Fixing Chile’s fashion graveyard

整治智利的时尚荒原

The Documentary Podcast

2026-02-17

26 分钟
PDF

单集简介 ...

Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth – often likened to Mars. It is also home to piles of dumped clothes from fast fashion labels across the world. Because it is so dry nothing decomposes. And that means that clothes ditched 10 to 20 years ago still look recognisable. Sometimes the mountains of clothes are burnt causing toxic fumes which harm the local community of Alto Hospicio. This environmental crisis has been going on for years. It is a complex situation with multiple players involved. But different groups are starting to take action. Jane Chambers travels to the Atacama Desert to meet activists and locals trying to raise awareness. An enormous giant – El Gigante Vestido – is being created in the desert out of used clothes to get people talking. This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.
更多

单集文稿 ...

  • This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

  • If there was a big red button that would just demolish the internet,

  • I would smash that button with my forehead.

  • From the BBC, this is The Interface,

  • the show that explores how tech is rewiring your weak and your world.

  • This isn't about quarterly earnings or about tech reviews.

  • It's about what technology is actually doing to your work, your politics,

  • your everyday life, and all the bizarre ways people are using the internet.

  • Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

  • Thank you for downloading this podcast from the BBC.

  • Akike is a busy seaside city in northern Chile,

  • where locals and tourists splash in the waves and enjoy the beaches.

  • It's also a port and a free trade zone.

  • Businesses can import and store goods without paying custom GTs or VAT, and one import stands out.

  • Chile is the largest buyer of used clothes in Latin America,

  • importing more than 120,000 tonnes per year.

  • Around 40% of those garments enter the country here in Iquique,

  • and where many of them end up isn't what you'd expect.

  • This place is called the Santa Rosa.

  • It's where people came to dump bails of used clothes.