Current State of the Used Clothing Market

Current State of the second-hand clothing market in the world
Astonishing data of the second-hand clothing industry
The scale and impact of the second-hand clothing

Current State of the second-hand clothing market in the world

     Current State of the Used Clothing Market . Customer groups of the second-hand clothing market usually have a strong sense of product cost, and often advocate sustainable development and environmentalism. Second-hand clothing market recycles used or unwanted clothes. This equal trade transaction between customers and retailers saves these immeasurable used clothes from garbage dumps and landfills.

Sorting secondhand clothes

     Globally, recycling warehouses for textiles, which are classified as used clothes or second-hand clothes have become very prominent and influential in the second-hand market. The classified clothes are compressed into 110-pound bags and then exported.  The unclassified second-hand clothes are compressed into bags of 1000 to 2000 pounds. Second-hand clothes with better quality are exported to Central American countries, while lower-grade ones are shipped to Africa and Asia.

       Commercial sorting centers of second-hand clothing are in South Asia, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary. Trade transactions doubled between 1991 and 2004, thanks to increased demand from countries of former Eastern Europe and Africa.

A niche market

      Second-hand goods and second-hand clothes occupy a niche market in both rich western countries and third-world countries. These second-hand clothes mainly importing from western countries. The largest exporter of second-hand clothing is the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands.

     The largest importer of used clothing in the world is the Sub-Saharan countries and they accept more than 25% of the global export of second-hand clothes. Some countries, such as the Philippines and India ban the import of second-hand clothing to protect their local textile industries.

          Other countries, such as Pakistan, Uganda, and South Africa have booming textile industries, some have restrictions, while others do not. South Africa, for example, only allows the import of second-hand clothing for charitable purposes, not for commercial resale.

Second-hand trading varies from country to country

      Second-hand trading varies from country to country. For example, in Nigeria and Senegal, second-hand clothing reflects the traditional local style and is mainly produced by the local factories. In contrast, second-hand shops in South Africa or Zambia reflect western fashion trends. Some countries adopt the transaction mode of western countries according to the local situation.

    South Africans trade their second-hand clothing and other goods on Gumtree, eBay, or Craigslist. In economic hubs like Cape Town, one can find charity shops and high-end second-hand clothing shops. Such as 2nd Take which shows the different demands for second-hand fashion.

    Second-hand Clothing business seems to be permanent and profitable, consignment shops like 2nd Take are also like that.

Astonishing data of the second-hand clothing industry.

      In the United States, about one in five people (about 64 million people) is doing second-hand business. But low comparing to the rest countries in the world.
     About 80% of people in the world buy, use and wear second-hand goods.
    The second-hand industry is an industry of multi-billion dollars, and all of the used clothes, used furniture, antiques, and vintage items are included. According to the statistics of the used clothes, Goodwill Industries alone generated over $5 billion in sales in 2014.  

Exporter of used-Current State of the Used Clothing Market

     When used clothes are exported to other countries, thrift stores often can’t sell all the stuff they have received because of the number of the large donation, so they resell them to other markets. The United States is the leading exporter of used textiles, followed by the United Kingdom.

    The value of over $1 billion of used shoes and clothes were exported. Some of these clothes are recycled and made into other products; while others are sent to developing countries to be sold in the local market.    

      About 10.5 million tons of clothes are dumped into landfills each year and value 21 billion pounds. selling and reusing to the countries. Exporting these goods can reduce too much waste and put them into good use.

The scale and impact of second-hand clothing.

      Only a fifth of used clothing is reused or recycled, and less than half of that goes into the second-hand clothing market. Each year most of the clothing around 2million to 4million tons is traded internationally, mainly targeted to low – and middle-income markets. Estimates of the trade’s value range from $1.5 billion to $3.4 billion, it’s just a tiny part of the $1.3 trillion markets of new clothing.  

       In low – and middle-income countries, second-hand clothing has become an important source of their daily clothing. Most of used clothing from rich countries. Despite its small scale, a preference for second-hand clothing has also emerged in high-income countries. Due to its low cost of sustainable fashion or its unique “retro appeal”.

Africa

    Used clothing in Africa, Africa is one of the largest second-hand clothing markets in the world. Almost 80% of the people from the African continent thought to wear second-hand clothing that is mainly imported from the United States, Europe, India, and China used clothes factory. However, the clothes are not always sent away when they arrive in Africa, and in most cases, they sell to local communities through agencies.  

        Although this trade is one way of textile recycling. It might have wider negative social and economic consequences for the end market. The second-hand clothing brought to the African market creates jobs but it’s precarious. However, the trade has also replaced the local second hand clothes in africa base, which may restrain the future development or revival of similar domestic industries.

Current State of the Used Clothing Market Impact

    Used clothes become a popular product by people, there have 3 answers. First, with the economic development of developed countries, people’s clothing are more fashion-oriented. Second, people’s idea of second-hand clothes has changed a lot. Subconsciously, they begin to accept second-hand clothes.

    Third, in some underdeveloped areas, their economy is not developed, the clothes wear requirements is not-high, old clothes export has become a part of the environmental protection industry Chinese businessmen are mainly exported to countries in Africa and southeast Asia, their demand and supply in China is big, good quality, new style, fashion, got good evaluation in export second hand clothing supplier countries.