Pride of the Super Bowl losers

Posted at 2:46 PM on February 3, 2012 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Sports

This question comes up after every Super Bowl so let's get it out of the way early. What happens to the pre-printed T-shirts and caps of the team that doesn't win? They end up overseas -- in disaster zones or impoverished areas.

The NFL, for example, donates the items to World Vision ( so do the hockey, baseball, and basketball leagues).

But, Mental Floss notes, they can't stay in this country:

Of course, there are people right here in the U.S. who desperately need a fresh, clean t-shirt or jacket. Why not give it to them? Overseas distribution is part of the agreement between the leagues and World Vision. The leagues don't want the donated items appearing on TV or popping up on eBay, so they get them out of the country. The farther away the clothing is, the less likely it is to offend a losing player (or heartbroken Texas Rangers fan).

Comments (1)

Hi Bob,
I think there's a good case to be made that people right here in the US and in every other part of the world, do NOT, in fact, "desperately need a fresh, clean t-shirt." I spent a couple years living in Kenya, where garment-making used to be a major industry; it isn't anymore, because everyone wears the donated American clothes that Goodwill sells by the pound for resale in places like Africa. So you end up with entire countries where EVERYONE is wearing clothing that were discarded by someone who assumed that somewhere in the world, someone is "desperate" enough to value their ugly jeans or crappy family reunion T-shirt. I once saw a dignified old Kenyan woman walking down the street wearing an XL shirt that read "Wine Me, Dine Me, 69 Me."

Dumping our inaccurate T-shirts on other countries isn't charity, it's just a way of alleviating the guilt of consumer excess. It degrades people.

That's my personal opinion, here's a story with some research to back it up: www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/haiti_doesnt_need_your_old_tshirt

Thanks!

Posted by John Teschner | February 6, 2012 1:33 PM

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