Why Reuse Matters | Don't throw it away — pass it on

WHY REUSE

Don't throw it away — pass it on.
Why reuse matters now

A bag you once loved, a watch you no longer wear, jewelry sleeping in a drawer. Thrown away, their story ends. Passed on to someone new, they can shine again. Based on data from Japan's Ministry of the Environment, this page explains with illustrations why reuse is needed today.

UseLet goPass onNextGive thingsa longer life

Key points

  1. Making a single garment uses about 25.5 kg of CO₂ and about 2,300 L of water (about 11 bathtubs).
  2. Of the clothes people let go, 58% are incinerated or otherwise disposed of. Only 35% are reused.
  3. Japanese law states that reuse should come before recycling.
POINT 1

Even one garment uses this many resources

From growing raw materials to spinning, weaving, dyeing, sewing and shipping, clothes pass through many steps before they reach us. According to a Ministry of the Environment survey, the clothes supplied in Japan, per garment, emit about 25.5 kg of CO₂ in production and use about 2,300 L of water — enough to fill a home bathtub about 11 times, for just one garment.

1 garmentCO₂CO₂ ≈25.5 kgEmitted in productionWater ≈2,300 L= about 11 bathtubs

Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan, FY2020 Survey on Fashion and the Environment (estimate per garment)

Bags, wallets, watches and jewelry are also made with leather, metals, gemstones and the skill of craftspeople. Using things that already exist for longer saves the resources needed to make new ones — an easy way to care for the environment.

POINT 2

More clothes sit unworn than are bought

According to a Ministry of the Environment survey, the average person in Japan buys about 19 garments and lets go of about 11 each year — and has about 24 garments that were not worn even once in a year. Our closets are full of things that are still usable.

Bought per yearAbout 19Let go per yearAbout 11Unworn all yearAbout 24

Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan, FY2025 survey on promoting circular fashion (questionnaire; average per person per year)

Clothes, bags and watches you no longer use become "still useful" in the hands of a new owner. Instead of keeping them stored away, passing them on is the first step of reuse.
POINT 3

More than half of discarded clothes are burned

The most common way people let go of clothes is throwing them out as burnable or non-burnable waste (55%). Looking at where the clothes end up, 35% are reused (including exports) and 7% are recycled, while the remaining 58% are incinerated or otherwise disposed of.

Share of clothes thrown out as wasteThrown out as waste 55%Resale, gifting, collection 45%
Where clothesend upReused35%(incl. exports)Recycled7%Incinerated, etc.58%*2025 estimate

Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan, FY2025 survey on promoting circular fashion, summary report (material flow)

POINT 4

About 130 large trucks every day

Clothes that are neither reused nor recycled — incinerated, landfilled and so on — total about 460,000 tonnes a year. That is about 1,300 tonnes a day, or about 130 large truckloads. The Japanese government aims to cut household clothing waste by 25% from FY2020 levels by 2030.

Clothes incinerated or landfilled≈460,000 t a year / ≈1,300 t a dayAbout 130 large trucks a day (1 truck in the picture = 10)

Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan, FY2025 survey on promoting circular fashion, summary report / "Sustainable Fashion" website

POINT 5

Reuse comes before recycling

Japan's Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society (2000) set, for the first time in law, an order of priority for handling waste and resources. First: reduce what becomes waste. Second: use things again as they are (reuse). Third: turn them back into raw materials and make something new (recycling).

1ReduceCut waste at the source2ReuseUse things again as they areGOGO BRAND3RecycleTurn into raw materials, remake4Heat recoveryUse heat from burning for power5Proper disposalDispose of the rest correctly

Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan, outline of the Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society (order of priority)

Recycling turns things back into raw materials before remaking them, which takes processing and energy. Reuse keeps the item as it is, so nothing has to be remade. That is why reuse is the choice to consider before recycling.
POINT 6

Luxury goods, watches and precious metals suit reuse

Items made to last keep their value even when the owner changes.

Bags & wallets

Made with sturdy leather and hardware, they last for years with care and repair.

Watches

With overhauls and maintenance, they can be used across generations.

Gold & platinum

Their value as material remains even if the shape changes, and they can be melted and reborn as new pieces.

Gems & jewelry

Stones passed down through families can be reset into designs that suit today's taste.

POINT 7

How GOGO BRAND passes items on

Since 2010, GOGO BRAND (GO GO BRAND Co., Ltd.) has worked on reuse of luxury goods, watches, precious metals and gemstones in Mukonoso, Amagasaki, Hyogo. Items we buy are checked for authenticity and condition by our appraisers, cleaned and photographed, and delivered to customers in Japan and abroad.

How GOGO BRANDpasses items on1. A customer lets goIn-store, home visit, by mail2. AuthenticatedEach item checked3. Care & photosCondition recorded4. Sold worldwideOfficial online shop, etc.5. Next ownerA new life begins
ACTION

3 things you can do today

1

Use it longer

Care for and repair your favorites to enjoy them longer.

2

Pass it on

Before throwing something away, consider selling or giving it to someone.

3

Choose pre-owned

When you shop, consider pre-owned items as well as new ones.

Choose pre-owned luxury you love

Our official online shop offers new, unused and pre-owned luxury goods, each authenticated by our appraisers.

References

・Ministry of the Environment, Japan: "Sustainable Fashion" (fashion and the environment) https://www.env.go.jp/policy/sustainable_fashion/about/
(FY2020 Survey on Fashion and the Environment / FY2025 survey on promoting circular fashion)
・Ministry of the Environment, Japan: outline of the Basic Act on Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society https://www.env.go.jp/press/files/jp/1140.html
*Figures on this page are estimates and survey results from Japan's Ministry of the Environment, not our company's results.