…for Discarded American Clothing
Early on in our travel in Central America and other developing countries, one of my observations was the number of children and adults who wear clothing with American logos or slogans. At first it wasn´t so striking however t-shirts from fun runs, athletic teams or corporate events are regularly seen on children and adults in Central America, especially Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. As I began to observe the shops and markets, it became clear to me that discarded US clothing is a major source of clothing for people in the Central American countries. What follows is what I´ve learned to date.
PACA Stores or Tiendas
Clothing from donation programs such as Goowwill Industries, packs clothing into large bales or ¨Pacas¨. The bales are shipped and a wholesaler in the Central American country who in turn sells the bales to local people. For example in Coban, Guatemala, bales could be purchased for 100, 500, 800 or 1000 Quetzales (7.7 Quetzales/dollar). The purchaser may have a small storefront or tienda which then is essentially an American style ¨second-hand store¨ where clothing is sold for several dollars per garment. In Coban, where this photo was taken, there were probably 20 or 30 stores within an area of 6-7 square blocks.
- PACA store in Coban, Guatemala
Public Markets
Another option for selling used clothing is in the public markets, which is where the majority of people shop anyway, whether for fruits and vegetables, household goods or new clothing. You can always see when a new pack of clothing comes in because women are elbowing for a good spot from which to look through the clothing, just like an US ¨after-Christmas¨ sale. As you can imagine, this is quite a feat as the clothing isn´t sorted by size or type. Nevertheless, for people who don´t have the resources to purchase new clothing, getting an early look at a new shipment is probably a pretty good shopping day.
- Public Market in Granada, Nicaragua
In several cities, and again in public markets, we saw pick up trucks of shoes only or as in the following photo, a large tarp was laid out with a huge pile of clothing dumped on the ground. Any piece of clothing could be purchased for $0.50.
In the US, I´ve heard and read about the controversy – if you donate to places to Goodwill or other similar donations services, the goods might be ¨sold overseas¨ and won´t get to the people who need the goods. I can´t say that I understood why this is controversial, possibly I don´t understand the whole story. However after seeing that the vast majority of people in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua benefit directly from this phenomenon, it is apparent to me that the clothing that we discard is getting into the hands of people who appreciate and value what we eagerly discard as no longer useful.
If any of you have more information to help me understand this phenomenon from another viewpoint, I´d love to hear your thoughts. Until then I stand firm – having discarded US clothing available for resale is working for the people.
FabriCate & Mira 