Second-hand clothing sorted from old clothes recycling plants, after simple ironing and tagging, is sold as new under the guise of 'tail goods and one-of-a-kind' in livestreams, priced as low as a few yuan to tens of yuan. Consumers find stains, pilling, musty odor upon receipt, and even leftover change, earrings, sunflower seed shells, and other debris in pockets. Insect eggs were also found on-site in the livestream. An investigation by reporters revealed that such livestreams are known as 'premium single items' in the national old clothes recycling and sorting circle, in high demand, and merchants do not inform consumers that they are second-hand clothes.

Key Points

  • The Black Cat Complaint platform has received nearly 400 complaints about 'tail order one-of-a-kind' livestreams, with issues including pilling, musty odor, holes, and residual toilet paper and hair in pockets.
  • Reporters found 'for livestream' advertisements in a South China tail goods wholesale market. In the Houshan area, clothes are piled on the ground in a dirty and messy environment, and merchants avoid the words 'old' and 'second-hand'.
  • A recycling company's livestream in Southwest China is hidden in farmland. The host uses sprays, irons, and tags to simply spruce up old clothes without washing or disinfecting. In other livestreams, insect eggs were found during broadcasting.

A reporter, posing as a consumer, visited a nationally renowned clothing tail goods wholesale distribution center in South China and found multiple market stalls with 'for livestream' advertisements. In an area called 'Houshan', large quantities of clothes are piled directly on the ground in a dirty and messy environment. These 'mixed-style' clothes, sold by the pile, are single items specifically supplied to 'tail goods one-of-a-kind' livestreams. Despite sorting, the reporter still found obvious signs of use such as oil stains, rust marks, and holes. Merchants became alert and evasive upon hearing 'old' or 'second-hand'. Textile experts confirmed that the elasticity of knitted items cannot be restored, and signs of use are obvious.

The reporter then went to a large local old clothes recycling plant, where the owner immediately recognized the 'new clothes' bought by the reporter as old clothes. The plant collects old clothes through national agents' door-to-door recycling or recycling bins, sorts them into A-grade and B-grade, and then selects 'premium goods' to sell to livestreams. The person in charge said: 'For better premium items, many livestreams get them from us, put on their own tags, and claim they are one-of-a-kind.' In the sorting workshop, the reporter met multiple livestream operators, all of whom said they would not inform consumers in the livestream that the clothes are second-hand.

At another recycling company in Southwest China, the reporter went through many twists and turns to find a livestream shed hidden in farmland. Inside the shed, six or seven rows of clothes racks are filled with 'premium single items' selected from the old clothes workshop, wrapped in bed sheets and piled on the ground, covered in dust and with a foul odor. Staff introduced that before sale, they only use sprays, irons, and tags for simple handling, without washing or disinfecting. In other livestreams, the host discovered insect eggs on the spot during broadcasting.

Su Haopeng, an expert on the Expert Committee of the China Consumers Association and a professor at the University of International Business and Economics Law School, pointed out that the merchants' behavior is a typical fraudulent act of substituting fake for genuine, inferior for good, and old for new, infringing on consumers' right to know and right to fair trade, and management should be strengthened. Liu Gang, a professor at Renmin University of China Business School, emphasized that a market economy is a rule-of-law economy and also an integrity economy, and penalties for violations need to be increased.

In 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments, in the 'Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles', for the first time explicitly stated the need to orderly promote the trading of old clothing. Shi Sheng, head of the Textile Department at Taiyuan University of Technology and an expert on the Waste Textile Professional Committee of the China Renewable Resources Recycling Association, said that there are currently no relevant standards for the definition of second-hand clothing, cleaning and disinfection, and health and epidemic prevention standards, and market rules are unclear, leading to industry chaos. Relevant standards need to be implemented as soon as possible.

This incident exposes the urgency of standardizing the second-hand clothing trade. China discards tens of millions of tons of waste clothing annually. Establishing standards and regulations and promoting the orderly development of the second-hand market can not only make full use of old clothes but also contribute to green and low-carbon development.

Source: Reporter visits 'tail goods one-of-a-kind' livestream, finds insect eggs on site! · Originally published on 2024-05-23