London Used Clothing - Trusted Source for Wholesale Textile Recycling and Sorting

Company overview

London Used Clothing specialises in the recycling and export of used clothing, shoes, bags and other household items, supplying wholesale bales to thrift stores and resellers. The company operates from London and ships to Africa, Asia and Europe.

Two things on this supplier's page deserve a buyer's full attention, and neither is the product description. They are the trading terms and the container loading table, because together they determine what an order actually costs.

EXW pricing: read this before comparing quotes

London Used Clothing quotes EXW, Ex Works. Payment is structured as a 50 percent deposit to confirm an order, with the balance due before loading.

EXW is the most seller-favourable term in international trade, and it is frequently misread by newer buyers. It means the price covers the goods sitting at the seller's premises and nothing else. Loading, inland haulage, export clearance, freight, insurance and import clearance are all yours, both the cost and the risk.

The practical consequence is blunt: an EXW price and a CIF price are not comparable numbers, and treating them as if they were is one of the most expensive mistakes in this trade. A quote that looks 20 percent cheaper on paper can land more expensive once you have paid for a truck to the port, a forwarder and sea freight. Before comparing this supplier against any other, convert both quotes to the same delivery basis. Buyers assessing several second hand clothes suppliers should build one landed-cost sheet and put every offer through it.

The 50 percent deposit is standard for the trade but worth planning for. It ties up working capital between payment and resale, so a buyer running several containers needs the cash cycle mapped before committing, not after.

Bale weights and container payloads

Three bale weights are offered, with published loading counts for both container sizes:

• 20-foot: 240 bales at 45 kg, 220 at 50 kg, or 200 at 55 kg
• 40-foot High Cube: 540 bales at 45 kg, 500 at 50 kg, or 480 at 55 kg

Those counts are worth multiplying out, because the answer is not obvious. In a 20-foot container the payload comes to 10,800 kg with 45 kg bales, 11,000 kg with 50 kg, and 11,000 kg with 55 kg. In a 40-foot High Cube it is 24,300 kg, 25,000 kg and 26,400 kg respectively.

So the heavier bale carries more goods per container, and the gap widens in the larger box: 26,400 kg against 24,300 kg is an extra 2,100 kg for the same freight. On a 40-foot shipment that is close to a nine percent improvement in cost per kilo, achieved by nothing more than choosing a different bale size.

The counter-argument is handling. A 55 kg bale is a two-person lift or a forklift job, a 45 kg bale is not. If your unloading point is a market yard rather than a warehouse with equipment, the lighter bale may still win. The point is that this is a decision with real money attached, and the published table lets you make it deliberately instead of accepting whatever the supplier ships by default.

What is not specified

The company references grades as a product category but does not define individual grade specifications, and publishes no address, phone number or sorting tonnage. Contact runs through a website form.

None of that is unusual for an export-focused wholesaler, but it does mean the essential questions have to be asked directly: what separates each grade, stated as a defect rule; what the category mix is inside a bale; and what the lead time is from deposit to loading. Read the underlying grades vocabulary first so you can judge whether the answers are specific.

Who this supplier fits

This is a container-scale export supplier, suited to buyers serving markets in Africa, Asia and Europe who can handle their own freight and clearance. It does not fit a reseller wanting a parcel to list online, a trade served by pack-based suppliers.

Buyers new to importing should be honest with themselves about EXW. If you have never arranged export clearance and sea freight, the first container is not the moment to learn on a supplier who leaves all of it to you. Anyone building a programme of wholesale second hand at this scale should also understand how UK sorting plants divide their flows, since that determines what is actually inside the bale you are paying to ship.

Frequently asked questions

What does EXW mean for my costs?

Ex Works means the price covers only the goods at the seller's premises. Loading, inland transport, export clearance, freight, insurance and import clearance are the buyer's cost and risk, so an EXW quote cannot be compared directly with a CIF one.

What are the payment terms?

A 50 percent deposit confirms the order, with the balance payable before loading.

What bale weights are available?

Bales of 45, 50 and 55 kg.

How much does a container hold?

A 20-foot takes 240 bales at 45 kg, 220 at 50 kg or 200 at 55 kg. A 40-foot High Cube takes 540, 500 or 480 bales respectively, giving payloads of roughly 24,300 kg, 25,000 kg and 26,400 kg.

Which markets does the company supply?

Africa, Asia and Europe, with wholesale bales of used clothing, shoes, bags and household items.