Pomelo operator bets on clothing reuse

Garment recycling remains costly without government or corporate support.

PT Kurnia Ciptamoda Gemilang (KCG), the Indonesian operator of fashion brand Pomelo, is using garment collection, reuse, and recycling to build customer loyalty as younger shoppers place more weight on environmental practices.

“As a retailer, we have to understand our consumers—where trends are going and what matters to them,” Haryanto Pratantara, business and operations director at KCG, told Retail Asia in an interview. “Younger consumers are more environmentally aware, and we have to follow that.”

KCG has placed donation boxes in all Pomelo stores for customers to drop off unwanted clothing. Wearable garments are distributed through the Cinta Laura Foundation to orphanages and communities in need, whilst damaged pieces are sent to Indonesian textile recyclers Lestari and New Factory.

Pratantara said the programme lets customers continue buying clothes whilst giving unwanted items another use. “The business keeps running, their styling keeps going, but the items can reach people who need them,” he said.

KCG collected 231 kilos of clothing during the programme’s first month across eight outlets, more than twice its 100-kilo target.

The company had launched the programme without promotion.

“Some consumers came back multiple times to donate,” Pratantara said. “The response was far beyond what we expected.”

KCG does not yet have a measure of the programme’s direct financial impact. Pratantara said the company is instead seeking to build customer loyalty around responsible practices.

The recycling side is harder to sustain because converting damaged garments into raw materials is costly.

Pratantara said KCG needs corporate social responsibility funding and support from the Indonesian government to expand it.

Pratantara expects recycling to become a standard retail practice within five years rather than a competitive differentiator.

“The key is the government,” he said. “Regulation cuts the timeline. Without it, this cannot work,” he said.