By Christian Warren Freed
Every year, countless thousands of hats and shirts are made to celebrate potential victors in national championship games. Makes sense. You never know who’s going to win. But what happens to all the hats and shirts made for the losing team? Well, those get boxed up and shipped to countries in Africa and, to an extent, Asia. While there’s nothing wrong with helping those in need, there is a much larger issue, some call it a crime, being perpetrated not only on those African nations but on the world as a whole.
You see, Africa, Ghana specifically, has become a dumping ground for out-of-date fashion.
Over one hundred million articles of secondhand clothing are sent there annually. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Great Britain and the United States are the biggest culprits. What might be the problem, you ask? Most of these clothes wind up in the Atlantic Ocean.
You may have seen images of the island of trash floating in the Pacific, but few of us have even heard about this dilemma in the sister ocean. An endless tide of ruined, used clothing piling up on beaches. Say what you will about climate change or how the human footprint is impacting the planet in detrimental ways, there is no denying this clothes dumping has become a major problem for a lot of people and wildlife. And the damage isn’t restricted to the ocean. Tons of clothes, most of them poorly made and designed for a short lifespan, wind up in fetid landfills, leaching chemicals into the soil and water, contaminating the land for generations to come.
In 2014, it was estimated that over 100 billion (yes with a b) pieces of clothing were created. That’s a shocking picture of the scope of the problem. Fortunately, the news is not all bad. Thanks to people like our very own Katherine Ogle, there is a growing drive to reduce this perilous waste and make a concentrated effort to recycle clothes for sustainability long after we’ve all gone grey.
Katherine started her career in the high fashion world. She spent decades designing clothing for Kenneth Cole, Macy’s, Kohls and the Lauren Conrad Collection. Somewhere along the way Katherine got the idea in her head to shift gears and open her own business. She and her husband have been avid proponents of resale shopping and advocates for sustainability.
“Through my career in fashion, I’ve seen the impact and consequences of fast fashion, and that’s ultimately what led us to open Plato’s Closet [in Holly Springs],” said Katherine. “We want to show that clothing and accessories can be reused and upcycled, giving them a second life instead of being discarded.”
Resale clothing stores are all over the place and their popularity is growing, all with the simple mission statement of reduce, reuse, and recycle. But how does it work? I’m sure plenty of you take bags of old clothes to your nearest charitable donation drop-off location. Have you ever peeked through the door where all the donations are waiting to be sorted? How much of that winds up in the landfill? According to the Plato’s Closet website, only 15% of clothing is recycled annually. It also takes up to 2,000 gallons of water to make just one pair of jeans, and shoes take over 30 years to decompose. Resale shopping provides numerous benefits, not only to your wallet but to the environment. “The only clothing that is environmentally friendly is made of natural fibers, like cotton or silk that will break down over time. But much of fast fashion is made with polyester which is plastic in fabric form. It will never break down on its own,” Katherine tells me.
Eco-conscious consumerism is taking off around the world in several industries. Efforts continue being made to lower the environmental impact of producing clothing, but it does come with other costs. The high cost of labor to process recycled fibers is passed on down to consumers, which can be problematic in an economic scenario where the dollar only stretches so much. Then you factor in the cost of shipping recycled materials and the associated carbon footprint that comes with it. Resale shopping not only benefits the planet, but clothes go from consumer to consumer without any of the cost associated with leaving the factory and shipping to the store.
I know some of you are sitting here thinking, “I don’t care what that song says, I’m not wearing my granddad’s clothes.” Resale clothing stores don’t accept every item offered by sellers. Items must be clean, gently used, and in good condition.
While secondhand clothing might lack appeal to some, there is a rising trend suggesting the old ways of thinking just might be a little skewed. It’s easy to remember the “old ways” as somehow better simply because that’s what we grew up with and it’s comfortable to cling to the nostalgia. But for one moment, think about that bag of “old” shirts, shorts, pants, shoes, and more that you’re about to donate without really knowing where those items are going. Google the words fashion, waste, and Ghana and look at the pictures of the mountains of dumped clothing rotting in the landfill and washed ashore on what should be an inviting beach. Now consider the possibility, even the likelihood, that your old wardrobe from last summer could be someone’s new fashion statement for today.
To learn more about the eco-conscious sustainable shopping efforts of entrepreneurs, visit one of Holly Springs’ resale stores and see for yourself. Ask questions, sell back some items, and peruse the racks for a good deal to take home.
Relevant Resources:
The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/fast-fashion-ghana-clothes-waste-b2132399.html
Greenpeace: https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/blog/54589/how-fast-fashion-is-fuelling-the-fashion-waste-crisis-in-africa/
