Used good

Scientific research shows that buying used goods significantly reduces carbon footprint (including CO2 emissions) compared to the complete product life cycle.

At a time when the country's economy was in severe decline, the used goods provided jobs by keeping "many others busy with repairs and alterations."

The used garments and materials that were donated to the country also allowed for the production of "a wide range of fabrics" whose imports had been previously restricted.

The trade is essentially executed by women who operate their small business based on local associations and networks.

Countries like Poland, the Philippines, and Pakistan have been known to reject secondhand items for "fear of venereal disease and risk to personal hygiene".

About a third of the donated clothing is bought, usually in bulk and at a heavy discount, by commercial dealers and fabric recyclers, who export it to other countries.

These shops catered primarily to the fashionable female demographic and offered women and children designer clothes, and occasionally high-end formal wear for men.

Secondhand sales migrated to a peer-to-peer platform—effectively cutting out the retailer as the middleman—when websites such as eBay and Amazon introduced the opportunity for Internet users to sell virtually anything online, including designer (or fraudulent) handbags, fashion, shoes, and accessories.

Not only does the trade represent a great source of employment for women as well as men, but it also supports other facets of the economy: the merchants buy timber and other materials for their stands, metal hangers to display clothing, and food and drinks for customers.

The Sierra Club, an environmental organization, argues that secondhand purchasing of furniture is the "greenest" way of furnishing a home.