Second-hand clothes finally take off in Japan

But in Japan, the world's third-biggest clothes market, growing awareness of the sector's huge environmental impact has yet to spark much interest in second-hand options. JapanConsuming, a market research firm, estimates that the Japanese second-hand segment represents less than six percent of the $75-billion market, albeit with strong growth in recent years. For a long time in Japan, used clothes were a small niche confined to hipsters, JapanConsuming's co-founder Michael Causton said. Second-hand Japanese clothes are even popular in China and elsewhere, Causton said, "because people know the Japanese look after their stuff and what they will send is a high level of quality." "I feel like in Japan, used clothes have a high quality... and if it's not, it's clearly stated if there's any damage," said Charlotte Xu, 18, an Australian tourist looking through a thrift store in Harajuku.