TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo prohibited the business of imported used clothes amid the current popular thrift shopping or the practice of buying second-hand goods in society. Such a business, he opined, harmed the domestic textile industry.

“That disrupts the domestic textile industry. Imports on used clothes are disrupting [domestic textile industry],” said the President in Senayan, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, March 15.

He claimed to have instructed related institutions to track down such import businesses. According to the president, a number of business actors have been arrested to date.

“I ordered a thorough search, and one to two days afterward, many have been found,” Jokowi said.

Previously, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan alias Zulhas confirmed that the government would not prohibit domestic second-hand clothing businesses, while the import ones are barred as they pose risks to health and harm domestic industry.

The ban is stipulated in the Trade Minister’s Regulation No. 51/M-DAG/PER/7/2015 and the Trade Minister’s Regulation No. 18 of 2021.

Director General of Customs at the Finance Ministry Askolani said second-hand imported clothes or thrifting practices are still rampant. The DG had taken action against them in several regions, starting from Sumatra, Kalimantan, to Sulawesi.

“Actions have been taken. There are many such cases. They often penetrated [Indonesia] through illegal ports that we did not oversee,” Askolani said of rampant imports of used clothes at the Parliament Building on Tuesday, March 14.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH I RIANI SANUSI PUTRI

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