Clothing Donations
"Thrown in – and then? What happens to our clothing donations?" - 9th MIBAS Debate on CSR
Guests:
- German Red Cross: Markus Tieseler - Stellv. Vorstand DRK LV Hamburg
- I:CO: Paul Doertenbach - Head of Sales & Marketing
- Caritasverband Hamburg e.V.: Andrea Hniopek - Abteilungsleiterin Existenzsicherung
A donation of clothing is not only a possibility to get rid of old, unnecessary and unfashionable clothes, but it is also an easy way to act charitably. Yet, is the answer for a sustainable handling of fashion really this simple? What really happens with our donated clothing and are there other sustainable alternatives? These were the leading questions of the 9th ‘MIBAS Debate on CSR’ event on the 31st of May with the title ‘Thrown in – and then? What happens to our clothing donations?’. More than 70 students, professors, and guests came together in the Hamburg University Guesthouse for a lively and knowledge-expanding discussion.
The MIBAS debates team invited a number of leading experts from the industry and the civil organizations working within the fashion and textile industries to discuss the topic at hand. Markus Tieseler, vice president of the regional association of Deutsches Rotes Kreuz in Hamburg, and Andrea Hniopek, head of livelihood security of Caritasverband für Hamburg e.V., expressed their opinion from the perspective of aid organizations helping people in need. Paul Doertenbach, head of sales and marketing of I:Collect, shared his views from the angle of a provider for clothing reuse and recycling systems. Together they discussed, argued, and exchanged ideas on various aspects of the processing of old clothes.
To give some examples, the experts discussed reasons for giving away old clothes as well as the use of incentives to increase the amount of clothes collected. They described the different paths the clothes take aftercollection: given to people in need, sold in secondhand stores, recycled for the production of new clothes, or transferred to other countries. Afterwards, the opportunities and conflicts of each potential path, in regards to social, ecological, ethical, and economic aspects, were reviewed. Mrs. Hniopek highlighted the fact that clothes are part of our identity and wearing old clothes can be an issue of affronting someone’s dignity. According to Mr. Tieseler, people donate a huge amount of clothes in times of crisis, which causes problems for aid organizations which are not able to store them and instead must sell them to other organizations. However, he stressed the fact that these incomes flow directly into social projects. In addition, the trend towards fast fashion and a decrease in quality were critically discussed. From Mr. Doertenbach’s perspective the societal pressure for more sustainable clothes has increased during the last years and companies invest a lot of money in innovative methods to recycle and renew clothes. All experts emphasized the importance of transparency for their clients. In the end, the audience was given the chance to pose their questions and share their own points of view. Amongst others, the social conflicts caused by the export of old clothes in the Global South as well as the required quality of donated clothes were made subject of discussion.
After two hours of intense and valuable discussion the guests and experts finally headed toward the bar for some sustainable drinks, self-made vegan cookies and had the chance to reflect on the debate with each other. The evening successfully showed the link between insights in sustainable business practices with theoretical knowledge.