When we think of basics, the first things that come to mind are food, shelter and clothing.
Although it was easy to find stats on the former, it was not so easy to find the stats related to clothing. Why? Sure, it’s rare to find someone on the street without any clothes. But it’s also a number that Capitalism is not interested in. It relates to addressing society's actual needs, instead of measuring how much stuff was made or sold.
After digging for a while, I did find the following:
In Canada, a survey found that 17% were "unable to afford warm winter clothes," while 39% were "unable to buy new clothes when they're needed."
In the EU, 17% "could not afford to replace worn-out clothes."
In the US, the LA Times reported that "20% of children are part of families that can’t afford clothes, food or other basic necessities" in California.
Several charities are out there attempting to fill the gap. A charity in Canada’s capital distributes 16,000 snowsuits to children every year. In the US, Operation School Bell supports +6,700 kids in LA with new clothes – for the last 52 years.
When it comes to clothing, it's not just about covering one’s body. It's also about dignity. Not having something nice to wear can result in being ridiculed. For example, there was a drive at a school to raise clothes for the less fortunate. Sounds like a good idea, but in a Capitalist society, this can backfire. For example, it was “reported that at one school’s clothing drive, a kid said to another, ‘Oh, you’re wearing my old sneakers.’” For adults, this can be critical in a job interview. Part of this is to avoid being judged. But the other part is feeling good about what you are wearing.
Although Capitalism has presided over an epidemic of narcissism, kibr (arrogance) needs to be distinguished from izzah (honour/dignity). Prophet Muhammad (saw) explained the difference between the two:
“Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “No one who has the weight of a seed of arrogance (kibr) in his heart will enter Paradise.” Someone said, “But a man loves to have beautiful clothes and shoes.” The Prophet said, “Verily, Allah is beautiful and he loves beauty. Arrogance (kibr) means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.” [Muslim]
Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught us that it's natural and good to have clothes that one likes to wear. This, however, needs to be tempered. The ability to afford such clothes does not give someone a license to look down on others or think that they do not have to submit to the truth.
In sha Allah, in the next post, we will look at the pitfalls of clothing donations and how the good intentions of the average person are exploited by Capitalism.