The above video is a short documentary about the back-end of the clothing lifecycle, the part where US citizens donate their out of style, or functionally lacking clothing to the purveyors of secondhand goods. It focuses specifically on the US market’s hand-me-downs to Haiti. Haitians call these clothing goods “pepe” and have adapted to it’s pervasiveness in the market by learning to customize the clothing and emulate the most current styles they see on TV. This cheap clothing, however, comes at the expense of producing their own goods. Haitians are literally awash in a sea of clothing that is continuously thrust upon them.
When I was in Bolivia a few years ago, I also saw much US clothing merchandise available in the La Paz street markets, generally faddish stuff that probably ran out of steam between their manufacturing point and the market in the US. In that particular case, I remembered thinking that it seemed like that was the place all non-selling Spongebob Squarepants merchandise went to die.
Anyways, take a looky-loo at that video.
Have you ever traveled anywhere awash in mass-produced, poppy American trash? Let me know in the comments.
[Pointer to Tomorrow Museum where I originally found links to the video. They have a nice interview with the filmmakers.]
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