- 14 Mar 2002
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- 18,903
Used clothing has become increasingly popular in Japan, the world's third-largest clothing market. Secondhand shops are becoming more popular, and even big companies are jumping on the bandwagon. The fashion chain Uniqlo recently opened a temporary secondhand store in the middle of Tokyo to meet the rising demand.
Uniqlo has already launched the service RE.UNIQLO to recycle unwanted clothing. The company says that the trend for used clothing is due to the internet, as it is easier for consumers to shop there. This trend has led to 34 per cent of discarded clothing being recycled or resold. However, this figure also includes the export to developing countries, where the clothing often ends up in landfills and is burned. According to the charity Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which advocates for eliminating waste and pollution, clothing items equivalent to a truckload are burned or dumped in landfills every second worldwide. The market research institute JapanConsuming estimates that the Japanese secondhand segment accounts for less than 6 per cent of the $75 billion market, although it has grown enormously in recent years.
An example of this growth is 2nd Street, which specializes in secondhand and now operates 800 stores across Japan. Online sales between individuals have also increased, especially on the popular Japanese platform Mercari, where about a third of the total value of transactions involves fashion items. In addition, used clothing from Japan is also becoming more popular abroad, as Japanese people have a reputation for only sending high-quality clothing.
www.japantimes.co.jp
Uniqlo has already launched the service RE.UNIQLO to recycle unwanted clothing. The company says that the trend for used clothing is due to the internet, as it is easier for consumers to shop there. This trend has led to 34 per cent of discarded clothing being recycled or resold. However, this figure also includes the export to developing countries, where the clothing often ends up in landfills and is burned. According to the charity Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which advocates for eliminating waste and pollution, clothing items equivalent to a truckload are burned or dumped in landfills every second worldwide. The market research institute JapanConsuming estimates that the Japanese secondhand segment accounts for less than 6 per cent of the $75 billion market, although it has grown enormously in recent years.
An example of this growth is 2nd Street, which specializes in secondhand and now operates 800 stores across Japan. Online sales between individuals have also increased, especially on the popular Japanese platform Mercari, where about a third of the total value of transactions involves fashion items. In addition, used clothing from Japan is also becoming more popular abroad, as Japanese people have a reputation for only sending high-quality clothing.
Japan revisits used garments as inflation adds to fashion appeal
Awareness of the sector's huge environmental impact has yet to spark much interest in secondhand options in the world third-biggest clothes market.
