On Inviting People Not To Use Thrifting Imported Used Clothes, Trade Minister Zulhas: Many Bacteria And Can Damage Domestic Industries

Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan. (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Lately, thrifting or the activity of buying and selling used goods is on the rise and is in great demand. Therefore, many business people take advantage of it by opening a thrift shop business.

However, behind that, many used clothes are illegally imported into the country to be resold.

The Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan also invited the public not to use used clothes to reduce the number of imports entering the country. The reason is because imported used clothes contain a lot of bacteria that are not good for public health.

"By avoiding the use of used clothing from imports, consumers can avoid the long-term adverse effects of used clothing and can protect the domestic industry," he said in the Karawang Warehousing Area, West Java, Friday, August 12.

This was conveyed by Zulhas, as Zulkifli Hasan is familiarly called, during the extermination of illegally imported used clothes, in the Gracia warehouse area in Karawang Regency, West Java.

The Ministry of Trade together with the Customs and Excise Ministry of Finance and the police secured as many as 750 bales of used clothing in the period from June to August 2022. These illegally imported used clothes enter through the rat route, Tarakan port, North Kalimantan and are circulated on the island of Java.

Based on the results of tests conducted at the Goods Quality Testing Center, the samples of used clothing that had been secured were proven to contain 'mold mold'. Mold contamination has the potential to cause adverse health effects, such as itching and allergic reactions to the skin, toxic effects of irritation, and infection because the clothes are attached directly to the body.

Of course this can harm the community as well as violate the provisions of Article 8 Paragraph (2) of Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection.

Zulhas said used clothes are goods that are prohibited from importing based on the Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 18 of 2021 as amended by Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 40 of 2022 concerning Amendments to the Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 18 of 2021 concerning Goods Prohibited from Exporting and Goods Prohibited from Importing.

"This extermination is one of the commitments of the Ministry of Trade in the process of supervision and law enforcement related to violations in the field of trade and consumer protection," he said.