Used clothes’ sale on the up as winter sets in, also exposing citizens to various contagious diseases
As the winter sets in the capital city, markets selling second-hand garments are seen thronged with mostly low-income customers.
Aabpara Market in G-6 sector, Sitara Market in G-7 Sector and Karachi Company Market in G-9 Sector have numerous shops selling second-hand garments. The customers purchase all kinds of second-hand winter clothes ranging from socks to scarves from these shops on much cheaper prices than the new ones sold elsewhere in posh markets.
A shopkeeper in Aabpara Market said that he was expecting to do a robust business this winter due to general price hike in first hand garment as more customers will be forced to visit his shop in search of cheap garments.
“We have such a wide range of winter variety that you can’t imagine. We have original St Michael trousers and shirts, we have products of Marks and Spenser and those of Armani too,” the shopkeeper told enthusiastically.
“The only problem is the purchasing capacity of customers is dwindling gradually and now we have to do grading of our products dividing them into different price ranges so that everyone could buy the clothes from us,” he further said.
When asked whether the second hand garments were washed before selling them to customers, the shopkeeper replied in negative saying, “There is a very small margin of profit in it and if we get these clothes washed from the laundry before selling then our cost will increase which will result in higher price for the already poor customer and will make our business less attractive to even the poor.”
He played down the chances of contracting diseases from the second hand clothes and said that “gora log” (white people) are very neat and clean and use their clothes very carefully leaving no chances for any diseases.
A renowned dermatologist in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) told Pakistan Today that the users of second hand garments expose themselves to a number of diseases like Hepatitis A, B, C and Candidiasis if they keep using these clothes for long periods of time.
He deplored the situations where women use second hand innerwear due to lack of awareness or due to poverty. He said that such use of second-hand products make the women very much vulnerable to sensitive parts’ infections. He advised that at least the users of these clothes should wash them with some detergent so as to minimise the chances of catching skin diseases. He demanded of the government to ban the import of second hand clothes.
Pakistan is one of the largest importers of second hand garments after Sub Saharan countries of Africa while USA followed by United Kingdom(UK), Germany and Netherlands are the largest exporters of used clothings.
According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the used clothing imports in July-December 2013-2014 increased to 219,976 tonnes ($88m) from 198,720 tonnes ($76m) in same period last fiscal year indicating a rise in the use of used clothes.
However, a number of customers buying used clothes in Karachi Company Market of Islamabad justified their purchases terming it inevitable as they have no other choice than buying second-hand clothes.
Mehmood Alam, 45, a shopper in Karachi Company Market said that he reckoned these clothes a blessing for the poor like him.
“I cannot even think of buying costly new clothes when I earn only Rs 10,000 per month with which I have to run my kitchen and fulfil other needs of my family of eight. How do I buy a new sweater for Rs 2,000 with my already meagre income?”
When asked if he was aware of the health hazards attached with using the second-hand clothes, Alam said, “If we do not get these used sweaters, our children will die of cold.”
