Marie Kondo sparked a decluttering revolution – what happens to all the discarded clothes?
- While the Japanese organising guru’s message is good – that we should only surround ourselves with things that make us happy – it has caused purges of wardrobes and piles of unwanted waste
But the movement isn’t really about minimalism. It is about happiness. The key Kondo-ism employed in decluttering one’s space is the question, “Does it spark joy?”, and if something does not, then it is donated or thrown away.
The flip side to this phenomenon is that other homes are becoming more cluttered, as compulsive shoppers have noticed that second-hand stores and donation centres are now bursting at the seams.
Each episode of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo begins with her asking a family to gather every piece of clothing they have and put them into one huge pile. Most of the participants seem shocked at just how much they have amassed, and are determined to get rid of a large amount of it. But where does it all go?
Quality clothes no longer wanted by those inspired by Kondo are typically donated, while low-quality items generally end up in landfills. But there were so many donations at the beginning of this year that thrift stores in the United States have restricted or even stopped taking donations, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and Time magazine. With people still determined to “Kondo” their wardrobes, many quality clothes are ending up in landfills.
If you think you can get around the problem by donating to a recycling initiative instead, you may be surprised at the afterlife of your clothes. A majority of such donations are not processed because they contain both natural and synthetic materials, making recycling time- and energy-intensive. The clothes that cannot be recycled are sold to third-party distributors who then sell them in bulk to developing countries, and the importation of cheap clothes makes it harder for local clothing manufacturers to compete.
Kondo isn’t necessarily responsible for creating waste, and it is the state of consumerism that has necessitated her existence. In an interview with ABC News, Kondo noted that one of the reasons Americans have amassed so much is because of the size of their homes and their need to fill it with stuff.
Kondo asks participants to thank their clothes before they are tossed or donated. This allows consumers to see the items’ value and may give them a better perspective on their relationship with clothes, which, in turn, may help shift shoppers away from fast fashion in particular, one of the biggest contributors to the throwaway culture.
Kondo also asks participants whether an item “is something you really want to take into the future”. For there to be more positive answers to that question, we need both manufacturers and consumers to invest in clothes that can stand the test of time in terms of quality, durability and design.
