The Global Trade of Second-Hand Apparel, Footwear, And Bags Is Surging, And the Circular Economy Industry Is Rising Strongly.

2025-07-15

Against the backdrop of increasing global environmental awareness, the market for second-hand apparel, footwear, and bags is flourishing and has become a unique landscape in the global economy.

According to the United Nations Trade Database (UN Comtrade Database), in 2024, the global second-hand apparel market sales exceeded $180 billion, with Africa and Southeast Asia being the main buyers. Seventy percent of second-hand clothing is resold to these regions, while in 2016, this figure was only $3.7 billion. Over the nine-year period, the second-hand apparel, footwear, and bags market has shown rapid growth.

In this rapidly expanding market, Chinese suppliers are playing an increasingly critical role. By 2025, China has become one of the main suppliers of second-hand apparel exports globally, rapidly catching up with the supply capacity of Western developed countries and becoming a major supplier in the second-hand apparel markets of Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and other regions.

Taking Africa as an example, in 2021, Africa's second-hand clothing imports reached $1.84 billion, of which $624 million came from China. Chinese second-hand apparel is popular in the African market due to its good quality, high cost-effectiveness, diverse styles, and suitable sizing for African body types. According to HMS market research, about 10% of Africans can afford new clothes, approximately 50% can afford second-hand clothing, and the remaining 40% cannot even afford Old Clothes. Chinese second-hand apparel provides more choices for African consumers.

The international market landscape for second-hand apparel, footwear, and bags is relatively clear. On one hand, developed countries remain important exporters of second-hand goods, but emerging economies like China are gradually expanding their market share globally by leveraging their advantages. On the other hand, developing countries such as Africa, as major import markets, have a continuous strong demand for second-hand apparel, footwear, and bags, providing vast space for global trade.

The popularization of the internet has also injected new vitality into international trade opportunities for second-hand apparel, footwear, and bags. Various online trading platforms continue to emerge, breaking geographical restrictions, reducing transaction costs, and improving transaction efficiency, enabling buyers and sellers to conduct transactions more conveniently and further promoting the integration and development of the global second-hand market. However, the industry also faces many challenges. For example, some countries have introduced policies to restrict the import of second-hand clothing to protect their domestic textile industries.

Overall, the environmentally friendly industry of second-hand apparel, footwear, and bags is in a golden period of rapid development and is rising strongly in the African market with its unique advantages, contributing significantly to global resource recycling and sustainable economic development.