When the winter hits at the calendar in later parts of the year, the weather gets chilling cool in most of the areas In Pakistan. Trees shed their leaves, and the winds become drier. People cover themselves with closed and tight clothing i.e. thick coats, heavy footwear, mufflers, and hats and caps, along with traditional winter apparel like shawls and ajraks. Pakistan is home to Asia’s 8th largest textile industry which exports all sorts of readymade clothing to the other countries of the world. The industry accounts for 8.5% in GDP. The industry is also a source of the meal for 45 percent of labor resources out of total labor resources in the country. Ironically, most of the population of the country dwells below the line of poverty. As inflation goes sky high, the buying capacity of people has also declined significantly. Subsequently, people look up for used clothing in flea markets during the coolest period of the year.
Pakistan is the largest importer of old and used clothes. The old clothes sold in flea is actually charitable stuff given away by the people of the developed country for poor and underprivileged people. There are several countries in the developed world that export old clothes to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Minute amounts of used clothes are displayed and gifted to poor people in exporting countries while the rest of the stuff is given to profitable companies. The companies filtrate the quality of clothes and export to poor countries of Africa and Asia at cheap rates.
Currently, Germany is the second-largest exporter of used clothes accounting for 10 percent of the total used clothes trade in the world. The United Kingdom stands at third with 9.1 percent. The United States remains the largest exporter of used clothes with 18 percent export of used clothes. China, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Poland, and many other countries export enormous amounts of used clothes to fellow nations. Countries within Europe import old clothes from Germany, mainly the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Romania along with many others. While the United States exports to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, India, Pakistan, and other countries of South America, Asia, and Africa.
Not only developed countries but developing countries also contribute significantly to used clothes trading. Pakistan’s used clothes industry accounts for 5.4 percent of total trade in the world. Pakistan exports its old clothes to African countries. Kenya is the largest importer of used clothes from Pakistan with 24 percent, and Mozambique at the second largest with 18 percent of the total export from Pakistan. The countries like Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, and other import used clothes mainly from China, South Korea, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Pakistan.
Winter in Pakistan is not known for white snowy mountain peaks alone but also for hardships that poor people go through. The people, whose living depend on livestock herding and terrace agriculture, leave their homes to find better living in plain areas. Alternative businesses in wintery days are carpet industry for those who are not able to leave their homes under snowy cliffs. Trade of dry fruits and textiles is a common source of food for those who go to live in plain areas. The process is known as transhumance in geographic terms. They also trade used clothes in big cities.
Main roads in big cities during winters are rarely seen without mounds of old clothes. Whole winter the streets and roads remain jammed with such a rush that traffic becomes halted for hours. The demand for old used clothes is increasing significantly with the passage of time as the buying capacity of people has declined and inflation has raised incredibly. Advanced technology and digital tools have boosted consumerism. In light of that people have launched second hand or used clothing and footwear business online. They clean and furnish the old stuff and take pictures of that to post on their brand websites. With digital marketing tools, the ads of used stuff reach the palm of every person within minutes.
Besides all the sad thing about the society is that the stuff which is given away as charity is being sold by profitable companies knowing the fact that still millions of the people in the world are deprived of clothing, shelter, and food. This is not something which would remain unnoticed by the world still silence keeps roaring the midst great irony of the human civilization.
The writer is a teacher and an event coordinator