With the news announced about the ban on secondhand clothing imports in Uganda, I have realized I don’t think enough about the full life cycle of the products I buy. When I go shopping, never have I ever thought about where it will go when I do no longer want to wear it. I consider the option of donating things that don’t fit my body or just my aesthetic anymore. I often opt for the drop-off bins because of sheer convenience. But should I? Is that option doing any good? On the one hand, clearly the clothing still has value if they end up on resale markets in other countries. It becomes part of a local economy. It creates jobs and provides more options to fulfill a basic need. On the other, I am choosing to declutter my own closet and potentially just cluttering another part of the world.
Should I just resell my items myself? Should opt in to buy secondhand myself? Is it enough to avoid fast fashion is all clothing ends up in the same place? How much clothing do we really need? I just have a lot of questions now and no clear answers.
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