10 checks before you choose a used clothing exporter or supplier
Most problems in the used clothing trade come from the party you could not see. Use this list on any exporter, supplier or buyer, including us.
The ten checks
- Verify the company. Ask for a registry extract dated within 30 days, such as Companies House, a charity register or a state registry, and check that the name matches the contract.
- Check the licences. Ask for the waste or recycling licence and confirmation that the goods are reuse-grade textiles under the origin country's export rules.
- Identify the owners. Directors, trustees and owners of 25% or more should be named and screened against sanctions lists.
- Get the grade in writing. Grade words are not standardised, so ask for a written definition, tolerances and any category or season weighting.
- Fix the price before loading. Agree the price per kilo and the Incoterm before the container is loaded, not after it lands.
- Demand loading evidence. Photographs, video, at least one bale opened on camera and a weighbridge ticket, taken at loading.
- Match the names. The buyer on the contract, the consignee on the bill of lading, the importer on the goods declaration and the payer should be the same company.
- Pay the company, not a person. Payment should go only to an account in the verified company's own name, confirmed by a bank letter.
- Know the claims process. Ask how long you have to claim, what evidence is judged and who judges it.
- Ask for the end-destination report. Suppliers, especially charities, should be able to show where the stock went.
How Ragtrail applies the list
Ragtrail runs these checks on both sides of every trade. Six KYB checks cover every supplier and every sorting house, the price is fixed before loading, loading evidence comes before the balance is paid, the names are matched across the contract, bill of lading, goods declaration and payment, and an end-destination report is sent after each container. The full standard is on the KYB page.
Red flags
- A seller who will not show registry details or let you see the stock.
- A price far below the market for the grade described.
- A request to pay a third party or a personal account.
- A buyer who changes the importer or consignee after loading.
- No written grade, or a grade that changes between quote and container.