this. Very little of what goes into those boxes gets sold as-is. Some more gets sold as rags, chopped up for insulation and pillows etc. Most ends up in landfills. The boxes are convenient, but don't really solve the waste problem. They just change who profits from the very small residual value in old clothes, and often not for the better. You're better off selling the very few best pieces (e.g. still-fashionable dress clothes in near mint condition) locally and donating the proceeds to a real charity. The rest will go in the trash anyway so might as well skip the middleman and put it there yourself.

xsmasher 4y ago

There are many clothing drop-boxes near me (SF bay area). They make claims to charity; they sell the clothing and give 10% of the proceeds to a charity. The other 90% goes to the company that owns the box.

kenned3 4y ago

I have to question those large "boxes" and their true motives. Homeless People have literally DIED trying to get things out of the bins. If the goal is to get the clothing to those who need it, why build the bins in such a way that removal is impossible? https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-death-donation-bin-1.4964381 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-... "At least seven Canadians have died after getting stuck in clothing donation bins, and the latest fatality has prompted an advocate to call for the "death traps" to be immediately fixed or removed." It seems the true goal is to accept donations (free) and then turn around and sell the clothing? So you build bins in a way that they are "one-way" doors, and only those with keys can remove the goods?

staticman2 4y ago
Wouldn't the goal of the bin be to stop someone from selling the items in the bin?
- kenned3 4y ago
  How do you know they intended to sell them? Read the article, they were homeless.. i'd guess they were looking for something to stay warm in an uncomfortable Canadian winter? I thought the "goal" of the bin was go put used clothing in the hands of those who need it?
  - staticman2 4y ago
    What I meant is, from the point of view of the creator of the bin, locking the bin prevents a criminal from taking all the donations meant for homeless people. If the charity leaves it unlocked they have no control over whether donations go to somebody who needs charity.

loeg 4y ago

Yeah, we have dumpsters where I've lived, too.