Credential clothing is unsorted, untouched donations of soft goods including clothing, shoes, handbags and toys. The clothing often comes from thrift stores such as the Salvation Army that are unable to sell the merchandise. Credential clothing companies collect these unsorted goods and then sort, pack and sell them around the world. Credential clothing is sold by the pound. Regular credential clothing may be sold for something like 37 cents per pound. Premium credential clothing may go for 55 cents per pound. Sometimes credential clothing is classified as “Tropical Mix”. This means that the soft goods are tailored for tropical climates; only lightweight clothing and shoes are included in the tropical mix packages. Credential clothing can also be classified as “Mixed Rags”. Mixed rags are clothing and shoes that were not sold in thrift stores. These soft goods are re-packaged and shipped elsewhere.
Buffalo Export – a company based in Seattle, Washington - is one of many credential clothing companies. Its clothes have been collected from thrift stores, charities and recycling centers across the US and Canada. Buffalo Export then sells these clothes abroad. The company sells approximately 50 million pounds of clothes a year!
Shoes donated to Buffalo Export must meet the following requirements:
The shoes that meet Buffalo Export’s requirements are either packed in totes (Gaylord Boxes) or in woven poly-fiber bags. Each box of shoes weighs approximately 650 pounds. These enormous totes are then packed together in containers, which weigh roughly 32,000 pounds. Or they are loaded onto trailers. A trailer-load of shoes weighs roughly 42,000 pounds.
Each poly-fiber bag of shoes weighs approximately 55 pounds. The bags are sewn closed and are extremely durable. The bags are packed into containers, and each container weighs roughly 42,000 pounds. Bagged shoes are slightly more expensive than shoes shipped in totes because of the extra labor costs.
Each year billions of pounds of shoes, clothing and other soft goods are dumped into landfills in the USA. The goal of credential clothing companies like Buffalo Export is to collect these goods and find ways to recycle them instead of disposing them. The added benefit is that people who are in need of shoes and other soft goods can tap into a cheap, global market.
