Reminds Import Of Used Clothing Threatens Garment Industry, Deputy Speaker Of The House Of Representatives Rachmat Gobel: Not All Are Worth Using, Some Are Waste

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rachmat Gobel. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairperson of the DPR-RI Coordinator for Industry and Development (Korinbang) Rachmat Gobel regrets that the import of used clothing is still happening in Indonesia. In fact, it violates regulations and threatens the existence of the small and home-based garment industry.

"This is very detrimental to the home-based garment industry which is SME scale and is also not environmentally friendly," said Rachmat Gobel in a written statement quoted by Antara, Sunday, June 12.

Reports from the national media some time ago revealed that the import of used clothing with a value of trillions of rupiah was still rampant, and the number has continued to increase since 2017.

In fact, said Rachmat Gobel, who was once the Minister of Trade in President Joko Widodo's Working Cabinet I, Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendag) No. 51/M-DAG/PER/7/2015 states that the import of used clothing is prohibited and if it is entered, it must be destroyed. This is also regulated in Law Number 7 of 2014 concerning Trade.

He said the home-based garment industry and the MSME scale were one of the pillars of national economic strength because they absorbed a lot of workers, especially from the lower layers. Because of that, he considered that the import of used clothing was not in accordance with President Jokowi's concept of building from the outskirts of the village and from below.

​​​​​​​"Importing used clothes is certainly against the President's vision and worsens the economy at the bottom and weakens MSMEs," said Rachmat Gobel.

He also assessed that used clothes are dangerous for health and the environment because in their country of origin they are categorized as waste and garbage. "Not all used clothes can be used and will become waste for Indonesia," he said.

Rachmat Gobel, who is also the former Deputy Chairperson of Kadin for Industry, Research and Technology, and Maritime Affairs, said that developing the industry, especially garments, requires creativity and intellectuality because you have to understand design, trends, markets, industrial management, and human resource management.

"This is not comparable to the skills of used clothing importers who only need connections with power holders and capital strength," he said.

He emphasized that the ability to build an industry, no matter how small, will have an impact on his family and the surrounding community.