Where our unwanted crap goes

America washes ashore like cultural driftwood in countries like this one. The locals wear and digest it like an imported non sequitur as they walk through an absurdist landscape that used to be their homeland. Driftwood, dead chickens covered in the Colonel’s secret recipe, whatever. It’s all cool, right? Why should the rest of the world miss out on clogged arteries and thickened blood? Don’t hate the freedom!

No one is innocent. Nothing is sacred. Everywhere is America. Mr. Friedman, we won, we won!

Henry Rollins

That quote, from one of the world’s favorite punk icons, reminded me of a question I learned the answer to that most people don’t even know to ask: Do you think the stuff you donate to thrift stores stays there? Obviously some of it has to, but a whole lot of it doesn’t.

A while ago, I read an essay in a wonderful collection of writings by a guy who donated a shirt to Goodwill and tracked where it ended up. You can read it too if you’d like, but here’s a hint: it didn’t stay at the thrift store in New York City where he donated it for very long. And it wasn’t bought by one of the store’s customers. Read on and find out for yourself where it went.

Spoilers: Americans are so wasteful that even the clothes we buy end up getting sold to third-world countries in bulk, priced by weight.

America is bleeding. We eat too much, we produce too much, we buy too much, we waste too much, we expect too much, we complain too much and we’re bursting at the seams. And our excess is getting passed off to other countries. Sometimes it helps, but most of the time it doesn’t.

Do us all a favor: next time you consider buying a t-shirt or a nice pair of jeans that you probably won’t wear in a year, don’t. Just… don’t. Send the money to Africa or, you know, save it to make sure you can actually pay your rent or mortgage at the end of the month.