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haleyshort's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
3.75
This was a really great overview of a lot of stuff that i thought i understood. I have thought about overconsumption as an American issue and had a very domestic lens on this issue and i was wildly off base! I feel like i have a whole new perspective and can’t wait to read more books like this.
666thylacinus666's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting read about what happens to unwanted “junk” in the global market.
alexisrt's review against another edition
5.0
This is the story of your stuff. Not the stuff you're using: the stuff you're not using, not anymore. What happens to it, if we don't throw it in the trash or the recycling bin? (Recycling was the topic of Minter's previous book.)
Westerners have a lot of stuff, and it has a life cycle beyond our homes. Minter travels from Goodwill in Tuscon to secondhand markets in Benin to cleanup experts in Tokyo to find out what we have and where it goes. The state of our stuff isn't pretty. Quality is declining across sectors and younger generations no longer want their parents' and grandparents' stuff, which they perceive as being unstylish. Clothing is increasingly poorly made--not a new complaint, but there seems to have been a particular drop in recent years, down to clothing labeled as 100% cotton not being, well, 100% cotton. IKEA particleboard bookcases can only survive one move before they're fit for the trash. Meanwhile, antiques dealers are going out of business and you can't get rid of a solid oak dining set.
The sorting and grading of stuff, and how it makes its way overseas, is fascinating. Your local Goodwill has a complex system for deciding what will sell, and it does a great job of managing its wares. Traders from Mexico come to Tucson to shop at Goodwill, taking their buys back to Mexico. The Japanese send their used goods to southeast Asia. The fanciest goods may sell online; the next tier in special resale boutiques focused on higher end brands. The lowest tier is sold by the pound. As much as possible is sold to keep it out of the landfill.
Activists (and sometimes protectionist governments) often portray secondhand clothing in Asia and Africa as simply being dumped, depressing local industry. But it's not dumped: it makes its way over through a complex, sophisticated trading network. Consumers in developing nations know what they want. They perceive secondhand Western goods to be superior quality to cheap products designed specifically for their markets. The import industry supports not only grading warehouses in Mississauga, but repair industries in Ghana that supply west Africa with used electronics.
But the constant and increasing flood of stuff, in lower quality with planned obsolescence, may overwhelm the system. Already, the shoddy factories of India are turning from recycled wool to petroleum based polar fleece. Middle class consumers want their own new goods. Old shirts are becoming too flimsy to resell or to turn into rags.
(Also, turns out car seat manufacturers are lying about plastic degradation. That was fun to learn.)
This was really fascinating all the way through, and covered so many different aspects of the reuse and repurpose industry. There are so many interlocking pieces to the system. It was also a little depressing, when you think about the sheer amount of stuff we all own, and the unthinking ways we throw it all away--not to mention the vicious circle of poor quality goods.
Westerners have a lot of stuff, and it has a life cycle beyond our homes. Minter travels from Goodwill in Tuscon to secondhand markets in Benin to cleanup experts in Tokyo to find out what we have and where it goes. The state of our stuff isn't pretty. Quality is declining across sectors and younger generations no longer want their parents' and grandparents' stuff, which they perceive as being unstylish. Clothing is increasingly poorly made--not a new complaint, but there seems to have been a particular drop in recent years, down to clothing labeled as 100% cotton not being, well, 100% cotton. IKEA particleboard bookcases can only survive one move before they're fit for the trash. Meanwhile, antiques dealers are going out of business and you can't get rid of a solid oak dining set.
The sorting and grading of stuff, and how it makes its way overseas, is fascinating. Your local Goodwill has a complex system for deciding what will sell, and it does a great job of managing its wares. Traders from Mexico come to Tucson to shop at Goodwill, taking their buys back to Mexico. The Japanese send their used goods to southeast Asia. The fanciest goods may sell online; the next tier in special resale boutiques focused on higher end brands. The lowest tier is sold by the pound. As much as possible is sold to keep it out of the landfill.
Activists (and sometimes protectionist governments) often portray secondhand clothing in Asia and Africa as simply being dumped, depressing local industry. But it's not dumped: it makes its way over through a complex, sophisticated trading network. Consumers in developing nations know what they want. They perceive secondhand Western goods to be superior quality to cheap products designed specifically for their markets. The import industry supports not only grading warehouses in Mississauga, but repair industries in Ghana that supply west Africa with used electronics.
But the constant and increasing flood of stuff, in lower quality with planned obsolescence, may overwhelm the system. Already, the shoddy factories of India are turning from recycled wool to petroleum based polar fleece. Middle class consumers want their own new goods. Old shirts are becoming too flimsy to resell or to turn into rags.
(Also, turns out car seat manufacturers are lying about plastic degradation. That was fun to learn.)
This was really fascinating all the way through, and covered so many different aspects of the reuse and repurpose industry. There are so many interlocking pieces to the system. It was also a little depressing, when you think about the sheer amount of stuff we all own, and the unthinking ways we throw it all away--not to mention the vicious circle of poor quality goods.
mschrock8's review against another edition
4.0
Yes, I read a non-fiction book by a male author and enjoyed it!