chrysostomos_1

chrysostomos_1 t1_ja4aelt wrote

Beware of unintended consequences. My guess is that the local recycle industry which employs thousands of local people will be replaced by low cost imports from Bangladesh and Vietnam. If high import duties are enacted to support local clothing manufacturers then costs go up to the locals and benefits go up to smugglers and corrupt border officials.

1

chrysostomos_1 t1_ja1v049 wrote

Not controversial at all if you believe in an integrated world economy. If the African textile industry were healthy it would supply materials that manufacturers would use rather than using second hand textiles. The national authorities could ban second hand materials but then the industry would go dark and the workers would suffer. Less clothing would be produced from recycled materials, prices would go up and the locals would be that much worse off. That's how I read it at least.

2

chrysostomos_1 t1_ja0p857 wrote

Significant positive impact on the local clothing industry. Read an article a couple years ago in the New Yorker. The clothes aren't just sold. They are disassembled and reassembled in new shapes and patterns and the industry employs thousands of people locally.

4