A Secondhand Clothing Entrepreneur

and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

A secondhand clothing entrepreneur is one of the many roles fulfilled by women in the secondhand industry. Time after time we see that the secondhand clothing industry is quite generous in providing paths to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.  As we come across the roles, titles, and positions throughout the secondhand industry, we find that women are involved. From the mother who drops off her family’s clothes at a donation bin, to the woman who is a logistics coordinator, or the woman who sells the load of the collected goods, to the security guard at the port, the wholesaler at the importing country, and lastly the woman entrepreneur that needs to put a roof over her family, provide a livelihood, and even a chance at a higher education for her children.

Secondhand Clothing Entrepreneur

In a recent research, we encountered a woman named Teresa de Jesús, at a local market in Guatemala. In her interview she claims that she has been in the secondhand clothing industry for more than 27 years. As a single mother, Teresa had to find a livelihood to provide for her children, to whom she has been able to provide a roof over their heads, meals, and opportunities to higher education.
In Teresa’s story alone, we see the direct connection to the following SDGs:

• SDG #1 “No poverty” – If Teresa has her own business, she is no longer part of the poverty statistics. Even further, she can provide a chance to higher education for her children, decreasing significantly the risk of them falling into poverty in their adulthood.
• SDG # 2 “Zero hunger” – With Teresa’s SHC business, she can provide food for her and her family.
• SDG #3 “Good health and Well-being” – Higher income most of the time equals better health and all-around well-being for those in the household, something Teresa and her children can benefit from thanks to her secondhand clothing business.
• SDG #4 “Quality Education”- A business of her own opens the doors to higher education for her children.
• SDG #5 “Gender Equality”- Teresa is the sole provider of her home, she goes against the stereotype that men are the sole providers. As an entrepreneur in the Guatemalan market, her chances of making the same amount of money as her market neighbor who is a male, are quite high.
• SDG #8 “Decent work and Economic Growth” – Teresa unknowingly contributes to the economic growth of her country and knowingly contributes to the economy of her household.
• SDG #12 “Responsible production and consumption”- Teresa sells secondhand clothing, she sells a responsible and green product.
• SDG #13 “Climate action”- As a used clothing seller, Teresa contributes to a sustainable product which can decrease the production of new textiles which harm the environment.

Any way you look at it, the secondhand clothing industry goes hand in hand with many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.