Mendag Zulhas: Sell Used Clothes, Which Are Banned From Importing

Director General of Consumer Protection and Trade Order (PKTN) of the Ministry of Trade, Veri Anggrijono, and Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan. (Mary Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan said the Ministry of Trade did not prohibit the sale of used goods, including clothes. He emphasized that what is prohibited is the importation.

"(Importation of used goods) is prohibited. If we are allowed to sell used goods. I sell my used goods, yes, I cannot import used goods," he said when met at the Karawang Warehousing Area, West Java, Friday, August 12.

As is known, 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. A number of cities in Indonesia are also known to be rife selling imported used clothes.

Referring to 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, used clothing is one of the goods that are prohibited from being imported.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Consumer Protection and Trade Order (PKTN) of the Ministry of Trade, Veri Anggrijono, said that currently the Ministry of Trade has only regulated the import ban, not yet the trade ban on imported used clothing.

"The current regulations prohibit the importation. We do not prohibit the sale of used goods, which are prohibited from importing," he said.

Regarding the imported used clothes that have already entered and circulated and traded, Veri admits that it is difficult to trace. Therefore, Veri invites the public and related parties to be able to complain and also find warehouses for imported used clothes.

"I make sure that if it is found it will be immediately destroyed. That's why we ask the public, customs, and also to be able to report if they find the source of the imported used clothes. You can complain directly to the Trade Administration of the Ministry of Trade," he said.

Previously, it was reported that 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. The imported used clothes entered through the rat route, Tarakan port, North Kalimantan and were 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 skin reactions, 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.

Therefore, said Veri, the Ministry of Trade carried out the extermination as a form of commitment in the process of supervision and law enforcement related to violations in the field of trade and consumer protection.