At Goodwill, there's an excess of generosity

[Goodwill, from Bt]director at Goodwill Southern California, said that the COVID-19 pandemic instilled a culture of “decluttering” that has persisted.

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“People are cognizant of what they have, what they're carrying, and getting rid of it,” she said.

But I wondered whether changes in fashion — from the culture to the clothes themselves — had triggered the avalanche of donations. So I talked to the experts.

Dennita Sewell, a professor of practice at ASU FIDM, the fashion school of Arizona State University, said that the influx may have something to do with the pervasiveness of fast fashion.

Perhaps people are disposing of it as they wrestle with ethical concerns about the exploitation of workers who make such garments, and other issues.