Guide
The Realities of the Secondhand Clothing Trade
Created by
Redress
Quick Access
Learn more fashion industry terminology from the Glossary.
Quick Access
Learn more fashion industry terminology from the Glossary.
Over the last several years, the secondhand market has grown considerably. In Asia, buying secondhand has gained popularity1 thanks to shifting consumer perceptions influenced by increasing environmental consciousness. Additionally, the ability to acquire luxury goods at an accessible price and the convenience of virtual marketplaces are also helping to fuel this demand. The secondhand market in the Asia-Pacific region is projected to be worth US$ 1,96,645.8 million by 2034.2
The secondhand trade around the world
While participating in the secondhand market is a good practice, it is not a perfect system. Some clothing collection programmes and recycling facilities are not fully transparent about their practices, and can’t guarantee that they are truly minimising the amount of textiles that go into landfills.
Credit: ACCRA, GHANA: 25 January 2025 – Traders resume selling clothes at Kantamanto Market in Accra after a devastating fire. Fast fashion Ghana. Photographer: Delali Adogla-Bessa
While some textiles can go to recyclers who turn them into new products, a majority of textiles are exported overseas to countries like Chile or Ghana, who are then burdened with overwhelming quantities of unwanted clothing. Though some clothes can indeed be resold through their local markets, the sheer volume means that a large amount still ends up clogging their landfills or waterways, severely polluting their local landscapes. This is not solving a problem, but instead passing it on to someone else to deal with.
The secondhand trade with Redress
Here at Redress, we are proud to offer the Hong Kong public a robust clothing collection programme with high standards of transparency and integrity, from the collection process to the recirculation partners that we work with. Our processes aim to maximise the value of each unwanted clothing item, keeping good quality clothing in circulation for as long as possible by sending it for reuse to our local charity partners, reselling it in our secondhand shop, or, for unwearable clothing, recycling/downcycling it so that the textiles can have further use as new fibres or transformed into products like insulation, cleaning wipes, etc.
While we do our best to recirculate clothing through our secondhand shop, The Redress Closet, it’s important to recognise that, on average, only 10–15% of clothes given to Redress’ clothing collection boxes actually get resold. So despite the fact that shopping secondhand and redistributing clothes and textiles are good practices, they still have their limitations. Consumers can also help curb textile waste by adopting healthy habits that promote a circular fashion system.
