Shoppers, sellers lambast Jokowi’s crackdown on thrifting

Thrift-shop sellers and vintage-shopping aficionados have spoken up against the government's recent decision to crack down on imported second-hand clothes, which it claims are harmful to the domestic garment industry.

Gisela, 33, a freelance translator from South Jakarta who has been an avid thrifter since 2005, insists the policy was misguided, as she believes thrift shops and local clothing stores each had their own separate markets.

"People who come from low-income families choose to buy second-hand clothes because they can't afford to buy new, whereas the middle-income group goes thrift shopping because they want to find rare or branded items that aren't locally produced. It's a very niche market," she told The Jakarta Post on Friday.