Draft:OTCAN

OTCAN
옷캔
Formation2009
FounderCho Yun-chan
TypeNonprofit
HeadquartersJung-gu, Daejeon, South Korea
Websiteotcan.org

OTCAN (Korean: 옷캔) is a South Korean nonprofit organization based in Daejeon that collects used clothing and footwear donated by households and companies and redistributes them in South Korea and abroad. It was founded in 2009 by Cho Yun-chan, and its name joins the Korean word for clothes (옷, ot) with the English word "can".[1]

History

Cho Yun-chan, a Daejeon-based web designer, became interested in clothing donation after volunteering in Ghana in the mid-2000s. There, he saw secondhand Korean clothing being resold at prices many local families could not afford.[2][3] He came to regard South Korea's street-side clothing bins as a largely commercial operation rather than a charitable one,[4] and started an online awareness campaign before founding OTCAN in 2009 as a nonprofit clothing-redistribution group. It was registered as a nonprofit organization under South Korea's Ministry of Environment.[2][5]

A 2011 Yonhap feature said OTCAN was collecting about one ton of used clothing a week from households nationwide. The group sold the clothing through overseas secondhand markets and used the annual proceeds of about 40 million won for children's programs in Africa and Asia.[2] Kyunghyang Shinmun later put its collection volume at about 20 tons in 2009 and roughly 180 tons in 2012.[6]

Activities

OTCAN uses a mail-in donation system rather than street-side bins. Donors apply online and send boxed clothing by courier.[5][7] After sorting donations in Daejeon, the organization either distributes usable clothing, footwear and household textiles in South Korea or sells them in overseas secondhand markets. Proceeds from overseas sales are used for children's welfare and education programs in recipient countries.[4][8] A 2017 Hankyung article reported that, according to OTCAN, about 275,000 people had taken part in its clothing donations between 2009 and 2016, and that the organization received about 270 tons of clothing in 2016 alone; the goods were sent to countries including Ethiopia and Djibouti.[7] By 2021 it had made about 250 shipments to recipients in eleven countries,[3] and a 2024 profile reported that its annual intake had grown to more than 300 tons.[1]

OTCAN also distributes goods within South Korea; in January 2024 it donated about 400 cold-weather items, worth about 4 million won, to the Daejeon Social Service Agency for distribution to six community-based elderly-care service organizations.[9] It has handled corporate product donations as well, including a 2023 donation of footwear from the retailer ABC-Mart valued at about 200 million won, which was distributed to recipients in 24 countries.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Lee Jin-ho (2024-02-27). "옷으로 세상을 바꾸자"…나눔으로 지속가능한 환경을 꿈꾸는 NGO 옷캔 [OTCAN: an NGO pursuing a sustainable environment through clothing donations]. Hankyung Job & Joy (in Korean). The Korea Economic Daily. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  2. ^ a b c Jeong Yun-deok (2011-08-30). 헌옷으로 저개발국 어린이 돕는 '옷캔' [OTCAN helps children in developing countries with used clothes]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  3. ^ a b 소외계층과 환경을 지키는 '옷캔' 조윤찬 대표 [OTCAN's Cho Yun-chan: protecting the underprivileged and the environment]. The-K Magazine (in Korean). Korean Teachers' Credit Union. December 2022. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  4. ^ a b Yim Seung-hye; Kim Hyang-min (2016-05-10). "Profiteers are making cash from your donated clothes". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  5. ^ a b Kim, Chil Soon; Kim, Ken Ri (2016). "A Case Study Comparing Textile Recycling Systems of Korea and the UK to Promote Sustainability". Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management. 10 (1). Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  6. ^ Lee Sung-hee (2013-04-07). 헌옷, 버리지 말고 기부하세요… 수익금으로 3세계 구호활동 [Don't throw away old clothes—donate them; proceeds fund third-world relief]. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  7. ^ a b 안 입는 옷 그냥 드려요… '의류 기부'도 해마다 늘어나 [Just give away the clothes you don't wear; clothing donations rising each year]. Hankyung (in Korean). 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  8. ^ Mont, Oksana; Plepys, Andrius; Voytenko Palgan, Yuliya; Ju, Sungyoun; Vinka, Ulrika (2023). Urban Sharing in Seoul (PDF) (Report). City report no. 5. International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Lund University. ISBN 978-91-8039-747-6. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  9. ^ [포토] 옷캔, 대전사회서비스원에 방한용품 전달 [OTCAN delivers winter goods to the Daejeon Social Service Agency]. Geumgang Ilbo (in Korean). 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  10. ^ ABC마트 "환경 NGO '옷캔'에 2억 상당 신발 기부" [ABC-Mart donates 200 million won worth of shoes to environmental NGO OTCAN]. Hankyung (in Korean). 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2026-05-28.


Category:Non-profit organizations based in South Korea Category:Organizations established in 2009 Category:Organizations based in Daejeon Category:Clothing donation Category:Textile recycling

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