Well it's Superbowl time yet again, and
this shall be my fourth Super Bowl
here in Peru (Saints, Packers, Giants). I've always made a point of
watching it as it's a good 'coming together' event for
volunteers...and more so helpful that the Steelers
were in one of ém. But ever since undergrad (Thank you Matt
Krain for ruining the Super Bowl), I always think about 'T-ShirtTravels' aka 'What Happens to the Pre-Made Championship T-Shirts of (the Losing Team)'.
The short of it though is that there
exists a surplus of of apparel that can't be sold in the states –
used clothes, factory errors, New England Patriots Superbowl
Championship t-shirts, etc. That surplus winds up shipped to
developing countries all over the world, and donated or sold in local
markets. This all sounds wonderful, right? Free clothes for all the
poor people!
But who is actually naked for lack of
clothing?
And are these shirts really SWAG or something that is really doing
more harm than good. The truth is, in general, physical donations are almost never a great way to donate: it costs time, money,
logistics to send the bulk goods somewhere; these goods might
actually not be needed or wanted; it can actually hurt in the long
run (and not just aid dependency).
One of the big ones is that the influx
of cheap (or free) goods ruins local industries. In the case of the
t-shirts, since they arrive free and can be sold for less, thus
ultimately hurting local production of clothes...people weren't naked
before all these t-shirts came along. Less production means less
output, which means the local textile business looses money. On top
of that, the workers risk loosing their jobs and even raw material
providers (cotton for example) are adversely affected because
there's less demand for their product.
The problem therefore is the donor.
Donating physical things makes all of us feel good, since it's
something tangible (and it's a lot less painful than giving cash.
However, cash is a lot more useful to organizations as they can buy
local products and use the money where it's most needed.
Peru, for it's part, has taken some
straightforward measures against the influx of second hand clothing –
such as making it illegal to import used clothing into the country.
How do they enforce that? Well, they do and they don't. Through the
mail system, anything weighing over 1kg is opened and checked in the
presence of the recipient. While all of my packages consist of candy
and books, I've been behind people in line who get pretty angry when
the post-office refuses to release their package even if only part of
it has used clothing. However, if missionary or volunteer groups
come and bring a large amount of t-shirts or donations, it gets a
little grayer. When coming from the airport, their items might be
searched, but might not. And I have seen a bunch of second hand
t-shirts in rural zones where I know missionary and NGO groups have
worked before.
It's a tricky line. People always like
free and cheaper stuff.
Read more here
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