Travels of a Tshirt in the Free Economy

Aside from the title of this post, "Travels of a Tshirt in the Free Economy" is the book Carleton College made/asked the class of 2012 to read before freshmen orientation.  Like any good pre-college student, I read it - its central thesis being: it takes a global economy to make a tshirt these days.  From cotton in Texas, to a factory in China, to Goodwill in New York City, to a ship crossing the Atlantic, to a second-hand clothing market in Africa.  Well, I can say definitively, I have found the tshirts.

I have said a few times that Africa is where clothes come to die.  While this may not be completely true, it is completely true in my experience.  Exposed wood, broken metal, and vigorous hand washing all make for tears.  This means that since arriving almost 2 years ago (!) I have had to buy new clothes.  And this is more or less the clothing industry:  

A clothing auction (note the USAID relief tarp being used for something other than its original intended purpose)

A tailor

the cheapest clothes (5-15 meticais, 31 meticais to the dollar) come in piles

Clothes and Shoes

This is Gurue's version of the Salvation Army.  They get new shipments every month, and I get most of my clothes here.

I am missing a picture of the stores that sell new clothes.   These are often directly from China or Brazil and are definitely out of a Peace Corps Volunteer's budget.  Pants - $20, shirts $18-$25...the list goes on.