ATRATEX: Second Hand Clothes Sorting and Wholesale, Onil Spain

Company overview

ATRATEX is a Spanish sorting house and wholesale supplier of second hand clothes, shoes and accessories. The plant sits in Onil, in the province of Alicante, and works with textiles collected across the European market. Sorted goods leave Spain almost in full: the two destinations that take the bulk of the output are West Africa and Eastern Europe.

The company describes itself as a specialist in recycling and recovery of used clothing and footwear rather than a trading intermediary. Goods arrive as original collected bags, pass inspection, and only then go through grading. That order matters for a buyer, because the grade written on a bale reflects what somebody actually checked by hand, not a label applied to a mixed load at the point of sale.

What ATRATEX supplies

Three product families run through the facility:

• Clothing for men, women and children, sorted by season, category and quality
• Footwear, packed separately from garments
• Accessories such as bags and belts

Home textiles sit alongside the clothing lines: tablecloths, blankets, sheets and other bed linen. Buyers who stock a market stall or a second hand shop often take a mix of these categories in a single container.

Who buys from ATRATEX

The customer base is B2B. Importers and wholesalers in West African markets take large volumes, usually by container. Buyers in Eastern Europe order graded bales for resale through second hand shops and open-air markets. Smaller retailers and market traders come in for specific categories rather than full mixed loads.

Grading: from Cream Extra down to third quality

ATRATEX sorts into four levels, and the naming follows the convention used across the Spanish and wider European trade:

• Crema Extra (Cream Extra) - the top selection, including premium pieces and items that still carry their original labels
• Primera Calidad (first quality) - wearable stock in good condition, the volume grade for most resale shops
• Segunda Calidad (second quality) - visible wear, priced accordingly
• Tercera Calidad (third quality) - the lowest tier in the range

Grading happens after a second inspection. Garments are reviewed once more to confirm that the quality assigned to them holds up, then folded carefully so that creases and deformities do not set in during transport. For anyone comparing second hand clothes suppliers, this double check is the part worth asking about: a grade means little unless the sorter can explain how it was assigned.

Sorted versus original bales

Everything ATRATEX ships is sorted. The company starts from original bags, but what leaves the warehouse is classified stock, packed either as single-category bales or as deliberate mixes. Buyers who want unsorted credential clothing are looking at a different product than what this plant produces.

Bale sizes and packaging

Packing formats are set to suit different transport routes and buyer sizes:

• Plastic sacks for smaller lots
• Clothing bales of 45, 55, 60 and 80 kg
• Shoe sacks of 25 and 30 kg, adjusted to what the customer asks for

Bales are wrapped in heavy plastic raffia. The wrap is water resistant, which matters on long sea routes where a bale can sit in humid conditions before it reaches the buyer. The 45 kg format is the one most often requested for Eastern European destinations.

Export markets and shipping

Stock is shipped in 20ft containers or 40ft high cube containers, depending on volume. ATRATEX quotes shipping to destinations worldwide, so a buyer can ask for a landed figure rather than an ex-works price and compare it against other second hand clothes exporters on the same basis.

Two markets dominate. West Africa takes mixed bales in container volumes, with demand concentrated in summer categories and general adult clothing. Eastern Europe leans towards higher grades and seasonal lines, particularly women's winter stock.

Product categories in detail

The category list reflects what resale buyers actually ask for:

• Men's, women's and children's clothing, with children's lines covering roughly ages 0 to 14
• Mixed summer bales combining adult and children's garments
• Women's winter mixes, including young women's lines
• Real and synthetic fur coats
• Party dresses, coats and skirts in premium quality
• Sportswear and denim
• Household textiles: tablecloths, blankets, sheets, bed linen
• Shoes, packed in dedicated sacks

Mixed summer bales are assembled to give a genuine spread rather than a run of one item, which is what a market trader needs when a single bale has to fill a stall.

How the process works

The workflow at Onil follows a fixed sequence:

• Sourcing - original bags of collected clothing, shoes and accessories, mostly from European collection streams
• Inspection - goods are checked on arrival to confirm quality before anything is classified
• Classification - garments sorted by category and graded, then reviewed a second time
• Folding - each piece folded to limit creasing and deformation in transit
• Packing and storage - baled or sacked to the agreed weight, wrapped, and held until shipment

Working with ATRATEX

Enquiries go through the Onil office. The company invites importers to make contact for details on available grades, current stock and shipping quotations. Practical questions to raise on a first call: which grades are running at the time, what the bale weight will be, whether the mix is seasonal, and what the quoted price covers.

ATRATEX is listed in the GSS Forum directory of second hand and stock suppliers, alongside sorting plants and exporters from across Europe. Buyers comparing several suppliers at once often use the forum to meet them face to face before committing to a container.

Frequently asked questions

Where is ATRATEX based?

In Onil, province of Alicante, Spain. Sorting, packing and storage all happen at that location.

What grades does ATRATEX offer?

Four: Cream Extra, first quality, second quality and third quality. Cream Extra is the premium selection and includes labelled items.

What bale sizes are available?

Clothing comes in 45, 55, 60 and 80 kg bales, plus plastic sacks for smaller quantities. Shoes are packed in 25 and 30 kg sacks.

Which markets does ATRATEX export to?

Almost all output goes to West Africa and Eastern Europe, shipped in 20ft or 40ft high cube containers.

Is the clothing sorted or unsorted?

Sorted. The company grades and classifies everything before packing, so buyers receive defined categories rather than unsorted original bales.

Does ATRATEX supply shoes as well as clothing?

Yes. Footwear is a separate product line, packed in its own sacks at 25 or 30 kg.

Can ATRATEX quote shipping to my country?

The company states that it can provide shipping quotations to any destination worldwide, so a delivered price can be requested at the enquiry stage.