Vast Pile of Discarded Clothes in Desert Is So Big It's Visible From Space

[Judi Lynn]

BY ARISTOS GEORGIOU ON 5/22/23 AT 5:04 PM EDT

Asatellite image has revealed an enormous pile of discarded clothing that is so big it's visible from space. The clothing pile, which contains everything from Christmas sweaters to ski boots, is located in the Atacama Desert—the driest non-polar desert in the world—near the municipality of Alto Hospicio in northern Chile.

The pile is spread out across a clearing in the desert terrain. One side of the pile measures more than 1,000 feet across. Texas-based satellite imagery company SkyFi recently shared an image of the pile, revealing the true scale of the pollution problem created by the fashion industry.

Chile has long served as a hub for secondhand and unsold clothing—often manufactured in China or Bangladesh—that is imported into the country from Europe, Asia or the United States before being resold around Latin America, Agence France-Presse reported.

It is estimated that around 59,000 metric tons of clothing arrive at the port of Iquique, which is next to Alto Hospicio, every year. The port is part of the Iquique Free Trade Zone—a duty-free area that was established in an attempt to encourage economic activity.

More:
https://www.newsweek.com/vast-pile-discarded-clothes-desert-big-visible-space-1801944











Chilean vast pile

[Easterncedar]

1. Humans are the worst

I loathe my species.

[2naSalit]

5. +1

[jimfields33]

7. It's Chile who seems to discarding them.

Perhaps the world needs to demand they get rid of it. Not sure why humans as a whole need blamed. It’s one country. Clean it up!

[Croney]

2. Why is that horribly offensive gif of Rump in there?

[Judi Lynn]

3. The American vast pile. n/t

[marble falls]

8. Not all of us. I still wear shirts I inherited from my dad twenty some years ago. I had one pair ...

... of his shoes I could wear through the third resole. He had good taste in silk shirts.

Everything else is cotton and becomes rag. I shop 2nd hand. Fashion is pollution.

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. Discarded?

More like dumped.

Why do they think it’s ok to dump their unsold and unwanted fashion wear in that desert? Disgusting.

Want to bet that money is involved?

[Judi Lynn]

6. No doubt someone's making money allowing it to happen.

Looks as if it would be so easy to refuse to take it. . . with help from the navy, army, national guard, ect.

It's like US states burying their toxic waste in barrels in New Mexico's desert. The people are forced to breathe that air when they burn the synthetic clothes which won't biodegrade.

Someone is getting rich looking the other way, I'll bet, as well.

How can a world survive so many traitors to the human race?

[marble falls]

9. Some part of it is high end, never worn merchandise.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Insane! If they didn't make it so expensive, more people would buy it, I would think.

Then there wouldn't be so much to dump out on the ground. So damned shameful.

Can't imagine how any of this makes any sense.

[marble falls]

11. It's a weird mix of math and tax write off. They need to make so many to keep unit cost low ...

... and give none away to keep price high and the difference becomes a tax write off. They may have to put three on a rack to sell just one.

It's a crazy racket and a good read when it gets into print.

In fact, as deep as you get in some odd illogical stories, you'd have fun researching this one!!!