07/15/2019
Starting at what many people would consider the end of the story, when it’s time to dispose of possessions that are unwanted, unused, or broken, business journalist Minter (Junkyard Planet) takes readers on a surprisingly jaunty trip through the global market for secondhand goods. Starting at a storage unit in the Minneapolis suburbs and winding up in Ghana’s Golden Jubilee Terminal, a major import crossroads, with stops in Japan, India, and Malaysia along the way, Minter introduces a colorful cast of characters, such as 41-year-old “Shoe Guy,” a (self-declared) 35-year veteran of the U.S.-Mexico trade in used goods, and Robin Ingenthron, a Vermont entrepreneur who exports computer monitors from the U.S. to the developing world. Largely a portrait of an industry in decline due to items such as clothing becoming cheaper and less durable and higher ticket electronics being developed to insure that they are difficult to repair, Minter’s book reveals an economy hampered by an increasing overabundance of supply (“The things I value, I quickly realized, generally aren’t valuable to anyone but me”). This is a fascinating, eye-opening look at a dynamic, largely unseen world that only starts when one drops off something at a thrift store. Agent: Wendy Sherman, Wendy Sherman Associates. (Nov.)
"It’s [Minter’s] vibrant sketches of entrepreneurial characters and his dives into obscure industrial histories that make a persuasive case: discarded goods are becoming a big environmental problem." - Los Angeles Review of Books
"With grace, a keen eye for detail, an interesting cast of characters who spend their life reselling used things, and the perennially curious mind of a great journalist, Minter takes readers from the backs of thrift stores all across the United States to small apartments and vintage shops in Tokyo, and from a truck in Mexico to an office in Mumbai, to show the inner workings of one of the world's largest market . . . Secondhand is a gripping narrative. Minter is a superb storyteller who knows empathy is easier to connect with than numbers. In this book, there are plenty of both, but the people he interviews and the stories he tells are what make it an enthralling read . . . It's a book I'd recommend buying now instead of waiting for it to show up at your local thrift store." - NPR.org
"An anthem to decluttering, recycling, making better quality goods and living a simpler life with less stuff. The book is a compelling argument for tempering acquisitions, especially now that global warming compels people to rethink how they live." - Associated Press
"In an accessible and engaging style, Secondhand unravels the complexities of a vast yet mostly hidden and often secretive enterprise of used clothes and goods . . . The result is an unparalleled look at the lifespan of everyday things and the unexpected ways our society's abundance of discarded items are, refreshingly, being repurposed for a second life." - Shelf Awareness
"A sprawling, insightful travelogue through the world of repair, reuse and waste, Secondhand takes readers deep inside the consumer economy’s back end. In exploring the vast global tide of used and discarded goods, Adam Minter delivers a book as crammed with oddities and gems as the second-hand shops he loves to haunt." - Nature
"This is a fascinating, eye-opening look at a dynamic, largely unseen world that only starts when one drops off something at a thrift store." - Publishers Weekly
"Engaging . . . well-written and packed with intriguing details, this is a great look at a global industry to which virtually all of us contribute." - Library Journal
In Minter’s capable hands, [this] topic comes alive…Minter designs a workable path forward to combat the glut of stuff. - Booklist
"Minter's travels through the afterlife of stuff are revelatory, terrifying, but, ultimately, hopeful. 'Secondhand' helps us to see a world of possibility in the objects we discard." - Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction
"A well balanced blend of practical data, real-life experiences, colourful character descriptions and amusing anecdotes. An interesting read for people inside as well as outside the recycling industry." - Recycling International
"Minter tells stories and offers insight suffused with legitimacy, pragmatism, and optimism." - Science
"Secondhand tells an important story about consumerism gone wild, the complex industry that has grown around its detritus, and how we can push back on an entrenched culture of disposability." - New York Journal of Books
"Minter’s approach manages to be both detail-orientated and a page-turner."- Foreign Policy
"An epic journey across continents to untangle the used-goods market. Minter reports his findings in a readable style laced with anecdotes and statistics…Minter’s greatest contribution is his balanced look at the economies of India, Ghana and other countries that have figured out that most things can have a second consumer life, if only we let them." - The Providence Journal
"[Minter’s] new book moves up a step in the classic environmental hierarchy of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,’ to see what becomes of our stuff once we let go of it." - Sierra
"Fascinating…Minter anchors his globe-spanning tale of material redemption on two themes: why we hesitate to send our goods straight to the landfill, and the extent to which others can actually acquire and use them." - Christianity Today
2019-08-28
In a follow-up to Junkyard Planet (2013), Malaysia-based Bloomberg Opinion columnist Minter looks at what happens to our discarded stuff, the used household goods and clothing donated to thrift stores or sold at garage sales.
While conducting his research, the author traveled widely in North America, Asia, and Africa to interview people involved in every aspect of the secondhand business. Because statistics on the business are scanty, Minter tells much of his story through the people he met at the many stops in his global journey. These include home cleanout businesses in Minnesota and in Japan, a swap meet in Mexico, a used clothing exporter in Canada, a sorting warehouse in Nigeria, and a Goodwill store in Arizona (in 2016, Goodwill International "generated $4.16 billion in retail sales, making it the king of an American thrift trade that generated at least $17.5 billion in revenue"). Chronicling the work of the employees at these various businesses, Minter shows readers their expertise, what special knowledge they need to have to operate successfully, what problems they face, and how the secondhand business is changing. China, for instance, used to be an importer of used clothing, but it is now an exporter. The author's respect for the people working in the business is clear, but the character-driven approach tends to lengthen the report and blur its clarity. Still, readers will come away with an understanding that the supply of secondhand goods is vast, the amount of stuff in the world is still growing, and that the secondhand business is supplying billions of people around the world with goods they want and need. The author also offers some recommendations, especially about the quality of goods, noting how the manufacture of more durable and repairable goods would have a positive effect on the secondhand business, something he notes that is beginning to happen already. The handful of black-and-white photographs, unfortunately, are generally small, murky, and unhelpful.
A character-driven, detailed, eye-opening report far richer in description than analysis.
08/01/2019
We all have too much stuff, and this engaging new work by Minter (Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade) is a behind-the-scenes peek into what happens when we finally decide to clean house. The author begins by outlining the history of our love affair with accumulating and the rise of downsizing services as the population ages, particularly in the United States and Japan. He follows items into a Goodwill store and meets sorters who decide what is likely to sell and what gets baled and shipped overseas. It's not just clothes, though; electronics recycling is another huge sector, encouraged in part by companies such as Apple, which was a pioneer in engineering items that deliberately could not be repaired. He notes there is a small trend once again focusing on durability and quality, but with the continued success of fast-fashion and the continued trend toward downsizing and decluttering, the secondhand trade is likely to be booming for a long while. VERDICT Well written and packed with intriguing details, this is a great look at a global industry to which virtually all of us contribute, in one way or another.—Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH
