KEEPING up with fashion trends can be costly to the environment.
Research indicates that the fashion industry uses up 79 trillion litres of water – equivalent to 31.6 million Olympic swimming pools – to make the clothes, producing over 92 million tonnes of waste every year.
The race to keep up with the latest gadgets has also become another source of pollution, with global e-waste expected to double in the next 30 to 50 years.
According to an e-waste report by the United Nations, Asia produced 24.9 megatonnes of e-waste in 2019, equivalent to the weight of 191,538 adult blue whales.
However, “recommerce” – the selling of pre-loved goods – could help reduce waste, as it’s starting to pick up in South-East Asia due to demand for used goods increasing during the pandemic.
According to the Carousell Recommerce Index 2021 report, 72% of users it surveyed in Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar said they have bought pre-loved items, with 30% claiming they only buy secondhand goods when possible.
The report, which polled 3,029 users across eight countries, was conducted last June.
In Malaysia, people were most comfortable buying photography and electronic equipment (computer, mobile phones, tablets) while preferring to sell furniture and home appliances.
In terms of actual demand and supply, fashion dominates the secondhand scene, coming out tops for three years from 2018 to 2020.
However, men’s fashion overtook women’s fashion for the first time last year, as there was a surge in pre-loved menswear being sold.
Tang Siew Wai, Carousell Malaysia country head, says the company found that more users were selling clothes during the pandemic, particularly wives who wanted to get rid of their husband’s clothes.
“As people spend more time at home, they have a tendency to look at their wardrobe and figure out what is no longer needed,” he says.
A change in lifestyle may have resulted in clothes that no longer fit or are suitable, says Tang.
Also, at the height of the pandemic when the movement control order was in place, listings for bridal wear started to increase in the women’s fashion category.
“It could be due to unfortunate circumstances like bridal shops closing down during the pandemic or users thinking there is no reason to keep them in their wardrobes anymore,” he says.
Popular during pandemic
The Recommerce Index report also provided interesting insights into what people were looking for during the pandemic.
When the first movement control order was announced in March 2020, the search for PlayStation 4 jumped to 150,000 monthly on Carousell, likely because people wanted a source of entertainment while staying at home.
The demand dropped three months later – the searches dipped below 50,000 monthly – coinciding with the government announcing relaxed measures, and spiked again when the Health Ministry reintroduced stricter measures in some states.
“It was evident to us that users were looking for items that would keep them occupied during the stay home period. Other things such as board games and home decor items were also popular,” Tang says.
Meanwhile, the search for Ikea furniture peaked in June 2020 due to more people working and studying from home, according to the report.
Over at Mudah.my, the Perodua Myvi car and the discontinued Yamaha RX-Z motorbike were the most searched during the pandemic.
Financial constraint is one of the reasons Malaysians shopped for more pre-loved items, says Dr Abdul Rais Abdul Latiff, Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer whose research area includes environmental economics.
The pandemic may have had a profound impact on consumers, especially those in the B40 and M40 categories, pushing them to purchase pre-loved goods at a lower price, he says.
Although their expenditure is limited, says Abdul Rais, they still have to meet their needs and wants. They are also contributing to the domestic economy, he adds.
Concerns over consumption
Dr Grace Lee Hooi Yean, economics department head for the School of Business in Monash University, explains that the combination of convenience offered by online shopping and the need for retail therapy due to uncertainties during the pandemic may have made people acquire more stuff.
They may only realise later that they have ended up with more items than they needed, she says.
This in turn makes them resell their unnecessary items in secondhand shops, she adds.
Carousell’s Tang concurs, saying that he has seen an increase in listings for various items after major online sale periods.
Spending more time on social media platforms, he says, may also drive people’s impulse to shop.
“For women’s fashion, it seems to be driven by OOTD (outfit of the day) trends on social media, as consumers are more willing to experiment with fashion to showcase different looks regularly,” he says.
This trend is not limited to clothes, as gadgets too are often listed as “used once” or “rarely used”, he says, claiming that the users were largely influenced to make purchases by YouTube videos.
E-commerce platforms have also introduced Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), a short-term financing scheme that encourages consumers to overspend, Lee says.
BNPL allows consumers to make purchases and pay at a later date, typically as instalments with no interest. However, missing a payment will almost always incur a late payment fee or other charges.
Last November, Bank Negara Malaysia governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said in a report that the central bank is working to enact the Consumer Credit Act this year to strengthen regulatory arrangements for all consumer credit activities, including BNPL schemes.
According to Nor Shamsiah, the central bank is engaging relevant bodies to educate users about the scheme and monitor the development of BNPL, which for now only accounts for around 0.05% of total household borrowing.
“These schemes have been on the rise, not just in Malaysia, but also in other countries and there are legitimate concerns that such schemes may encourage consumers to spend beyond their means, with expensive debt that they may not be able to repay, and most BNPL schemes in Malaysia are offered by non-banks,” she said.
Staying safe
Shopping for pre-loved goods can be a daunting process for first-time buyers but there are steps they can take to safeguard themselves.
Firstly, it’s important to clarify any doubts with the seller and request for more photos, including serial numbers of products to ensure they are genuine.
If necessary, do a Google Reverse image search to make sure that the photos are genuine and not copied from other sites.
Chats with sellers should be conducted on the platform itself which will have measures to protect both parties.
Scammers are likely to ask users to communicate through other platforms like WhatsApp but this is best avoided.
According to Tang, artificial intelligence (AI) predictive modelling can be used to identify and ban suspicious users from communicating further with potential victims.
“If you’ve been in a situation where you’re chatting with another user on a platform and the person suddenly gets suspended, that’s the AI at work looking for scammers.
“It will recognise certain patterns, flag the user and alert a human moderator to take a look at the interaction,” he says.
The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, in an online scam prevention video, encouraged users to keep a log of all their chats and transactions, as they are essential when filing a complaint.
Users can submit their complaints via WhatsApp (019 279-4317) or the eAduan portal.
It’s also important to check out the seller’s profile, including past transactions and reviews left by other buyers.
However, avoid placing too much trust in five-star reviews with generic comments as they could be misleading or likely fake.
Also, be wary of profiles that were set up recently with few details.
Users are also encouraged to transfer payment through the platform instead of making direct transfers via online banking.
Most platforms have a system that withholds the payment until the buyer has received the items and is satisfied with them.
If transferring payment to a bank account is unavoidable, check for potential fraud via the Semak Mule CCID Portal.
The portal, operated by the Royal Malaysia Police Commercial Crime Investigation Department, will flag bank accounts, mobile phones or MyKads that have been used in a fraud.
When it comes to meeting up with the seller, it’s best to pick public spaces that are well-lit. Also, bring a friend along if possible.
Getting on the right track
Tang admits that sustainability is probably not on the minds of most Malaysians when it comes to shopping for pre-loved goods.
According to the Recommerce Index, 68% of users across the region cited “value for money” as the top reason for getting pre-loved goods.
It resonated highly among users in Hong Kong (82%), Malaysia (78%), Singapore (74%) and the Philippines (74%).
Only 21% of users in the region chose “environmental reasons” as the motivation to shop for pre-loved items.
The reason ranked highest among users in Hong Kong (45%), Singapore (30%) and Taiwan (30%).
“The idea of shopping with sustainability in mind may not resonate with most consumers here yet.
“So part of our goal to address overconsumption is to remind consumers about the value of unwanted items, as they could earn money from reselling,” says Tang.
Abdul Rais also feels that recommerce needs to be promoted for its economic and sustainability impact.
“It is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 12 established by the UN on responsible consumption and production, which emphasises the urgent need to reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources.
“It is also following the current global need to mitigate the effects of climate change through a sustainable mitigation process that does not burden and damage the environment,” he says.
The public is aware of the fundamentals of conservation and preservation, such as the 5Rs – refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle – but implementation is lacking, he says.
He feels that the government should introduce more incentives and rebates to encourage consumers to become shoppers focused on sustainability.
Lee says e-commerce platforms have to play a bigger role by nudging consumers towards mindful spending, citing hotels that encourage guests to reuse towels as an example.
“The pandemic has changed online shopping forever, and people are likely to continue shopping online even after the pandemic.
“The shopping trend will grow in the future, and the pattern of overconsumption is here to stay. It is undoubtedly important to raise such awareness,” she says.
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