The Atacama Desert: the mountain of used clothing that reflects global consumerism

The Atacama Desert in Chile is home to more than just vast, brown, parched lands. Among its hills is a kind of mega-landfill that is visible even from space, but the reality is that it is not garbage waste, but rather discarded clothing that has been there for years and that, in total, forms a large mountain of 39,000 tons of clothing.

It is, thus, the most representative image of unbridled consumerism in the fashion industry. The truth is that Chile has long been a second-hand clothing center where garments manufactured in China or Bangladesh arrive, which then pass through Europe, Asia or the United States and end up in this country to be resold or distributed throughout Latin America.

Specifically, about 59,000 tons arrive each year at the port of Iquique, in the north of the country, to be resold. A large part of all these garments ends up in the country's capital, Santiago de Chile, and the rest is distributed throughout other Latin American countries. Of all this, what ends up not being able to be sold or placed as contraband is what finally ends up in this desert.

This has been echoed by the prestigious National Geographic magazine, which points to a very similar clothing cycle in Chile: According to this medium, in Iquique clothing items are divided according to their quality and then exported to Panama, the Dominican Republic, Asia, Africa, or even the United States. The rest ends up in stores or markets and what is not interesting ends up being left in this desert.