A research project on the social impact of clothing donation

Western clothing donations are responsible for a booming second hand industry across Africa. The impacts are diverse, overwhelming and inspiring but they raise questions too. The Dutch perception of donating second hand clothing is seen as a positive solution- the donator helps the poor and avoids clothing going to landfill. But little is known or communicated as to what happens to the donated second hand clothing. And what kind of impact does the ‘donated’ clothing have on the people who receive it?

In search of answers Linda Valkeman (Research & Design) and Carmen Hogg (Style Anthropologist) travelled to Accra (Ghana) to collaborate with Francis Kokoroko (Visual Artist) to conduct a pre-research on the social phenomenon. We combine forces and perspectives to enrich the dialogue on clothing donation by including cross-cultural perspectives. With this research we want to provide insights and trigger thoughts on clothing donation & consumption.

About Linda Valkeman:

Linda Valkeman (1984) is a researched-based designer who straddles the interface of design and anthropolgy. She is always on the move, vibrant and curious, observing the daily world around her.
Defining herself as a ‘Material Teller’, she explores how the meaning of objects, styles and aesthetic forms changes over time and space. Her multidisciplinary work studies the cultural dimensions of globalisation. Consumption, material migration and neo colonialism are subjects she works around.

Linda feels a love & hate relationship with fashion. Funnily enough, she started in fashion and graduated her degrees at HKU & artEZ in 2009. Since then Linda has been working on project- based collaborations that focus on research and exchange of knowledge. Linda observes, participates, questions and analyses in order to create materials, strategies and stories.
Enlightening the ‘Movement of Material’ over the world.