What happens when you donate your used clothing?

I hate throwing stuff away, and that includes clothing I have that I no longer wear. Abby participates in clothing exchanges with local women in order to avoid wastage, and she takes my clothing also, to give away somewhere when possible.

I was interested to read an economics blog post about possible unintended consequences, however, of clothing donations that go to low-income countries.

Apparently, what happens is that this flow of used clothing thanks to globalization competes with local textile and clothing industries. The used clothing ends up being resold rather than donated. Interesting, huh?