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Donating’s Dark Side: Where Do Goodwill Donations Go?

Donating’s Dark Side: Where Do Goodwill Donations Go?

We live in a society that craves what's shiny and what's new. We toss broken stuff without bothering to repair it; we donate perfectly good stuff to make room in our homes for newer, sleeker models, too. But have you ever wondered where our Goodwill donations really go? Inside; Author and journalist Adam Minter explains what really happens to our donated stuff; he offers insight into the dark side of consumerism, too.


Ever wondered where Goodwill donations really go?

Our society craves what’s shiny and what’s new. We toss broken stuff without bothering to repair it; we donate perfectly good stuff to make room in our homes for newer, sleeker models, too.

Between 1967 and 2017, the amount Americans spent annually on stuff increased nearly twenty-fold. And while some items will be recycled into new goods or given to others in need, the vast majority of our unwanted stuff is destined for landfills.

Today I’m interviewing Adam Minter, journalist and author of the new book, Secondhand: Adventures in the New Global Garage Sale.

Adam pulls back the curtain on where our Goodwill donations actually go; he raises some big points about the dark side of consumerism, too.

 

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* Want more episodes like this one? Try #095: Planned Obsolescence: What It Is and What to Do About It. 

 


We live in a society that craves what's shiny and what's new. We toss broken stuff without bothering to repair it; we donate perfectly good stuff to make room in our homes for newer, sleeker models, too. But have you ever wondered where our Goodwill donations really go? Inside; Author and journalist Adam Minter explains what really happens to our donated stuff; he offers insight into the dark side of consumerism, too.

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The Sustainable Minimalists Podcast
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HEADLINES: Ulterior Motives

The environmental news headlines you need to know for Friday, May 3 2024:

[1:30] Newly released documents and Big Oil's secret climate strategy

[7:00] Here's what Patagonia's doing with all its profits

[13:00] Therapists are trading the couch for the great outdoors, and here's why

[16:00] Sea levels are rising in the US coastal South faster than anywhere else on Earth

 

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