Mitumba (clothing)
Encyclopedia
Mitumba is a Swahili
term, literally meaning "bundles", used to refer to plastic-wrapped packages of used clothing donated by people in wealthy countries. The term is also applied to the clothing that arrives in these bundles.
One major receiving port for Mitumba is in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam
. From there the clothing is widely dispersed into the interior of Africa. The transportation and sale of Mitumba is responsible for many jobs both in wealhty donor companies and in the African countries where Mitumba is bought and sold. Critics of the Mitumba trade note that the influx of cheap clothing is responsible for the decline of local textile
industries. Proponents of Mitumba point out that the clothing is beneficial in that it stimulates economic activity and allows people with limited means to afford fashionable clothing.
Mitumba is usually packaged in plastic bundles prior to transport to Africa. Most of the Mitumba originates in 1st world countries such as the USA. Companies like Mid-West Textile Co of Texas
[www.mid-westtextile.com] purchases clothes that were donated to non-profit organizations such as Goodwill
[www.Goodwill.org]. These clothes are then put into a conveyor belt and workers sort through them before making the bales or packages to be shipped to Africa. The practice of purchasing and the subsequent sale of clothes that were originally acquired as donations has received heavy criticism. However, defendants of the practice argue that not-for-profits organizations receive such large quantities of donations that they must indeed sell them in order to fund the several social projects they are involved with. The defendants go even further as to argue that if non-profit organizations were not able to sell most of their donations, they would not be able to survive nor fulfill their mission statements of helping the disadvantaged. The industry has insprired professor Pietra Rivoli
to write a best seller book under the name The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy.
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
term, literally meaning "bundles", used to refer to plastic-wrapped packages of used clothing donated by people in wealthy countries. The term is also applied to the clothing that arrives in these bundles.
One major receiving port for Mitumba is in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
. From there the clothing is widely dispersed into the interior of Africa. The transportation and sale of Mitumba is responsible for many jobs both in wealhty donor companies and in the African countries where Mitumba is bought and sold. Critics of the Mitumba trade note that the influx of cheap clothing is responsible for the decline of local textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
industries. Proponents of Mitumba point out that the clothing is beneficial in that it stimulates economic activity and allows people with limited means to afford fashionable clothing.
Mitumba is usually packaged in plastic bundles prior to transport to Africa. Most of the Mitumba originates in 1st world countries such as the USA. Companies like Mid-West Textile Co of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
[www.mid-westtextile.com] purchases clothes that were donated to non-profit organizations such as Goodwill
Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries International is a not-for-profit organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges...
[www.Goodwill.org]. These clothes are then put into a conveyor belt and workers sort through them before making the bales or packages to be shipped to Africa. The practice of purchasing and the subsequent sale of clothes that were originally acquired as donations has received heavy criticism. However, defendants of the practice argue that not-for-profits organizations receive such large quantities of donations that they must indeed sell them in order to fund the several social projects they are involved with. The defendants go even further as to argue that if non-profit organizations were not able to sell most of their donations, they would not be able to survive nor fulfill their mission statements of helping the disadvantaged. The industry has insprired professor Pietra Rivoli
Pietra Rivoli
Pietra Rivoli is a professor of finance and international business at Georgetown University and author of award-winning book, The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. Her book is a first-person narrative aimed at explaining issues in the global economy, and traces the production and sale of...
to write a best seller book under the name The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy.
Source
- "Das Hemd des toten Weißen" Alexander Smoltczyk; Spiegel, 9 January 2006, pp. 60–66.