A Cycle of Dependency: How Donations Worsen Income Inequality

Regardless of the good intentions behind donations, the short-term gain experienced by poor communities often leads to the persistence of income inequality and an endless cycle of dependency. 

Secondhand clothing in Haiti. Vanberto. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

Donations are often associated with a positive image of helping destitute populations get the resources they lack. Yet, this short-term aid often results in far-reaching consequences detrimental to a country’s economy, which leads to the persistence of income inequality.

The donation of money that goes toward buying resources for impoverished communities often creates an endless cycle of dependency, especially if such service is repeatedly conducted through organizations or companies. First, the repeated nature of such service creates a false assumption among receivers that there will always be a supply of that resource without work, making them reliant on such aid. Moreover, the organizations themselves are indirectly relying on marginalized areas to promote their businesses’ charitable work. For instance, back in 2006, when TOMS started its “one for one” program, it would donate a pair of shoes for every pair that was purchased. Although the company’s motive seemed to be pure, it relied on underprivileged populations’ need for shoes to increase its business revenue. 

84% of unwanted clothing is thrown into landfills

When donations are consistently provided, those living in poverty often learn to become dependent on the donors as they see less reason to get out of their current situation. Local businesses also shut down, as the need to produce items goes away when high-quality donations are provided at a minimal price from external sources. Although that may come as great news for citizens of developing countries, most of the profit in this exchange goes to the exporters. A 2006 report found that, “textile and clothing employment in Ghana declined by 80% from 1975 to 2000; in Zambia it fell from 25,000 workers in the 1980s to below 10,000 in 2002; and in Nigeria the number of workers fell from 200,000 to being insignificant.” Such statistics imply that despite the good nature of external aid, it often comes at the expense of the receiving countries.

Haiti is a common dumping ground for secondhand clothing primarily from the United States, and due to its regular occurrence, locals have given this process the name “Pepe.” The Netflix documentary “The True Cost” elaborates on how Haiti’s textile industry is suffering due to the widespread popularity of Pepe, leading the country’s local clothing industry to disappear. For this reason, some countries have started to refuse the import of secondhand clothing, and more of it ends up in recycling facilities. Yet according to Newsweek, 84% of unwanted clothing is thrown into landfills. 

To combat waste, then, the fast-fashion industry needs to start recycling its own goods, minimize seasonal sales, make more durable products and normalize wearing recycled apparel. Additionally, governments need to start promoting the creation of more jobs for impoverished communities, so that all the necessary resources are available in the market at reasonable prices. Finally, donors should remember that regardless of good intentions, deprived communities may suffer long-term consequences due to misunderstood charity work.

Swati Agarwal

Swati Agarwal is a sophomore at University of California, San Diego, where she is studying Environmental Sciences and Theatre. Although born in India, she was raised in Tokyo, which gave her the opportunity to interact with diverse people from distinct cultures. She is passionate about writing, and hopes to inspire others by spreading awareness about social justice issues and highlighting the uniqueness of the world.

Donating Used Clothing May Do More Harm Than Good

Donated clothes rarely end up in the hands of someone who needs them. Instead, they usually end up in landfills or overwhelming already struggling industries.

Landfill in Kenya. Thad K. CC BY-SA 2.0. 

Many Americans assume donating is the best thing they could do with their old, unwanted clothing. However, in reality, more than 80% of donated clothing ends up in landfills. Only clothing in the best condition is accepted into secondhand stores in the U.S., such as Goodwill or Buffalo Exchange. Even then, if the clothing remains in the store without being purchased for weeks at a time, the store itself often disposes of it. The rejected clothing often ends up in landfills or is shipped overseas. 

Americans buy five times as much clothing, on average, than they did 30 years ago. However, the quality of the clothing most people buy has decreased due to fast fashion trend cycles, resulting in an average of only seven wears per piece. The increase in purchasing combined with the decrease in wear time has resulted in an overwhelming influx of clothing donations in the past 30 years. 

In theory, shipping unwanted clothing to countries seems like a good thing; it has the potential to create jobs and provide more affordable clothing. Unfortunately, many countries (mostly in East Africa, where unwanted clothes are most commonly sent to, with the exception of Ghana)  cannot handle the sheer mass of the clothing they are receiving. The U.S. ships up to 700,000 tons of clothing overseas every year, which is simply too much for the textile and clothing industries to disperse. Additionally, secondhand clothing sells for such a small fraction compared to new clothing in East Africa, causing local companies unable to compete with cheap clothing to go out of business. 

Clothing Donation Stop. Laura0509. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Several East African countries (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda) even signed a ban on the importation of used clothing from the U.S. in 2016. The Trump administration negotiated with the East African Community (EAC) to reverse the ban, which they did, mostly due to international pressure. With that being said, certain countries, such as Kenya, claim to rely on the influx of clothing from the U.S. to keep their textile industry up and running. But while that is the case for Kenya, donated clothing does more harm than good for the majority of East African countries. 

In terms of the environment, secondhand clothing markets in every country in the world are simply unable to keep up with the amount of discarded clothing as the fast fashion industry continues to ramp up production exponentially. Whether the clothing begins its journey in a thrift store in the U.S. or on a plane to Kenya, it is ultimately most likely to end up creating more waste. The myth of clothing donation is part of what propels the fast fashion industry; people think donating their clothes will have an ultimately positive impact, and so they feel justified in continuing to amass more clothing. 

Ultimately, the most effective fix for this problem would be to reduce collective clothing consumption. The less unnecessary clothing that is bought, the less clothing waste will be produced. With that being said, there are other options to reduce your clothing waste. Instead of donating your unwanted clothing, giving it directly to someone that you know wants and will use it ensures that it won’t end up in a landfill, at least in the short-term. Donating your clothing to homeless or women’s shelters is also another option, as they have more need than thrift stores such as Goodwill or Salvation Army. However, even when it comes to donating clothing to shelters, the clothing must be in good enough condition to actually be worn. If it’s not, another option is to keep and repurpose it yourself. Old fabric can be used as stuffing or kept for a future art project. All in all, donating excess clothing can be the last resort, which comes after making an effort to buy less, trade within your own circles and repurpose used materials.

Calliana Leff

Calliana is currently an undergraduate student at Boston University majoring in English and minoring in psychology. She is passionate about sustainability and traveling in an ethical and respectful way. She hopes to continue her writing career and see more of the world after she graduates.

5 Ethical Clothing Brands to Enhance Your Wardrobe

Green Garb for any Occasion

Collecting trash at one of United by Blue’s organized clean ups. Photo provided by United by Blue.

When we think about consumer ethics, our minds don’t normally turn to clothing. We think about reducing plasticware, consuming less red meat, or maybe purchasing an electric car or a bike. However, the production of clothing can involve unfair pay, a lot of waste, and consumption of energy. If you’re looking to add to your wardrobe, try buying your clothes from one of these brands: 

United by Blue’s Albright Rain Shell. Photo provided by United by Blue.

To Outfit Your Outdoor Adventure- United by Blue 



Based in Pennsylvania, United by Blue is more than just a sustainable clothing company. While they use the greenest materials—like recycled polyester and organic cotton—they also act as community organizers. United by Blue sells women, men, and kids’ clothing—for outdoor adventures and just lounging around—as well as accessories and camping gear.  For every garment sold, United by Blue has pledged to remove one pound of trash from natural environments. They do this by organizing waterway Clean Ups in cities around the country. Check out their website for tour dates. Put on a pair of their comfortable off-trail pants, roll up your sleeves on your flannel button-down, and get to work. 


Price Range: most items around $30-100, coats and outerwear $100-200


MATTER’s 2016 Jumpsuit. Photo provided by MATTER

2. For Classic Clothes all Year Round- MATTER

There’s a reason why MATTER’s clothing is so uniquely beautiful: the designs are based on ancient and traditional heritage patterns. Design isn’t the only thing MATTER borrows from the past. MATTER takes a “hybrid” approach to their production process. They use the work with artisans who use their traditional means of textile production, while incorporating more sustainable modern means of production in order to make the clothing economical. Additionally, MATTER does not operate on a “fast-fashion” model that produces new lines every season. They take their time to produce their clothing, in order to leave time for their meticulous production and reduce their waist. They make dresses, pants, tops, and scarfs. So, you can wear your MATTER garment any time of the year. 


Price range: Most items $50-150 

People Tree floral dress. Photo provided by People Tree

3. For a One-Stop Shop- People Tree

From dresses, to underwear, to workout clothes, UK brand People Tree has sells it all—fair trade of course. They use sustainable materials like organic cotton, natural dyes, and TENCEL™, a fibre derived from wood pulp. People tree tries their hardest to reduce waste—they even repurpose their scraps to make handmade tags for their clothing! 


Price range: $50-150

Jumpsuit from ABLE’s Spring 2019 Collection. Photo provided by ABLE.

4. From Jewels to Dresses- ABLE

ABLE makes ethical and beautiful clothing: for women, by women. You can sleep easy after wearing their beautiful jewelry, fun handbags, trendy shoes, and cute dresses, because ABLE publishes their employees’ wages. Many of their factory workers are struggling to make ends meet, so able posts their prices to encourage other companies to do the same—increasing accountability and ethical production. 


Price range: $25-$150

Outdoor Voices store in Austin, Texas. Photo provided by Outdoor Voices.

5. For Your Workouts- Outdoor Voices

In addition to using sustainable, recycled, and organic materials Outdoor Voices also makes sure to use ethical production. They make men and women’s workout attire with a mission to encourage people to get outdoors. Shop their comfortable leggings, jackets, running gear, and swimwear for your next sweat session. 

Price range: Most items $50-80 


More brands are moving towards a more sustainable and ethical mode of production—this is the trend we should be seeing more of on the runway. 





ELIANA DOFT loves to write, travel, and volunteer. She is especially excited by opportunities to combine these three passions through writing about social action travel experiences. She is an avid reader, a licensed scuba diver, and a self-proclaimed cold brew connoisseur. 













Unraveling the Fashion Industry

The fashion industry’s unsustainable practices are increasingly under scrutiny.

A snapshot of the 26 billion pounds of textile waste (source: Planet Aid).

The environmental impact of the fashion industry has become a matter of Parliamentary concern in the United Kingdom. The Commons Environmental Audit Committee is launching an investigation into the fashion industry to assess just how unsustainable it is and how the industry might become more sustainable for the future. The inquiry reflects growing concern over the fashion industry’s fast fashion phenomenon that rapidly mass produces clothes for consumption.

Fast fashion is a recent phenomenon that is part of the evolution of the fashion industry. Traditionally clothing was a household endeavor. Changes began with advancements of the Industrial Revolution that introduced ready-made clothing, or clothes sold in a variety of sizes. Yet the changes were selective and mostly reserved for the middle-class individuals who could afford it. Changes continued to occur throughout the 20th century, but it was not till World War II that standardized clothing was widely accepted.  However, the signal for today’s fashion driven world was the 1960s: when the younger generation embraced cheaply made clothes.

Companies responded to increased demand by outsourcing labor to developing countries—much as it is done today. The low quality, high quantity mentality of today’s fashion industry can be seen as a natural development of shifts over the years to more affordable clothing. 

The drive for affordability has led to certain practices that many question for the waste
produced. Instead of the traditional two seasons—Spring/ Summer and Fall/Winter—in
which designers launched the next fashion trend, there are now about 52 micro-seasons in which new fashion is constantly being churned out. Further, popular retailers are often receiving weekly  shipments of new clothing. What this does is make the consumer feel like they are always out-of-date and compel them to keep buying clothing so they can keep up with current trends. Another factor that encourages waste is that most clothes today are made out of lower quality fabrics. Plus, retailers may even disguise such lower quality clothes with “discounts” to convey an illusion of high quality goods. These practices, focused on getting the consumer to consume, only create more waste.

Eco-fashion activist Livia Firth is known for saying in 2015 that “Disposable clothes…stay in a woman’s closet for an average of just five weeks, before being thrown out.”

Indeed, a 2016 survey concluded that the average American throws away around 82 pounds of clothing a year: 26 billion pounds of textiles. Of that 26 billion pounds, according to the nonprofit Council for Textile Recycling, only 15% is donated and 85%, or about 70 pounds per person, ends up in the landfills. This waste is a result of a cycle of “careless production and endless consumption” as stated in the 2015 True Cost documentary.

And it’s not just the landfills that are feeling fast fashion’s impact—fast fashion is criticized for its water pollution, use of toxic chemicals, and its treatment of workers. The Parliament’s inquiry into the UK fashion industry will provide a necessary glimpse into how the global fashion industry might be able to change for the better. But is also a responsibility of individuals to be conscious consumers of what they wear.

 

TERESA NOWALK is a student at the University of Virginia studying anthropology and history. In her free time she loves traveling, volunteering in the Charlottesville community, and listening to other people’s stories. She does not know where her studies will take her, but is certain writing will be a part of whatever the future has in store.