When Chen Luhua returns to his home in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province from work each day, his family insists he take a bath and change his clothes.
They are worried they will catch some kind of disease from the secondhand clothes he sorts for export.
"My family wants to make sure I am 'disinfected,' as if I have some kind of virus," the 26-year-old man told the Global Times on Wednesday.
At first, Chen had similar misgivings about the industry. When he entered the business in 2009 he was attracted by the high profits, which have since waned with more businesses entering the trade. Despite this, Chen established his own company earlier this year and is still optimistic about its prospects.
"Lots of secondhand clothes are good but Chinese people don't like them. Meanwhile, many economically underdeveloped countries in Africa without well established clothes-making industries need them," Chen said. "My business makes full use of resources and reduces waste."
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