<story><title>No One Wants Used Clothes Anymore</title><url>https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-01-15/no-one-wants-your-used-clothes-anymore</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>basseq</author><text>&amp;gt; They are not a dumping ground...&lt;p&gt;They kind of are, and it&amp;#x27;s a role they seem to have embraced. In other words, a good % (50%+?) of the intake volume of clothes is not fit for secondary garment sale, and is instead sold &amp;quot;downstream&amp;quot; (in bulk) to tertiary markets (&amp;quot;poor countries&amp;quot;, to use Bloomberg&amp;#x27;s parlance) and recycles to use as raw material. This is a source of revenue, too.&lt;p&gt;In other words, most thrift stores play an important role in the recycling chain. Otherwise, clothes would go into the garbage. After all, I can&amp;#x27;t put them in the green recycling bin with my cans, jars, and plastic.</text></item><item><author>frgtpsswrdlame</author><text>Local thrift stores still desire these clothes. Having volunteered at a thrift store though, they are not a dumping ground for all of your dead relatives clothes and they are not a trashcan for all the clothes you&amp;#x27;ve put holes in. If you have clothing which you could still wear but don&amp;#x27;t want&amp;#x2F;don&amp;#x27;t fit in anymore then consider donating. Especially consider it if you are a non-standard (American) size ie. not big and tall. Petite&amp;#x2F;short can be good for kids and adults, slim-fitting clothes are always in want, manual labor has a tendency to eat up shoes so decent shoes are always good and anything which was in fashion just a year or two ago is especially nice.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>weej</author><text>Agree.  See NPR&amp;#x27;s story from 2013 &amp;quot;The Afterlife of American Clothes&amp;quot; 
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.npr.org&amp;#x2F;sections&amp;#x2F;money&amp;#x2F;2013&amp;#x2F;12&amp;#x2F;10&amp;#x2F;247362140&amp;#x2F;the-afterlife-of-american-clothes&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.npr.org&amp;#x2F;sections&amp;#x2F;money&amp;#x2F;2013&amp;#x2F;12&amp;#x2F;10&amp;#x2F;247362140&amp;#x2F;the-...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>No One Wants Used Clothes Anymore</title><url>https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-01-15/no-one-wants-your-used-clothes-anymore</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>basseq</author><text>&amp;gt; They are not a dumping ground...&lt;p&gt;They kind of are, and it&amp;#x27;s a role they seem to have embraced. In other words, a good % (50%+?) of the intake volume of clothes is not fit for secondary garment sale, and is instead sold &amp;quot;downstream&amp;quot; (in bulk) to tertiary markets (&amp;quot;poor countries&amp;quot;, to use Bloomberg&amp;#x27;s parlance) and recycles to use as raw material. This is a source of revenue, too.&lt;p&gt;In other words, most thrift stores play an important role in the recycling chain. Otherwise, clothes would go into the garbage. After all, I can&amp;#x27;t put them in the green recycling bin with my cans, jars, and plastic.</text></item><item><author>frgtpsswrdlame</author><text>Local thrift stores still desire these clothes. Having volunteered at a thrift store though, they are not a dumping ground for all of your dead relatives clothes and they are not a trashcan for all the clothes you&amp;#x27;ve put holes in. If you have clothing which you could still wear but don&amp;#x27;t want&amp;#x2F;don&amp;#x27;t fit in anymore then consider donating. Especially consider it if you are a non-standard (American) size ie. not big and tall. Petite&amp;#x2F;short can be good for kids and adults, slim-fitting clothes are always in want, manual labor has a tendency to eat up shoes so decent shoes are always good and anything which was in fashion just a year or two ago is especially nice.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>frgtpsswrdlame</author><text>Maybe the place I volunteered at is weird but we &lt;i&gt;did&lt;/i&gt; just throw those clothes into the garbage.</text></comment>