At the time when wrong habits practiced by the population of an area may cause cross-border environmental damages that extends to other areas, sustainable practices as well can contribute to inhibiting more environmental deterioration in areas very far from it.
These words may describe the route that the “Planet Aid” association took. It is an American NGO that works in the field of recycling mainly for clothes and shoes. The used T-shirt, that someone buys in a small American town for a reasonable price, contributes to alleviating the climate crisis in countries this resident may never visit.
During his interview with “Green Arabic”, “Haley Chitty”, the communications manager at the association, tells us how “Planet Aid” started working 1997 with the aim of dealing with the issue of discarding clothes through their recycling, redirecting it to categories in need and directing revenues to development projects in the poorest countries.
Credit: Planet Aid Association
Time lead
Although the issue of climate change was not having enough attention during this period, but “Chitty” sees that there was awareness of negative impacts for excessive consumption and producing massive quantities of wastes. As the case escalates, the activities of the association get along with it by creating partnership opportunities with other parties that contribute to making societies more environment friendly at no cost.
For example, the amount of fabric waste that reaches USA landfills exceeds 10 million tons yearly, according to estimates by “Earth” website.
Globally, the fashion industry contributes about 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, according to UN statistics.
Supporting small businesses
The association’s work cycle begins with collecting clothes, shoes and fabrics through donation containers spread across different areas, or through partnership with other associations, companies, NGOs, municipalities or else. Then, they are being resold once again and support small businesses that sell these products in national markets.
In 2015, the association also launched a store for used collectibles for reasonable prices. It is not only for clothes and shoes, but also includes other products like home appliances according to the official website of the association.
Source of the photo: The official website of “Planet Aid” association
Although the majority of products being redistributed by the association goes to the population of north and middle America, the sustainable development projects being funded by the association spread in different places around the world including issues of education, health, agriculture, sustainable environment and others.
Credit: Planet Aid Association
Sustainable agriculture is one of the priorities
“Chitty” points out to one of the most important initiatives executed by the association which is “farmers clubs”. They aim at training farmers on sustainable practices like smart climate agriculture, supporting food security and helping them to accommodate changing climate patterns.
According to the official website of the association, the project, which extends from three to five years, has been executed in different countries such as South Africa, Mali, Zimbabwe and India.
The projects also include restoring forests and afforestation to combat deforestation and enhance carbon absorption, in addition to school program designed to teach young people environmental management in order to create the needed sustainable culture necessary for future climate change mitigation efforts.
null
Spreading awareness
In his talk with us, the communications manager of the association explained how it worked, for years, on spreading awareness of accepting used products through enlightening the environmental and social benefits. It was done through awareness campaigns that tell people how buying those products reduce wastes of landfills, protect natural resources and support efforts of sustainable development around the world.
“Chitty” adds that the quality and diversity of used products available usually surprises consumers at the beginning. He also pointed out that the cooperation with trademarks, that are interested in environmental standards, contribute to spreading the word.
According to the “Statista” website, used clothing in the USA accounted for 12% of the total clothing market, with an increase of more than 5% over the previous year.
