Malaysia among key markets as Japanese second-hand trade fuels circular economy surge

BANGKOK, June 18 — Under a scorching sun in a Bangkok suburb, a whistle blows and shouts fill the air as dozens of shoppers rush into a warehouse bearing the sign “Japanese Second-Hand Store”.

From bags and bicycles to surfboards and suitcases, the Japanese second-hand market is booming, with quality-conscious buyers in other Asian countries increasingly tapping the circular economy trend.

“What is considered garbage for them can still be useful in Thailand,” 36-year-old Lookpoo Sathitpanyapon, who runs a Facebook store selling toy keychains, told AFP.

“That bag! That bag!” one shopper shouts while racing through the warehouse, filled with everything from colourful toys – including popular Gundam action figures – to ceramic bowls, beaded necklaces and even used umbrellas.

The idea of the so-called circular economy, which involves recycling and reusing existing products, has become increasingly mainstream in recent years, according to Amsterdam-based think tank Circle Economy Foundation, describing it as a “megatrend” in a 2024 report.

In Japan, the thriving second-hand goods market has doubled in value since 2010, according to market research agency Kadence International, and multiple Japanese re-use companies are expanding across Asia.

Treasure Factory, a Tokyo-based second-hand store operator, now has six stores in Thailand and three in Taiwan.

Used-goods industry leader Bookoff partnered in April with FamilyMart to collect items in its convenience stores across Japan and export them to one of Bookoff’s 26 shops in Malaysia or Kazakhstan.

Recycling boxes for clothing, household goods and toys at a FamilyMart convenience store in Tokyo. — AFP pic

Smaller ventures are also thriving.

At an auction near Tokyo, Thai trader Kangyapat Yoosanong bids for a wagonful of plushies — crucial items in her lucrative business selling Japanese used goods in her home country.

“Everything (used in) Japan is popular” abroad, said the 35-year-old, who shelled out 340,000 yen, around US$2,100 (RM8,536.57), for 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of stuffed toys.

The plushies, along with the rest of her haul of bags and toys, will soon end up in the Bangkok warehouse.

‘Winner’s game’ 

By the day’s end, most of the stock is gone at the weekly auction in Saitama, north of Tokyo, according to the sale’s organising company Hamaya, with foreigners representing roughly a third of bidders.

“It is difficult to sell second-hand goods in Japan” if they’re more than seven years old, Hamaya president Ippei Kobayashi told AFP. “But they are still popular in foreign markets.”

Ippei Kobayashi, president and representative director of Hamaya second-hand wholesale auction company, looks on during an interview with AFP in Higashimatsuyama, Saitama Prefecture. — AFP pic

At the warehouse in Bangkok’s Nonthaburi suburb, the sound of people rummaging through products and plastic crates clattering against shopping carts echoes through the building.

Some items appear brand new, with their original plastic wrapping still intact.

“It’s a winner’s game,” said Wanna Promthep, 70, who queued ahead of the opening with her daughter and son-in-law.

“Those who can spot good quality will get the best products,” she said, standing guard over a large pile of handbags.

But it’s not just second-hand Japanese teddy bears and clothes that are snapped up for their high quality abroad, with 1.7 million used vehicles exported around the world last year, ending up everywhere from the Middle East to Africa and Europe.

Reducing waste 

Despite the trend, global circularity is still in decline, Circle Economy Foundation said in its 2024 report.

The world economy had consumed nearly as many materials in the previous six years as in the entirety of the 20th century, it said.

Employees preparing household items for sale at a Japanese second-hand goods warehouse store in Nonthaburi, Thailand. — AFP pic

In Japan, around 70 percent of some 820,000 tonnes of new clothes bought by consumers each year are eventually incinerated, according to an environment ministry study.

To reduce waste, analysts and industry leaders see potential in the flow of used items to other countries.

Masashi Matsuyama of Itochu Corp, a major trading house that owns the FamilyMart chain working with Bookoff, said “increased awareness of… ethical consumption” combined with growing inflation was pushing people towards “reasonably priced” recycled products.

The two companies hope that their pilot project in Tokyo, which allows people to drop off unwanted items at boxes inside FamilyMart stores, could help convince people in Japan to recycle by reducing the perceived hassle.

Customers scrambling to collect toys at a Japanese second-hand goods warehouse store in Nonthaburi, Thailand. — AFP pic

Researcher Yutaka Oguchi of the NLI Research Institute said that the initiative was “extremely important”.

“To get a majority of people participating… you have to lower hurdles.” — AFP