Want to know what happens to your clothes when you donate them to “charity” or put them in those bins?

Well let me tell you because that’s what one of my companies specializes in.

When you place your clothes in a collection bin, all that product inside will be sold as is.

All your stuff in bags is collected from all the bins. The big bulky items are separated and everything is placed into a baler.

Those bales are then loaded into ocean containers and sold to processors overseas.

This is what the bags look like before baling.

Now when it comes to charities (goodwill, Salvation Army ect) it’s a different ball game. Contrary to belief they actually make most of their money from what they call “salvage goods” not their stores.

You donate your clothes. Those are taken to main hub.

From that main hub workers will pick out the top quality items to place in their stores. The rest is immediately baled

The product will have a maximum shelf life of 2 weeks before it is returned to the hub and baled

Ends up looking like this. Then sold and loaded for export

Everything is based on pounds and cents. A container will weigh upwards for 42,000lbs when full.

Processors overseas take these baled clothes and separate them into different categories. Shirts, pants, blouses ect.

Then those items are placed into 100lb bales. Look like this

A different assortment of 100 lb bales will be loaded into a container and shipped to wholesalers all over the world.

Those wholesalers then take those bales and sell them to retailers who then sell items individually in their local markets.

That ladies and gents is how you get American and European used clothes ending up everywhere from South America to Africa to Eastern Europe.

Donate -> charity ->middle man->processor->wholesaler->retailer->kid wearing MJ shirt in Kinshasa Congo