华盛顿邮报 捐赠的旧衣物最后到哪去了？(2)

 

    Yeah, so how do clothes end up in a landfill? Like, what makes them unsuitable for any use at all?

    捐赠的衣物怎么会被扔进垃圾填埋场呢? 是什么导致它们没有任何适用的地方?

    Yeah, great question. So, when it comes to --问得好。当谈到——

    Because people will just, like, give away clothes and not think twice, I feel like.

    因为我觉得人们会不假思索地捐掉衣物。

    Right, exactly. So, at least in the case of Goodwill¹, they will throw away immediately anything that comes to them wet or soiled. And that's largely obviously for hygiene² and safety purposes.

    对, 没错。至少在Goodwill(慈善组织)的例子中，他们会立即扔掉任何送到他们手上的湿哒哒或脏兮兮的东西。这很大程度上是出于卫生和安全考虑。

    Sounds gross.

    听起来很恶心。

    Right. So that makes sense. And so, you know, if we're thinking about how we donate, very clear rule of thumb is make sure you're not giving something that is wet or soiled.

    没错。这么做可以理解。如果我们在考虑如何捐赠的问题，明确的经验之谈是确保捐赠的衣物干燥或干净。

    You know, your garments should be cleaned. If you're able to repair some minor³ damages on them, definitely do that, too.

    你的衣服该清洗了。如果你能修补衣服上的一些轻微损坏，一定要这样做。

    But Goodwill will take things that are, you know, ripped or whatnot, and maybe it will go to the salvage⁴ dealers⁵.

    但是Goodwill(慈善机构)会将破碎衣物或诸如此类的衣物送到报废商那里。

    Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And clothes that end up in thrift⁶ stores or are resold, what happens with that money? Like, they're selling that to get money for their organizations?

    至于那些最终出现在二手店再出售的衣服，所得的钱财都到哪里了? 他们是在出售捐赠衣物为组织赚钱吗?

    Right. So, typically, the money is then used to fund their community programs and their operations.

    对。通常情况下，这些钱会被用来资助他们的社区项目和运营。

    You know, in the in the case of Goodwill, it'll go to their workforce⁷ development programs and their community outreach and that type of thing. So the money is going to important efforts and initiatives.

    在慈善机构Goodwill，这些资金将用于劳动力发展项目和社区推广等事情。这些资金将用于重要的活动和方案。

    Yeah. And how many of these clothes, like, go to people who are just needing clothes? Is that a common outcome or a lot of clothes are just resold and that money is used to raise?

    对。有多少衣服会送给那些只需要衣服的人? 这样的结果常见吗，还是很多衣服只是用于再出售，所得的钱财用来筹集资金?

    I don't have exact numbers on that.

    我没有得到确切的数字。

    There is some thought that, you know, if you donate to a more local community organization, those clothes will probably go directly to people in need and potentially has a better chance of that happening. But it really kind of depends on the organization that you're going to.

    有人认为，如果你向一家当地的社区组织捐赠衣物，这些衣服可能会直接送到有需要的人手中，而且更有可能发生这种好情况。但这实际上取决于你要去的组织。

    Okay, so, Allyson, if I'm looking at my clothes, what should be some questions I ask myself about the state that they're in? And, like, the types of items that I have.

    好，艾莉森，如果我在翻看衣物，我应该问自己关于衣物状态的什么问题? 比如，我有什么类型的衣物。

    Yeah. There are some really simple best practices to follow when it comes to those type of things.

    是的。当涉及到衣物类型时，可以遵循一些简单的好做法。

    So overarching, just be thoughtful about your donations.

    总的来说，要考虑清楚你的捐赠物。

    And that means, you know, making sure your clothes are in the best condition possible.

    这意味着要确保你的衣服处于最佳状态。

    So they should be clean. They should be free of pet hair or lint⁸.

    因此，衣物应该干净。应该没有粘上宠物毛发或绒毛。

    Check the pockets if there's anything inside, empty those out.

    检查一下口袋，如果里面有东西，就把它们倒出来。

    If you have any rips or maybe it's a little damaged or missing a button, you can mend that at home and then donate, you know, the repaired item.

    如果衣物有任何撕裂痕迹，有点损坏痕迹，或少了一颗纽扣，可以在家里修补后再捐赠修补好的衣物。

1 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

2 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

5 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

6 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

7 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

8 lint   

n.线头；绷带用麻布，皮棉

参考例句：

• Flicked the lint off the coat.把大衣上的棉绒弹掉。
• There are a few problems of air pollution by chemicals,lint,etc.,but these are minor.化学品、棉花等也造成一些空气污染问题，但这是次要的。