Helpsy: Leading Provider of Secondhand Textile Wholesale and Recycling Solutions

Company overview

Helpsy is a certified B Corporation and Public Benefit Corporation that collects, sorts and wholesales secondhand clothing in the northeastern United States. The company runs its warehouse and headquarters at 246 Industrial Way West, Suite 109 Building E, Eatontown, New Jersey 07724, and operates collection networks across New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, including a dedicated New York City service.

Helpsy is a for-profit, privately held business rather than a charity, and it says so plainly. That distinction matters to a wholesale buyer: the company's revenue comes from moving graded goods, not from donations, so its incentive is to keep quality consistent enough that the same buyers come back. Reported revenue was 26 million dollars in 2022, drawn from used clothing plus new wholesale stock purchased from brands and retailers handling overstock and e-commerce returns.

How the collection network works

Unlike European sorters that buy original bags on the open market, Helpsy controls its own inflow. Four channels feed the warehouse:

• Stationary donation bins placed across the service area
• Home pickup, scheduled directly by households
• Community clothing drives, organised with local groups
• Partnerships with municipalities, nonprofits and retailers

The volume that produces is substantial: roughly 66 pounds of clothing a minute, close to 100,000 pounds a day arriving at the Eatontown site. Owning the collection layer means the company knows the provenance of what it grades, which is the part most import buyers cannot verify when they purchase from an intermediary.

Sorting and grading

Inside the warehouse, around two dozen sorters work with digital scanners and classify roughly 12,000 items a day by brand and by category. Each item is routed to the sales channel that suits it: premium branded pieces to resellers, volume goods to thrift stores, and the remainder into recycling streams. The company's stated position is that 95 percent of secondhand clothing could be reused or recycled rather than landfilled.

Scanner-assisted brand sorting is a different method from the weight-and-eye grading used by most European plants. It produces item-level consistency rather than bale-level averages, which is why Helpsy sells to online resellers who need to know what is in the box before they list it. Buyers used to European grades should not expect an equivalent letter system here; the sorting logic is built around brand and category, not cream and first quality.

What buyers actually receive

Helpsy supplies inspected items to secondhand stores and online resellers, with brand coverage the company describes as running from Abercrombie to Zara. The stated commitment is that a buyer receives the brands ordered without filler merchandise mixed in to make up weight. In 2023 the company sold 1.6 million premium items through this channel.

The customer base is broad: roughly 6,000 wholesalers, thrift stores and small resellers buy bulk stock. That mix tells you the order sizes are flexible, from single-category cases up to bulk lots, rather than the container-only model common among export-focused second hand clothes suppliers.

Ordering, logistics and reverse pickup

Available inventory is browsable at helpsysource.com, and trade enquiries go to [email protected] or (800) 244-6350. Two logistics options exist alongside outbound sales. Stores located in the northeast can have Helpsy collect their unsold inventory on a set schedule, and stores further away can be helped with clearance logistics. For a thrift operator that closes a seasonal cycle with dead stock on the floor, having the same partner supply fresh goods and remove the unsold tail is a genuine operational saving.

The new-goods side of the business is worth noting separately. Helpsy buys overstock and returns directly from brands and retailers, which means a buyer can source graded secondhand and brand-new surplus from one relationship. Anyone building a mixed assortment for a store should weigh that against the deeper grade ladders offered by European sorting houses, which give more control over quality tiers but no access to new stock at all.

Certifications and recognition

Helpsy holds B Corp certification and is incorporated as a Public Benefit Corporation, meaning its social and environmental commitments are written into its legal structure rather than published as a policy page. Recent recognition includes the NJDEP Recycling Business Award in October 2024, the Northeast Recycling Council's Outstanding Organization award for environmental leadership in November 2024, and Sustainable Jersey's Business Leadership Award in the same month.

For European buyers comparing transatlantic sources against domestic ones, the practical question is landed cost against grade certainty. American collection produces a different brand mix from the UK or Italian streams, heavier on North American labels and sportswear. Buyers sourcing wholesale second hand for a European market should test a small lot before committing to volume, because what sells in New Jersey does not automatically sell in Warsaw.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Helpsy located and which regions does it cover?

Helpsy's warehouse and headquarters are at 246 Industrial Way West, Eatontown, New Jersey. Collection operations run across New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, including New York City.

How much clothing does Helpsy process?

The company collects roughly 66 pounds of clothing per minute, close to 100,000 pounds a day. Around two dozen sorters classify about 12,000 items daily by brand and category.

Does Helpsy sell to small resellers or only to large wholesalers?

Both. Around 6,000 customers buy from Helpsy, ranging from wholesalers and thrift stores to individual online resellers. Inventory can be browsed at helpsysource.com.

Does Helpsy sell new clothing as well as secondhand?

Yes. Alongside collected secondhand goods, the company buys overstock and e-commerce returns directly from brands and retailers and resells them as new wholesale stock.

Is Helpsy a charity?

No. Helpsy is a for-profit, privately held company, certified as a B Corporation and incorporated as a Public Benefit Corporation.