TRA president Elliot Cohen told representatives of textiles collectors and reprocessors in the UK: “Let's not be pessimistic this year. Let's look on the bright side. This industry seems to be settling into a new pattern.
“The high profits from the late 80s and early 90s are a thing of the past, but more moderate profits are still sustainable.”
The 12 months up to February 2002 had seen increased legislation, insurance and labour costs for textiles recyclers, Mr Cohen said, as well as the ongoing problem of bogus charities running doorstep collections. The damage these factors did to profits had been compounded by low prices for woollens, synthetics, wipers and flocking material.
But the price of mixed rags, though still high, was falling slowly and this would continue into the spring cleaning season of 2003, Mr Cohen predicted.
Philip Race of HB Textiles said that although British charity rags were “the best in the world,” charities must recognise that rag prices needed to come down if they intended to dispose of their surplus in the competitive overseas markets.
Wipers
Reporting on the trade in wiping cloths, Lawrence Barry of Lawrence M Barry & Co Ltd said that that in 2002, as in 2001, sales of large quantities of wipers within the trade had been slow.
“Prices for lower grades of wipers are still at an all time low and some of the more traditional grades are in short supply, the main two being coloured hosiery and corduroy,” he said, warning: “Sorting companies are still finding it more cost effective to dump lower grades rather than have the expense of sorting them indefinitely.”
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