Oct 22, 2022
This is the largest-ever settlement of a fees dispute under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
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This is the largest-ever settlement of a fees dispute under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
After our reporting raised serious questions about an organization that has received aid from multiple governments, it took us to court.
In 2016, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting began publishing stories resulting from a wide-ranging investigation into Planet Aid, an international charity that had received U.S. government funds for aid programs in impoverished areas of southern Africa. Reveal has now spent three years on a lawsuit that has cost millions of dollars in legal fees. Since early 2017, we have been quiet about the case as litigation has proceeded through the court system, in order to put our resources toward our ongoing reporting. The cost of that silence is the hobbling of the public’s ability to hold governments and organizations such as Planet Aid accountable. And so, with this post, Reveal's silence about our ongoing legal battle with Planet Aid comes to an end.
A textile recycling leader, USAgain collects clothes and shoes, diverting them from landfills, protecting the environment and helping communities go green.
DONATE YOUR UNWANTED CLOTHING
More than what you think is acceptable as a textile donation. Pretty much the only things that are not accepted are damp or wet donations. Stained or ripped textiles are sorted for rags, fiber fill, insulation, automotive uses and other recycling efforts. And your donation will fetch funds for whomever you're donating, even if it's a little bit from a wiper company. USAgain and Planet Aid offer alternative donation locations with their curb side bins. You can find one near you on their sites with easy to use bin locators, and Planet Aid will give you an address closest to you if there isn't a bin nearby. In 2015 they collected One Hundred Million Pounds of textile waste to be either reused or recycled!
planetaid.org
Fast fashion has Americans suffering an insatiable style appetite which is overwhelming clothing donation facilities like The Salvation Army and Good Will. These are still the go to for many clearing their closets for new looks, but just because you get a tax write off doesn't mean your doing good. Much of the donations end up being sold to second hand sorters, baled up, shipped overseas, and clog up markets with cheap goods undercutting local makers. This is the same cycle for clothing donation bins. It is best for your unwanted clothing to be reused as actual clothing first and foremost, but much of it is being sold and shipped back across the ocean, a sad and unnecessary waste of oil and cause of pollution. So far in our research we have yet to find a domestic textile recycler who accepts donations direct from your average American.
If the sorting and selling and resorting and baling exchanges and shipments could be minimized an enormous reduction in pollution could be made. Once unwanted clothing is baled up and thrown on a cargo ship for African markets or some other destination we have all failed to be responsible for our waste. Donating these goods would be even more problematic for the markets they overwhelm, so entire bales of clothing or even full shipping containers are sold overseas. The price is so cheap that our unwanted clothing is destroying economies of already devestated undeveloped countries. This is a vicious cycle of colonialism pitting poverty striken subjects against the poorest citizens.
There is no clear way to right this immediately. We must all continue to be curious, and dig deeper. Buying less, buying second hand, buying better when new is necessary, and thinking about the end of life portion of any garment’s life cycle is a great start!
You've likely come across one of those large, yellow 'Planet Aid' donation boxes. The organization, which has drop-off points in 21 states, sells the clothes it collects in places like Africa. The U.S. government has also allocated $133 million for Planet Aid, to help fund humanitarian projects in Malawi and Mozambique. But does all that money go where it's supposed to? Our new podcast with PRX investigates.
So we're going to be donating more clothing to Planet Aid, and I'm looking at their page again.
It seems a bit off-putting to give your old clothing to someone that sells it, but when you look at the bigger picture, it makes more sense for clothing to be bought by other countries rather than donated, especially when donations can hurt the local economy.
I dunno. Your clothing could end up anywhere, but there's that idea that small business owners can buy the clothing, sell it, and earn a living from what you no longer need. Women can earn an independent living and take care of their communities and families. That'd be awesome.
So it's really a leap of faith. But, we're willing to take that seeing as we don't need this stuff anymore.
Planet Aid is reaching out to clothing manufacturers and retailers this week in an effort to increase recycling of used clothing and shoes. The groups ...
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapter two well how about that
oh no chapter two of Planet Aid was supposed to be done today but stuff happned and I'm going to my friends so it wont be done for like two days more ahhhhh