Spring is arriving slowly but surely. It is time to change our wardrobe. It’s also time to check if we still need all the clothes that we have in our closet. There are usually few pieces of clothes that we no longer wear. It is a waste of space and waste of clothes to keep the clothes that we no longer wear in our closet.
However, we have tons of clothes thrown away each year. They are usually dumped in the landfill, becoming an environmental hazard. That’s why we want to be careful where to bring our old clothes.
Here I have listed the places in Japan, where you can sell, donate, swap, repair, and recycle your clothes.
Getting Rid of Gently Used Clothes
Resell
If your clothes are in good shape, it’s best to sell it to other people who might need it. It takes a little time and effort to bring your clothes to consignment stores or to post it on online reselling shops, but your clothes can be used by someone else.
Here are the places where you can resell your clothes in Japan.
Mercari
This is one of the biggest online second hand shop in Japan. You can sell your clothes and other daily objects on Mercari. All you need to do is to take pictures of the things you want to sell and set the price.
Official website
Rakuma
Rakuma is also a online second hand shop owned by Rakuten. Like Mercari, you can post the things you want to sell and wait for people to purchase them.
Official website
2nd STREET
2nd STREET is a famous consignment shop in Japan. You can bring your clothes to their shops and they will tell you how much they would pay for them. You can sell casual clothes to middle-end brands here.
Official website
BOOKOFF
BOOKOFF is famous second hand book stores, but now we can sell all kinds of things here. You can bring any kinds of clothes to their shops and sell them for money or discount tickets.
Official website
BOOKOFF
Treasure Factory
You may have seen their shops on the streets in Japan. You can sell your clothes or accessories in this consignment shop. This shop is great for selling cheaper brand clothes to high-end brands.
Official website
Treasure Factory
RAGTAG
RAGTAG is a consignment shop specialized in high-end to middle-end brands. If you have brand clothes or accessories, we recommend you to sell them here.
Official website
Swap
You can also swap your clothes with someone who wants them. You can also get new clothes to renew your wardrobe.
Here is one of the places where you can swap your clothes.
PUKU
This is a swap group that you can register by paying a membership fee (5,940 yen) and sending 3 pieces of clothing. Once you became a member, you can choose 3 clothes from their shop.
Official website
Donate
Donating is also another option, although it is controversial. We hear the news that donated clothes are becoming a huge waste in developing countries. We simply have too many clothes for donation. Therefore we want to be careful when we donate and to where we donate our clothes.
Here are some of the places where you can donate your clothes.
Furugi de Vaccine
They donate your used clothes to Cambodia and other developing countries to create businesses for reselling clothes. Money earned from those businesses are used to purchase polio vaccine to save children from the disease. You can send up to 30kg of gently used clothes here.
Official website
Kodomo Fuku Mirai Fund
Here you can donate gently used kids clothes. They will see how much it would be to resell those clothes and the money will be donated for supporting kids.
Official website
Japan Fiber-recycle Solidarity Association
This organization send used clothes to Pakistan to help the local school. You can donate your gently used clothes and bags.
Official website
How to Get Rid of Unwearable Clothes
Repair
Before you are thinking of getting rid of your old clothes, you might consider repairing them first. Some clothes are still wearable after repairing them. Longer you can wear your clothes, it’s better for our planet.
Here are some of the lists of repair shops in Tokyo. You can also find local repair shops.
neiro
Located in Meguro area, Tokyo, you can repair your clothes here.
Official website
Scissor Hands Repair
Located in Koenji, Tokyo, you can repair or custom-made your clothes in this shop.
Official website
Leather Reform
Located in Nishi-Tokyo, you can repair leather clothes and bags here. You can also send your clothes or bags for repairing, if you don’t have the time to go to the shop.
Official website
Recycle
If your clothes can’t be repaired, you can recycle them. There are some companies that are recycling the material to create new clothes. More those companies exist, we can greatly reduce the environmental impact caused by fashion industries.
Here are some places where you can recycle your clothes. You can also bring your clothes to shops where you purchased them. Some shops, such as Patagonia or Muji, take their used clothes.
BRING
BRING is a company that takes used clothes from various brands and recycle their fiber to create new clothes. On their website, you can see their donation boxes near your location. If you can no longer wear the clothes, it’s a great place for recycling.
Official website
Buy and throw away clothes sustainably!
You can get rid of your used clothes easily and more responsibly today. But if you have a habit of always changing your clothes frequently, it’s better to slow down a little bit. The most sustainable action is to keep wearing the clothes that you have!
