Liberty Recycling

What Liberty Recycling does

Liberty Recycling is an Irish social enterprise founded in 1995 by Philip Moloney and the Moloney family following the closure of Dublin's Iveagh Markets. Operating from a factory and headquarters at Bluebell Industrial Estate in Dublin 12, the organization runs a closed-loop textile recycling operation: 180 nationwide clothing donation banks collect used clothing and footwear, which is sorted and graded at the Bluebell factory, then redistributed through 9 charity retail shops across Ireland (Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Ennis, Bray, Mullingar, Drogheda, and Cork), exported to independent retailers and markets in Nigeria, Benin Republic, India, and Pakistan, or reprocessed into secondary products such as mattresses, insulation, and cleaning wipes for local B2B customers including motor factors and cleaning companies. Annual textile throughput is approximately 8,360 tons.

The organization's defining purpose is a dual social mission wrapped around the textile operation: rehabilitation and reintegration of people recovering from drug addiction into mainstream employment. Participants, recruited via self-referrals and referrals from key workers and welfare agencies, enter a structured program combining community detoxification support, care-plan development, one-to-one key-working sessions, certified training (QQI-accredited courses in literacy, communications, maths, computers, career preparation; forklift licensing; first aid; payroll), and practical work experience via 4-hour shifts in the factory or charity shops. The organization reports 14,640 cumulative success stories over 28 years of operation.

The business model is that of a nonprofit social enterprise rather than a venture-backed business. Revenue is generated from charity retail sales, international textile export sales, and local B2B sales of recycled textile products. Labor costs are partially subsidized through the Community Employment scheme structure inherited from the founding partnership with Merchant's Quay Ireland. The organization is governed by a board led by Chairperson Aengus O Snodaigh TD and Treasurer Linda Behan, with CEO Philip Moloney and family members retaining operational leadership. Headcount stands at over 65 people across retail, factory, rehabilitation, training, and accounts functions. No external institutional investment, funding rounds, patents, or proprietary technology assets are disclosed.

Name

Liberty Recycling

Legal name

Liberty Recycling

Website

https://libertyrecycling.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Liberty Recycling is an Irish social enterprise that operates textile recycling through 180 donation banks and 9 charity shops while providing rehabilitation, certified training, and work experience for people recovering from addiction to help them transition into mainstream employment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Textile Recycling & Social Rehabilitation

NAICS

Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHSAFABAI

Donation, Resale & Textile Recycling Coordination

Home & Personal Services/Home Organization & Decluttering/Closet & Wardrobe Organization

Keywords

• Textile recycling
• Charity retail
• Rehabilitation services
• Social enterprise
• Community employment

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Clothing Sales - Charity Shops: Quality clothes sorted and sold at charity shops across Ireland (Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Ennis, Bray, Mullingar, Drogheda, Cork)
2. International Textile Sales: Graded clothes resold to independent retailers and at markets primarily in Nigeria, Benin Republic, India and Pakistan
3. Recycled Textile Products: Unsold textiles reprocessed into products including mattresses, insulation, and cleaning wipes for local customers including motor factors and cleaning companies

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Liberty Recycling is a social enterprise that collects used clothing and footwear through 180 nationwide donation banks, then sorts and grades the textiles at its Bluebell factory in Dublin. Quality items are resold through 9 charity shops across Ireland, graded textiles are exported to independent retailers and markets in Nigeria, Benin Republic, India and Pakistan, and unsellable textiles are reprocessed into products such as mattresses, insulation and cleaning wipes. The enterprise funds and operates rehabilitation, certified training, and work-experience programs for people affected by drug addiction.

Product overview

Liberty Recycling is a social enterprise operating a single unified service focused on clothing recycling combined with rehabilitation and employment support. The core offering comprises a closed-loop system: Clothing Banks collect donated textiles, which are sorted and graded at the Bluebell factory, then distributed through Charity Shops for resale or exported to international markets. Unsellable items are recycled into secondary products like mattresses, insulation, and cleaning wipes. Supporting this are three integrated programs - Rehabilitation (detoxification, care planning, key working), Training (QQI-accredited courses, forklift licensing, first aid), and Work Experience (shift-based employment). Together these form a single social mission to progress people affected by addiction into mainstream employment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clothing Banks A nationwide network of 180 clothing recycling banks where the public can donate clothes, shoes and textiles; the primary collection input for Liberty Recycling's operations.
• Charity Shops Retail shops selling quality donated clothing and other items at 9 locations across Ireland (Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Ennis, Bray, Mullingar, Drogheda, Cork) to support the mission of helping people recover from addiction.
• Rehabilitation Program Therapeutic rehabilitation support including care-plan development, community detoxification, and one-to-one key working sessions for people with rehabilitation needs affected by addiction.
• Training Program Certified external training for community employment participants including Forklift Licensing, QQI Accredited Courses (Literacy, Communications, Maths, Computers, Career Preparation), First Aid, and Payroll.
• Work Experience Program Practical work experience where participants work 4-hour shifts per day (morning or afternoon) at the factory or charity shops, gaining hands-on employment skills within a supportive environment.
• Clothing Recycling & Repurposing Textile recycling service that sorts and grades collected clothing; graded clothes are resold at charity shops, to independent retailers or at markets in Nigeria, Benin Republic, India and Pakistan, and unsellable textiles are reprocessed into mattresses, insulation and cleaning wipes for local customers including motor factors and cleaning companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14,640 success stories of people progressing through rehabilitation into mainstream employment
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Merchant's Quay IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiberty Recycling was originally set up under Merchant's Quay Ireland as a Community Employment scheme with 8 trainees. The project opened its first charity shop on Meath Street under this partnership arrangement, which was foundational to establishing the organization.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Oxfam Ireland: Oxfam Ireland operates a national charity-retail network selling donated and second-hand goods to support its social mission. It is comparable to Liberty through donated apparel sales, physical shops and the coupling of retail activity with social impact.
• The Salvation Army Ireland: The Salvation Army Ireland combines addiction and social-support services with a substantial charitable operating model. Its overlap with both Liberty's rehabilitation mission and its community-facing retail activities makes it a broad but highly relevant peer.
• British Heart Foundation: The British Heart Foundation runs a large network of charity shops that collect and resell donated goods. It is comparable through high-volume apparel reuse and donation-led retail, though it does not integrate textile recovery with addiction services.
• Society of Saint Vincent de Paul: The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul operates charity shops and broad social-support services in Ireland. Its community retail and social-impact model is comparable, although its activities extend well beyond textiles and addiction rehabilitation.
• Dublin Simon Community: Dublin Simon Community operates charity shops that generate support for homelessness and social services. It is comparable to Liberty through donation-driven apparel retail, community fundraising and a mission-led operating model.

Direct peers

• SOEX: SOEX is a global textile reuse and recycling company that collects, sorts and redirects used clothing and footwear. Its material-recovery model and downstream reuse markets are directly comparable to Liberty's textile-processing operations.
• Helpsy: Helpsy collects unwanted clothing and textiles and supports reuse and recycling through an established collection network. It is directly comparable to Liberty's clothing-bank intake, sorting and textile-diversion activities.

Emerging players

• Thriftify: Thriftify provides online resale technology and marketplace services for charity shops and social enterprises. It overlaps with Liberty's donated-goods retail model, although it does not operate textile processing or rehabilitation programs.
• Circ: Circ develops recycling technology that converts discarded textiles into reusable raw materials. It is an emerging partial peer to Liberty's textile reprocessing activities, with a materially different technology-centric business model.
• Worn Again Technologies: Worn Again Technologies develops chemical processes for recycling textile waste into new fibers and materials. It shares Liberty's end-of-life textile and circular-resource focus, but operates as a recycling-technology developer rather than a social enterprise.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/libertysrecycling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

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 Liberty Recycling