Salaula: The World of Secondhand Clothing and Zambia

We,as citizens of the world, need to get over the idea that it is somehow improper if the players in the second hand chain make a profit for their efforts.Somehow, it is considered some kind of wrong thing to do if you just recycle clothes,instead of donating to Good Will or Salvation Army,These groups are fine, but they collect such a small amount of the clothing that is discarded.it is amazing how much clothing Salvation Army collects that is sold to used clothing processors,and I hope this amount grows.

Great! This book really described what second hand clothing is like in Africa. It is a great read and would recommend it.

I just needed the book for my anthropology class, so it's not really relevant if I like it or not, but the book is in good condition. No complaints.

The author, an anthropologist, explores the phenomenon of second-hand clothes being exported from the West into Zambia, where they are sold on as "luxury goods". She argues against the idea that this is a North-South neo-colonial or aid transaction, asserting that Zambians are not just passive recipients of recycled clothes, but active consumers making informed (or at least broadly understood) cultural choices. She also explores how clothes, as cultural signifiers, give the wearer meaning in the specific Zambian social context. She also identifies reasons why people choose salaula and its impact on culture and "modernization" in Zambia Hansen explains the whole commodity chain of procurement, distribution and consumption of second-hand clothes. The reader may be surprised to learn that clothes given away to charities may be sold to exporters for resale in developing countries at all.