African countries ban import of used clothing from Belgium

When it comes to donating used clothes to countries abroad, Belgians are very generous. As the world's sixth largest exporter of second-hand clothing, Belgians donate about €172 million worth of clothes annually. In many African countries, however, the hand-me-downs are no longer wanted, writes Newsmonkey.

Ten African countries have already imposed a ban on the import of used clothes from Belgium, the reason being that their own textile industries suffer under the burden of the donated clothing, which is not given away for free in 40% of cases, but sold at prices that the local industry cannot compete with.