Central Java textile entrepreneurs are worried that thrifting has now become a field for disposing of used clothing from abroad. This is because in China, for example, destroying used clothes costs a lot of money and pollutes the environment when they are burned or buried in the ground. General Manager of PT Sandang Asia Maju Abadi, Deddy Mulyadi, said that used clothes that enter the country and are known as thrifting, are actually branded goods. The statement was said when met at his office, recently. Deddy as Chairperson of Apindo City of Semarang explained, domestic thrifting perpetrators who buy used clothes do not have too much capital, between Rp. 2 million to Rp. 2.5 million per kilogram.

Every one kilogram of used clothing that is purchased contains approximately 700 used clothes.

According to him, used clothes from abroad that enter Indonesia depend on the policies of the government.

"I thrift that in Europe the ingredients are selective, but here the ingredients are mixed. So sometimes some are suitable for use, some are not," said Deddy.

Deddy further explained, the existence of thrifting actually did not disrupt the domestic textile market.

Garment or textile business actors from the SME sector are actually not bothered because they already have their own market.

“Thrifting players actually have their own market, mostly young people who want to be stylish with branded clothes. All of that has a market,” he explained.

Previously, Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga stated that thrifting activities were permitted as long as they were not imported goods.

Currently, the government has only banned the import activity of imported used clothes.

This rule is contained in the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 40 of 2022 concerning Amendments to the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 18 of 2021 concerning Export Prohibited Goods and Import Prohibited Goods and Law Number 7 of 2014 concerning Trade.

Currently, the government is still giving traders time to finish their stock of imported used clothes.

The sale of used imported clothes in the future will be prohibited.