Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'clothing'

The unintended consequences of clothing donations

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal focuses on the market for the global clothing donation and recycling industry, centering on the trade from the United States to India. One of the most immediately striking elements of the piece are the photographs that accompany it, featuring piles and piles of used clothing on large trucks and people picking through the mountains of fabric taller than they are. Continue Reading...

The Smile Curve and the Future of the Middle Class

The smile curve is an idea came from the computer industry, but it applies broadly. It’s a recognition, in graph form, that there is good money to be made (or more value to be added) in research and development, and, at the other end, in marketing and retailing. Continue Reading...

Does Donating Clothes Hurt the Poor?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2aqc2TCeco Over the weekend, BBC Africa did a report on the second-hand clothing industry in Africa and looked at some possible negative consequences of donating clothes to poor countries. Continue Reading...

Of Miracles and Means

Last week I linked to Joe Carter’s On the Square piece, “What the Market Economy Needs to be Moral,” challenging his view that we need a “third way.” He has since clarified his position, and noted that what he wants is not really an alternative to the market economy but an alternative grounding, view of, and justification for the market economy. Continue Reading...