RETEX: Leading Textile Recycling and Sorting Solutions for Wholesale

Company overview

RETEX Netherlands buys used textiles from collectors and sorts them into quality grades for resale to international partners. The plant is at Molenvliet 3, 4791 GB Klundert, in the province of North Brabant, roughly between Rotterdam and Antwerp.

What makes this entry unusually useful is that RETEX publishes both its grade ladder and its packing formats in full. Most sorters describe one or the other in vague terms and quote the rest on request. Being able to read both before you pick up the phone changes how a first conversation goes.

The grade ladder, stated plainly

RETEX names four levels and gives the equivalent in the two vocabularies buyers actually use:

• EXTRA (crème) - fashion clothing in impeccable condition or new
• Nr. 1 (Grade A) - gently used clothing
• Nr. 2 (Grade B) - clothing with minor defects or imperfections
• Nr. 3 (Grade C) - rags and recycling materials

That mapping is worth more than it looks. Across Europe the same goods travel under a number system in one country and a letter system in the next, and buyers routinely compare a Dutch Nr. 1 against a British Grade A without knowing whether they describe the same thing. Here the sorter states the equivalence itself, which removes the most common source of dispute on a first order. Anyone still unsure how these ladders relate should read the underlying grades vocabulary before comparing quotes.

The other detail worth noting is that Nr. 3 sits inside the published range rather than being treated as waste. A sorter that sells its rag fraction openly has an outlet for it, and that removes the commercial temptation to push imperfect pieces up into Nr. 2 to balance a load.

Packing formats: the widest part of the offer

The packing range runs from small retail-scale units to full export bales:

• Plastic bags of 15 or 30 kg
• Small bags of 60 or 80 kg
• Small bales of 40 or 100 kg
• Big bags of 100 or 200 kg
• Big bales of 400 or 500 kg

Nine formats from 15 kg to 500 kg is a genuinely broad ladder, and it means one supplier can serve a market trader taking 30 kg bags and a container exporter taking 500 kg bales. The practical value is that you can test a grade in a 15 kg bag and scale the same specification to a 500 kg bale without changing supplier, which is the single cleanest way to de-risk a new sorting relationship.

Packing weight also drives your handling cost as much as the price per kilo does. A 500 kg bale needs a forklift and a loading bay; a 30 kg bag does not. Buyers comparing several second hand clothes suppliers should always price the handling alongside the goods, because a cheap bale that your warehouse cannot break down is not cheap.

Where the material comes from and goes

RETEX buys from collectors rather than running its own collection rounds, which places it one step downstream of the household. That is the standard model for Dutch and Belgian sorters and it has a clear implication: the plant's quality depends on which collectors it buys from, so it is a fair question to ask directly.

Dutch and Belgian collection has its own character, generally strong on outerwear, durable knitwear and mid-market European brands. Buyers used to English original should expect a different mix rather than a better or worse one, and should understand how UK sorting plants divide their flows before assuming the two products are interchangeable.

Output goes to partners in Asia, Africa and Europe. The Klundert location is a real advantage for European buyers: it sits inside the Rotterdam-Antwerp corridor, so both sea freight and one-day trucking into Germany, Belgium and northern France are straightforward.

Contact and how to start

RETEX can be reached at [email protected] and on +31 (0) 62 977 5404, where enquiries go to O. Sahin. Given the published grade and packing detail, a first approach can be specific from the outset: name the grade, name the packing format, and ask for the defect rule in writing for the level you want. Buyers building a programme of wholesale second hand should start with a small bag of the target grade before committing to bale volume.

Frequently asked questions

What grades does RETEX Netherlands offer?

Four: EXTRA (crème) for fashion clothing in impeccable or new condition, Nr. 1 (Grade A) for gently used, Nr. 2 (Grade B) for items with minor defects, and Nr. 3 (Grade C) for rags and recycling materials.

What packing sizes are available?

Plastic bags of 15 or 30 kg, small bags of 60 or 80 kg, small bales of 40 or 100 kg, big bags of 100 or 200 kg, and big bales of 400 or 500 kg.

Where is RETEX located?

At Molenvliet 3, 4791 GB Klundert in the Netherlands, within the Rotterdam-Antwerp corridor.

Does RETEX collect its own textiles?

No. The company purchases used textiles from collectors and sorts them in-house into the four published quality grades.

Which markets does RETEX supply?

Partners in Asia, Africa and Europe.