This year is the perfect time to visit the “landa,” and we’ll tell you why. Flea markets and thrift stores in countries like Pakistan receive most, if not all, of their clothing as hand-me-downs from countries like the United States, England, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Charities receive these clothes for free and sell them in bulk per-Kg at an incredibly low price, making their way to third-world countries.
Contrary to what donors might think, the clothes are not distributed freely to people in need. Charitable organizations receive so many articles of clothing that it would be expensive to package and deliver them to the needy. Instead, they find retailers willing to buy the clothes at a set price per Kg and use the money for other charitable activities.
For example, a brand-new Ralph Lauren shirt that would cost $110 at retail price in the US might end up costing literal cents as part of a 50Kg bundle being bought by a used-clothes merchant at a rate of, say, $2 per KG. These bundles of clothes are then sorted, packaged, and shipped to third-world countries where they are sold at low rates.
In Pakistan, a shirt that would have cost $110 in the US (Rs 31,000) is available at a flea-market in Lahore for as low as Rs 1000-1500 ($4-5). So, if you ever want to buy quality clothes at a reasonable price, this year is the perfect time to visit the landa.
