Reeling in the textiles at Row Clothing Enterprises

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · Waste Age

OSTI ID:566298

Ridgley, H

While a handful of textile processing centers in operation today can date their roots back to the turn of this century or before, Row Clothing Enterprises (Baltimore) first opened its doors in 1985. Soon after, it climbed its way to becoming one of the premier textile processing businesses in the country. And what they want most of all is usable clothing--the discards of American secondhand clothing stores. The company exports 100% of the usable clothing it recovers paying institutions as much as $150 a ton for the material. Graders also sort the material into piles headed for the mutilating, or fiber-shredding, machine. While not all the material is shredded, it does provide more opportunities for resale. Whatever Row cannot resell as clothing--because it is soiled or torn--gets processed into industrial wiping cloths, if it is cotton. Clothing made from wool and polyester is sent to woolen and polyester fiber mills to be made into new clothing. While 80% of Row`s wiper market is domestic, 80% of its fiber market is overseas.

• OSTI ID: 566298
• Journal Information: Waste Age, Journal Name: Waste Age Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 28; ISSN WAGEAE; ISSN 0043-1001
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
MARKET
MUNICIPAL WASTES
RECYCLING
TEXTILES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION