When is Aid Not of Assistance?

In the aftermath of the disastrous impact of Hurricane Matthew on Haiti I was reminded of several things, not the least being the seemingly unending crises faced by our neighbor to the south, including the interference of the USA in its internal affairs; environmental devastation; a massive earthquake; and now Hurricane Matthew.

The other point that emerged in the aftermath of the disaster is that not all post-crisis aid is of actual assistance to a population. In some cases, that aid can be more than counterproductive. The obvious examples are donations to unreliable sources, which end up being siphoned off by thieves and scoundrels. At the same time there are less obvious examples and one with which I became familiar in Southern Africa: used clothes.

Many of us are familiar with the donations of used clothes and the request for used clothes to be provided to those in need. I would guess that most of us give over our used clothes without thinking much about what happens next. What I discovered, some years ago in the case of Southern Africa—but echoed in the case of Haiti—is that used clothes are not necessarily given away to those in need. In some cases the used clothes end up on the market in poorer countries and are sold.

Your response to this might be “so what,” and I can, to some degree understand that. You might assume that this puts some of the local currency into the pockets of poor people. The problem is that when used clothes are sold on the market this can undermine local industries that manufacture clothes. In Southern Africa this has become a real problem, and it appears to be an issue in Haiti as well.

Think about it for a second. If a country—in this case Haiti—is attempting to get its local manufacturing off the ground in the sphere of clothes, it will be selling to a local market. If donated used clothes are shipped to that country and are then sold, rather than given to people in need, such clothes will certainly cost less than the newly manufactured clothing. Thus, rather than the used clothes actually helping an impoverished country, they serve to further under-develop the country in question.

When there are legitimate non-profit organizations that are actually requesting clothes, and other supplies, for emergency distribution, that is a completely different matter. This means, however, that you must be careful where you give. Give, yes, but make sure that it is an informed donation.

Before I started visiting Southern Africa it never occurred to me that the donation of used clothes could possibly be a problem. After seeing the impact on the textile and garment industries in the region I had a rude awakening.