Imported Used- Clothes Threatens RI Local Garments Industry

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Health is one of the many sectors Indonesia trying to improve. It does not necessarily involve hospital, medicine or doctors, but it can be the smallest example of the pejorative implication from used clothing. Apart from threatening the health of those who wear the used clothing, the distribution of these clothing also damages the prospect for small to medium scale garment industry within the country.

Sometimes, used- clothing is re-distributed because some people believe in recycling and that this is seen much more convenient rather than buying new clothes that are evidently more expensive than used ones.

However, even after several wash, the germs in used- clothing can stay for quite a long time, causing the widespread of it which leads to the disease. Not to mention, many of the used clothing comes from various foreign countries, which means we are contributing more to the prosperity of other nations by buying imported goods rather than purchasing one from our country.

The Chairman of Indonesia Textile Association (API) Ade Sudrajat said that the rampant distribution of used- clothes around Indonesia has hindered the path towards nationwide improvement in the Industry of garments. This sector is of paramount importance as it is the primary needs of every individual to be clothed everyday. With rampant distribution of used ones especially imported ones will inevitably make the garment sector an ineffective one and that it would impede progress to become a better one for the future. Indonesia will continue to face problem as the market is becoming highly competitive and with the population preferring to buy imported goods, the future to our nation’s economy in the garment sector will be threatened to perish.

"Economically speaking, small to middle industries only grew by 8%. It should have been 20% on an annual basis. Well, it grew by 12% but due to the widespread of used-clothing. So, it pretty much does not help the growth of the garment industry," Ade said, Saturday (07/02/2015).

According to Ade, the one dominating factor that hampers the garment industry is the ‘monopolization’ of used- clothes. Many people change their preferences due to cost.

"Why are we not progressing well in this industry? Surely it is because of the used-clothes market that has dominated the Indonesian clothing industry," he concluded. (Akp/Ein)