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Shoppers, sellers lambast Jokowi’s crackdown on thrifting
Thrift-shop sellers and vintage-shopping aficionados have spoken up against the government’s decision to crack down on imported second-hand clothes, which it claims are harmful to the local garment industry.
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Modern-day thrift shops look just like new clothes retailers as opposed to the market stalls of the past, as the used and vintage clothes market gains traction across the country. Now the government is cracking down on these shops, which acquire inventory from overseas. (JP/OHMG)
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hrift-shop sellers and vintage-shopping aficionados have spoken up against the government’s recent decision to crack down on imported second-hand clothes, which it claims are harmful to the domestic garment industry.
Gisela, 33, a freelance translator from South Jakarta who has been an avid thrifter since 2005, insists the policy was misguided, as she believes thrift shops and local clothing stores each had their own separate markets.
“People who come from low-income families choose to buy second-hand clothes because they can’t afford to buy new, whereas the middle-income group goes thrift shopping because they want to find rare or branded items that aren’t locally produced. It’s a very niche market,” she told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Clamping down on thrift and vintage-clothes shopping, Gisela said, could jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of small business owners who make a living from it.
“If the government wants to develop the domestic clothing industry, it should focus all its efforts on actually improving the industry instead of cracking down on the second-hand clothing market. If authorities are concerned imported used goods could spread diseases, they should better regulate the process rather than banning it outright,” she said.
Another thrift shopper, 24-year-old Mikhaela from South Jakarta, said she was disappointed with the government’s recent crackdown, saying it would severely limit her options to purchase clothes responsibly.
“I believe thrift shopping is the most socially responsible way to extend the life cycle of clothes. Buying second hand imported apparel is a way to make use of the massive overproduction of fast fashion companies, which would otherwise end up in landfills and pollute the environment,” the NGO worker said.
