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Services
About Company
Company overview
LMB, trading from the business Lawrence M Barry started in 1984, is a textile recycling and reuse company with facilities in east London and Suffolk. Across those two sites it processes in excess of 1,000 tonnes of textile waste every month, and the east London operation handles around 200 tonnes of second-hand clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories a week. The company won the Queen's Award for Export in 1997.
The detail that separates LMB from most UK sorters is where its material comes from. The company collects clothing only in London. That is a deliberate constraint rather than a limitation, and it is the single most important thing for a buyer to understand about this supplier.
Why London-only collection matters
London collection produces a different intake from national collection. The city has the highest concentration of fashion retail in the UK, the fastest wardrobe turnover and the widest brand spread, from high street through to designer. A sorter drawing exclusively from that catchment gets a higher share of current-season and premium pieces than one blending material from across the country.
The commercial consequence is straightforward: LMB positions itself as offering the highest quality used clothing for export precisely because of that sourcing choice. Buyers who have worked with mixed-origin UK bales and been disappointed by the brand mix should treat a London-only supplier as a genuinely different product rather than a marketing variation. Before comparing prices, read the underlying grades definitions, because a strong intake still has to be graded consistently to be worth paying for.
What LMB supplies and to whom
The company matches product to destination market rather than selling one grade to everybody:
- Grade A creme clothing for Eastern European markets
- 45 kg bales for African markets
- Wiping cloths cut from material not fit for reuse
- Flocking and felting feedstock from the lower fraction
That is a sensible way to run a sorting house and it tells a buyer something useful. A plant that separates its Eastern European offer from its African offer has understood that the two markets want different things: Eastern European shops sell by the piece and need brand recognition, African importers buy by weight and need durable, wearable volume. A supplier that treats them identically is not really grading for either.
The material split
LMB states its own breakdown: 80 percent of textiles are sorted and exported for reuse, 10 percent that is not fit for reuse is cut into wiping cloths, 5 percent goes for flocking and felting, and 5 percent remains as waste. An 80 percent reuse share is high, and it is consistent with the London sourcing claim: a weaker intake cannot produce that ratio.
For a buyer of the top grades the practical significance is the same as with any plant that has outlets for its tail. When the low fraction is already sold, nobody needs to bulk out a clothing bale with it. Buyers comparing UK sorting houses should ask each one for its split, and treat a supplier that cannot state one as a supplier that has not measured it.
UK-based sorting and the Reskinned connection
LMB is explicit that its sorting stays in the UK rather than being exported unsorted for grading elsewhere. For buyers who need to answer supply-chain questions, sorting in the country of collection removes a layer of uncertainty about where a bale was actually assembled.
In 2020 the company established Reskinned, a sister organisation focused on brand takeback. That matters commercially because takeback streams from brands are a different input from municipal collection: the goods arrive in known condition, often with the retailer's own quality screen already applied. A group that runs both channels has options that a pure collector does not.
Contact and how to approach
LMB has more than forty years in the trade, which means the sales conversation will assume you know your own requirement. Arrive with a destination market, a category specification and a volume. Buyers building a programme of wholesale second hand should ask specifically whether the London-only intake is reflected in the price, and compare that premium against the brand mix in a sample rather than accepting it on the description. As with any second hand clothes suppliers comparison, one test bale answers more than an hour of discussion.
Frequently asked questions
When was LMB founded?
Lawrence M Barry started the business in 1984, giving the company more than forty years in textile recycling and reuse. It won the Queen's Award for Export in 1997.
How much does LMB process?
More than 1,000 tonnes of textile waste a month across facilities in east London and Suffolk, with around 200 tonnes of clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories a week handled in east London.
Where does LMB collect its clothing?
Only in London. The company treats that as the reason it can offer high-quality used clothing for export, since London collection carries a stronger brand and season mix than national collection.
What products does LMB offer for each market?
Grade A creme clothing for Eastern Europe and 45 kg bales for African markets, alongside wiping cloths and flocking and felting feedstock from the lower fraction.
What happens to material that cannot be reused?
By the company's own breakdown, 80 percent is sorted and exported for reuse, 10 percent becomes wiping cloths, 5 percent goes to flocking and felting, and 5 percent remains waste.
Key Strengths
Large-scale sorting and grading capacity
Extensive export network to Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia
Sustainable sourcing through charity shops and recycling schemes
Zero waste textile recycling
Other suppliers: United Kingdom
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