Lunda Bazaars, the only source for poor and the have-nots to meet their clothing needs usually in winters, were creating health hazards for its consumers. As a result of unprecedented economic slow down, majority of people have lost their purchasing power and have been heavily depending on second-hand clothes to meet their demands of clothes.
The multimillion industry of secondhand clothes, which offers everything including woolies, quilts, curtains, blankets, rugs, trousers, shirts, T-shirts, children wear and jackets, was running across the country with no governmental check.
The government has totally neglected this industry, be it the issue relating to the welfare of stakeholders or health safety of second-hand clothes' users. Despite the fact that the industry has been catering to the needs of middle, lower-middle and poor segments of society for several decades, the government has not constituted any body to regulate this industry and ensure health safety of its workers and consumers.
"I had never been to Lunda Baazar in the past but the present economic turmoil has forced me to buy used warm clothes for my children," said Gulnaz, a resident of old Clifton area, despite the fact that she appeared well informed about the health hazards.
"I have no option but to purchase second-hand clothes for my kids because of poverty and unfriendly attitude of the government," said Mobeen Kausar, a widow of an army official and mother of eight children. "Although we all know that the use of second-hand clothes could cause skin or any other infection, the price spiral has forced people from all walks of life to buy these used imported garments," said Haris Pirzada, a college student.
Dr Qaiser Sajjad, finance secretary PMA while talking to this scribe said the second-hand clothes are transmitters of several skin and ENT diseases. He said the use of these imported clothes was one of the major causes for severe dermatitis, nostril and other allergies.
He said second-hand clothes have to be disinfected by warm water to avoid contagion, despite the claims of shopkeepers to have sanitised these clothes before displaying them at their shops. Dr Qaiser also urged authorities concerned to establish proper system to standardise this industry, which has become the only source to cater to their clothing needs.
However, Usman Farooqi, General Secretary Pakistan Second-hand Clothes Merchant Association (PSCMA) dispelled the impression that the second-hand clothes were creating health hazards for its users, saying that these used clothes, which were being imported from America, Canada, Japan, Korea and other European countries, were fumigated before its exports. Therefore, there was no health risk for the consumers of these second-hand clothes.
"I have been serving in this industry for over four decades and I have never seen anyone, who suffered any severe skin or other infection because of these second-hand clothes," said Farooqi. "This is all propaganda against the industry, which is now catering to the needs of almost every segment of society," he maintained. He said import of second-hand clothes had increased by 30 percent as people from every cluster were now forced to buy second-hand imported garments because of unemployment and high inflation.
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