Second-hand shirt vendors on I.I. Chundrigar Road and in Boulton Market have to grease many a palm as a matter of routine
Most people in our country like to wear the shalwar kameez, popularly known as the awami libas (national dress), to work. But those particularly associated with private firms, banks and multinationals are often restricted from doing so. They are officially bound to wear a suit or at least a formal shirt and trousers, with the option of a tie. Here is where the predicament sets in.
When an average salaried person goes to a tailor to get a shirt or a pair of trousers stitched, he has to pay Rs400-Rs600 for both. This high cost of stitching has given boost to the ready-made garment industry, where shirts and pants can be bought for as low as Rs100-Rs200 a piece on the footpaths of Saddar and other shopping areas in Karachi, and elsewhere in the country. For those to whom these prices may seem high, another alternative available is second-hand clothing.
According to Muhammed Iqbal who runs a second-hand clothing business in Juna Market, a considerable number of people working in private offices wear second-hand shirts (preferably white) and pants. This includes high-ranking bank officers as well. The bales of used shirts are imported by second-hand cloth merchants from the US, UK, Korea, Germany and other countries. Each bale contains about 200 shirts, and it is very difficult to know which bale contains good quality ones. Mostly, they are of mixed quality. After opening the bales, the shirts are sorted and sent for washing and ironing, which costs Rs6-7 per shirt, says Iqbal. Pants, shirts, jackets and jeans in extra-large sizes are also altered by tailors in Juna Market to make them smaller.
Second-hand shirt vendors in Saddar, Boulton Market, I.I. Chundrigar Road and other parts of the city are Iqbal’s main customers. The price of these shirts differ in quality and colour. Normally, the vendor buys a shirt at Rs20-25 a piece, and sells it for Rs40-50. Some good quality shirts are priced at Rs40-100 and are sold to customers for Rs150-250 a piece.
Muhammad Ahsan has been selling second-hand shirts near Muhammadi House, off I.I. Chundrigar Road, for the last 15 years. He says that executives, high-ranking officers and even VPs of nearby banks are among his regular customers.
When asked as to why these executive prefers to buy used shirts, Ahsan says that when these people visit foreign countries, they buy the same shirts for Rs1,000-1,500. But when they see the same shirts being sold on the footpaths of Karachi for Rs100 or so, it is too good a bargain for them to pass.
Another shirt vendor, Muhammad Hammad, who has been in the second-hand shirt business for the last 12 years, says he obtains shirts from wholesalers on commission basis. He gets a commission of Rs20-25 on every shirt he sells. Unsold goods are returned to the wholesaler at the end of the day. When asked about the problems these shirt vendors face from the police, KMC, etc, Hammad says that every shirt vendor has to grease the palms of traffic cops, KMC staff and the SHO of the area police station on a daily basis. Sometimes, workers of political parties also turn up to collect their share.
There are about 15-20 second-hand shirt vendors in the vicinity of I.I. Chundrigar Road and Boulton Market alone, thus the amount of illegal gratification that goes into the pockets of the police and the KMC staff on a daily basis can be calculated from this number. Every shirt vendor, on an average, earns between Rs6,000-8,000 a month.
When relations with our neighbouring country, India, were friendly, Muhammad Iqbal used to send plain white shirts in lots to Bombay and Delhi through passengers travelling by train, popularly known as khepiyay. Used shirts were in great demand in India in those days and are equally popular there even today. But due to strained relations with India for the last couple of years, the second-hand shirt business has come to a halt. With the news of peace talks resuming between both the countries, Iqbal sees some signs of resumption of his white-shirt business in the near future.
Second-hand shirt vendors on I.I. Chundrigar Road and in Boulton Market have to grease many a palm as a matter of routine 
