As always, the problem isn't consumer action but government policy:
> If used clothing is the problem, why not prohibit it altogether? The answer is that countries tried. In 2016, a group of East African countries joined forces to ban imports of secondhand clothing. In retaliation, the Trump administration threatened to remove the countries from the program that is at the core of U.S.-Africa trade policy if they followed through. No surprise that a lobby group representing used clothing sorters backed the move. The only country that stood firm was Rwanda and, to this day, its duty-free apparel benefits under AGOA remain suspended.
Some East African countries wanted to impose tariffs on US exports, and were told that would mean losing duty-free trade with the US. Rwanda decided it was worth it to protect local industry. Stripped of all the paternalism and Trumpenfury, that's the whole story.
Interesting, isn't it? You MUST take in used clothing.
Africa is still in the grips of foreign agents that smother its economies and make a profit while exploiting the riches of the continent. Neocolonialism is not the colonialism of the 19th century.
Backing off would go a long way toward helping these countries to become prosperous.
Capitalism demands there to always be a lower class to exploit and Africa is getting the short end of the stick, both from western countries and even China whose itching to support their state-ran capitalism as much as they can.
> If used clothing is the problem, why not prohibit it altogether? The answer is that countries tried. In 2016, a group of East African countries joined forces to ban imports of secondhand clothing. In retaliation, the Trump administration threatened to remove the countries from the program that is at the core of U.S.-Africa trade policy if they followed through. No surprise that a lobby group representing used clothing sorters backed the move. The only country that stood firm was Rwanda and, to this day, its duty-free apparel benefits under AGOA remain suspended.