East London Textiles

What East London Textiles does

East London Textiles is a UK-based, founder-owned for-profit company headquartered in Rochford, operating in the second-hand textiles trade. Founded in 2004 by Darren Collins, who remains the owner, the business specialises in the recycling and exporting of used clothing, shoes, and other household items. A workforce of 51-100 employees positions it as a small-to-mid-sized commercial operator rather than a boutique or large-scale industrial recycler.

The company's core activity is the collection, sorting, and cross-border resale of post-consumer textiles and household goods, placing it inside the used-clothing export segment of the textile recycling industry. The business model is built on wholesale export volumes to international buyers; no specific products, proprietary sorting technology, certifications, partnerships, distribution channels, or pricing structures are disclosed in available materials. The reference to 'exporting' indicates cross-border trade in second-hand goods, presumably to importers and wholesalers in destination markets across Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe, where the global used-clothing trade is most concentrated.

The company operates privately with no public funding rounds, parent company, M&A activity, or named directors beyond the founder-owner. Operating geographies, customer mix, contract structures, and revenue mechanics are not detailed in the source material, and the primary web-facing surface returned a loading placeholder rather than substantive disclosure. As a result, the data supports a clear functional description of the business but provides limited visibility into commercial depth, customer concentration, or geographic reach beyond the implicit export orientation.

Name

East London Textiles

Legal name

East London Textiles

Website

https://east-london-textiles.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

East London Textiles is a UK-based, founder-owned company specialising in the recycling and exporting of used clothing, shoes, and household items. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Rochford, it serves international wholesale buyers with a workforce of 51-100.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Textile Recycling & Export

NAICS

Other Textile Product Mills (3149)

SIC

Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130)

akta.pro primary industry

Textile & Apparel Recycling and Sorting (Non-E-waste) (BPALADAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Textile & Apparel Sorting/Recovery Facilities (EUAIADAJ), Textile-to-Textile Feedstock Preparation (De-trimming/De-buttoning/De-zipping/Contaminant Removal) (IMAOAMAE)

Keywords

• Used clothing recycling
• Textile export services
• Secondhand clothing trade
• Household textile recycling
• Clothing wholesale export

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

East London Textiles specialises in the recycling and exporting of used clothing, shoes, and other household items. Operating from Rochford, United Kingdom since 2004 with 51-100 employees, the company sources used textiles, grades and sorts them, and ships graded secondhand inventory to international wholesale buyers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Used Clothing & Household Textile Recycling and Export Recycling and international export of used clothing, shoes, and household textile items for wholesale buyers of graded secondhand textiles.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Emerging players

• Worn Again Technologies: Worn Again Technologies is a UK-based chemical recycler developing polymer-to-fibre recycling for polyester and cotton from post-consumer textiles. Comparable as a UK textile recycling operator, but focused on fibre-to-fibre technology rather than resale export.

Direct peers

• Traid: Traid is a UK-based textile charity that collects, sorts and resells used clothing, including exporting to developing markets. Directly comparable to East London Textiles as a UK-headquartered sorter/exporter of used clothing, though charity-owned.
• Trans-Americas Trading Co. Trans-Americas Trading is a US-based used-clothing exporter and grader supplying wholesale channels across the Americas and Africa. Directly comparable to East London Textiles in the used-textile export and grading business.
• Charity Recycling (Greenleaf): Greenleaf is a UK-based textile recycler operating bank collections and export of second-hand clothing. Comparable as a UK-based used-textile sorter and exporter, often competing for the same UK donation stream.
• Fast Forward / Oxfam Recycling: Oxfam's WIG (Waste Income Generation) operation sorts and sells UK-donated used clothing, exporting significant volumes to developing markets. Directly comparable as a UK-based sorter and exporter of used clothing competing for the same UK household donation stream.

Broad incumbents

• I:CO (I:Collect): I:CO is a global textile reuse and recycling company providing collection, sorting and resale/recycling services for brands and retailers. Comparable as a large-scale sorter and exporter of used clothing and shoes with operations across Europe and beyond.
• Texaid: Texaid is a Swiss-founded textile collection and sorting network operating across Europe. Comparable as a multi-country collector and sorter of used clothing and household textiles for reuse and recycling markets.
• SOEX Group: SOEX is a German textile recycling group operating sorting facilities and resale channels across Europe. Directly comparable as a competing European sorter-exporter of post-consumer clothing and shoes.
• Bank & Vogue Group: Bank & Vogue is a Canadian-headquartered global used-textile collector, sorter and exporter supplying reuse and recycling channels. Directly comparable to East London Textiles in the used-clothing export business model, though larger and operating across multiple continents.

Regional players

• Collection Rivolier / Le Relais: Le Relais is a France-headquartered social enterprise collecting, sorting and exporting used clothing across Europe and Africa. Comparable as a European sorter-exporter of used textiles, though operating primarily from a French footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ELT_Ltd
• Facebookfacebook.com/EastLondonTextilesLtd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/east-london-textiles-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about East London Textiles