Indonesia To Tighten Customs Checks after Shoe Recycling Project Scandal

TheIndonesia.co - Indonesia will tighten the check of customs in the small ports after an illegal import of second shoes got leaked and went viral, the industry ministry said on Monday (Mar 6). It responded to the Reuters report that found that the second footwear donated to a recycling scheme in Singapore was shipped to Indonesia.

An investigation by Reuters on Feb 25 found out that some pairs of shoes the news agency donated to are cycling schemes run by the Singapore government and US petrochemicals giant dow were exported for resale in Indonesia.

Reuters reporters using a location tracker hidden inside the soles of shoes recovered the sneakers were at the second goods market in the capital Jakarta and Batam, an island 19 km south of Singapore. 

Indonesia has banned the import of second clothing and footwear in 2016 due to concerns about hygiene and local textile industry protection. 

Responding to the Reuters report, Indonesia's Ministry of Industry said that they would increase checks at ports to intercept any illegal second-hand shoe shipments.

"This incident shows that the illegal import of used shoes is carried out in an organized manner and misuses social projects," Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang was quoted as saying in a statement.

"The practice of illegal importation of used shoes must be stopped because it has a bad impact on the domestic footwear industry."

In July 2021, Dow and Sport Singapore, a government agency, launched a program to grind down old shoes with rubberized soles into granules to be used to make jogging tracks and playgrounds. The public donated tens of thousands of shoes to the scheme. 

After the Reuters report was published, Dow and Sport Singapore issued a statement apologizing to the public for a "lapse" in its supply chain which had led to some shoes meant for recycling being shipped to Indonesia.