Reference guide
Used Clothing Grades and Sorting: Cream, Grade A, Grade B
This is the reference to every grade line that leaves the RB Advertising sorting floor in Tagum City. It explains what cream, Grade A, Grade B, mixed tropical, summer mix, and credential clothing actually contain, how each bale is sorted and pressed, and how a buyer in Latin America picks a grade for their own market. If you buy grade A sorted used clothes bales wholesale, or you run a mixed line, the answer to your question is on this page.
- Cream Top sorted line
- Grade A Clean wearable
- Grade B Visible faults
- Mixed tropical Light garment weighted
- Summer mix Seasonal lightweight
- Credential Higher value labels
Reference board: grade A sorted used clothes bales wholesale, line by line
Six grade lines leave the sorting floor. Each card sets out what the line is built from and who it suits, so you can read the composition before you commit to a load. Every bale is pressed and packed at 45 kg or 100 lb, and every load ships to Central America, South America, and the Caribbean in 20ft or 40ft containers on CIF or FOB terms quoted per booking.
Cream grade
Our cleanest line. Buyers searching for a cream grade second hand clothing exporter usually start here, because cream is built from the stock that sorts cleanest at the table.
- Wearable share
- Highest of all our sorted lines
- Fault level
- Minor pieces removed at the table
- Suits
- Buyers who resell at retail and market stalls
- Packing
- 45 kg or 100 lb pressed bales
Grade A
Clean, wearable second hand clothing with minor faults only. This is the working line for wholesalers who resell direct to stalls and market vendors.
- Wearable share
- Clean and wearable throughout
- Fault level
- Minor faults only
- Suits
- Wholesalers selling direct to retailers
- Packing
- 45 kg or 100 lb pressed bales
Grade B
Wearable stock with visible faults such as fading, small repairs, or missing fastenings. Built for volume trade where the bale is resold by weight.
- Wearable share
- Wearable with visible faults
- Fault level
- Fading, small repairs, missing fastenings
- Suits
- Volume traders selling by weight
- Packing
- 45 kg or 100 lb pressed bales
Mixed tropical
Weighted toward light garments so the line suits hot and humid markets. Most sorted tropical mixed clothing bales wholesale orders we load for Central America and the Caribbean are built on this line.
- Composition
- Weighted to light garments
- Garments
- T-shirts, shorts, thin wovens, summer dresses
- Suits
- Buyers in hot and humid markets
- Packing
- 45 kg or 100 lb pressed bales
Summer mix
A seasonal mix of lightweight tops, dresses, and beachwear. Our summer mixed second hand clothes bales export is concentrated in the months when warm weather retail peaks, so the pack is timed to the season you are selling into.
- Composition
- Seasonal lightweight pieces
- Garments
- Tops, dresses, beachwear
- Suits
- Buyers whose selling season runs through warm months
- Packing
- 45 kg or 100 lb pressed bales
Credential clothing
Drawn from higher value labelled stock. Buyers who want a professional sorted credential used clothing supplier for a tighter line, and an original unsorted credential clothing supplier for the full mix, can take either from the same lane.
- Composition
- Drawn from higher value labelled stock
- Lines
- Sorted credential and original unsorted
- Suits
- Buyers who trade on label value
- Packing
- 45 kg or 100 lb pressed bales
How a Bale Is Sorted, Graded, and Pressed
Four passes take loose stock to a finished bale. Nothing is guessed: every piece is read by hand, assigned to a grade line, pressed, then weighed and labelled so the count on your documents matches the load you receive. How those bales are then packed into a load is covered in container supply mechanics.
Manual sort at the table
Sorters open every garment by hand. Category, condition, and season are read at that point, and anything that cannot be worn is taken out before it ever reaches a bale.
Grade assignment
The piece is assigned to a line: cream, Grade A, Grade B, or one of the mix lines. Grade discipline at this step is what holds the character of the line you ordered.
Press
The graded pieces for a bale are gathered and pressed together, which gives the finished bale its shape and firmness for loading and handling.
Weigh and label by bale
The pressed bale is weighed at 45 kg or 100 lb and labelled. The label is what ties the bale count and the net weight to your booking documents.
What Drives Discard Rate at the Buyer Table
Discard rate is the share of a bale that your own table cannot sell. It moves with four things, and none of them is a fixed figure. We explain what each one does rather than attach a number that would only fit one booking.
| Driver | What it does to the bale | What to watch at your table |
|---|---|---|
| Grade discipline | How tightly a line is held during grading. A line that is held tightly at assignment has fewer pieces that fall away later. | Ask how the grade is held at assignment, not only what the grade is called. |
| Season fit | How closely the mix matches the season your market is selling into. Stock cut for a cold season sheds more pieces in a warm market. | Match the pack to the season you are selling, not the season it was sourced in. |
| Climate fit | How well the garments suit local heat and humidity. Heavy outerwear moves slowly in a hot humid market, whatever grade it carries. | For tropical buyers, ask for the tropical or summer line rather than a temperate mix. |
| Garment category balance | The proportion of tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear, and footwear inside a bale. One category can pile up while another sells out. | Tell the desk which categories move fastest for you so the mix is built toward them. |
Every proportion above is set at quotation and confirmed per order. Pieces that do not reach a wearable grade leave the bale you buy and are handled on a separate recovery path, covered in our textile waste management note.
How to Choose a Grade for Your Market
The right grade is the one that sells fastest at your own table, and that depends on how you trade. Read your market first, then match the line to it. Freight and terms sit on top of that decision, and both are explained in CIF ports for Latin America and in full container load shipping.
Match the line to how you sell
A retail stall reseller and a volume kilo trader want different things from the same container. The stall reseller needs pieces that hang on a rail, so the wearable share of the line matters more than the price per bale. The kilo trader needs weight that turns over quickly, so a visible fault is a smaller problem than a slow moving category.
Run both sides of the trade and you will often settle on a mixed load. Many buyers run grade A and B mixed second hand clothes bales side by side, taking a tighter line for the retail rail and a volume line for the kilo table.
If you are moving to a new grade for the first time, ask for a trial bale before the container. We plan the trial to the same specification as the load, so what you test is what you receive.
- If you resell at retail and market stalls Start with cream or Grade A, where the wearable share of the bale is highest and the rail turns quickly.
- If you trade by weight and price per bale leads Take Grade B, which is built for volume, or run it beside a tighter line in one load.
- If your selling season is the warm months Take summer mix, built from lightweight tops, dresses, and beachwear for a seasonal market.
- If you are buying for a hot and humid market Take mixed tropical, weighted to light garments so the pack suits the climate you sell into.
- If your buyers trade on labels Take credential clothing, sorted for a tighter line or original unsorted for the full mix.
- Guatemala import guide Puerto Quetzal and Santo Tomás de Castilla lane context.
- Honduras import guide Puerto Cortés lane context for Central America buyers.
- Chile import guide Iquique ZOFRI context for the South America trade.
- Peru import guide South America lane context for the clothing trade.
Grade and Sorting Questions
The grade questions our export desk answers most often from trading companies and importers across Latin America.
What does cream grade mean in used clothing bales?
Cream is our top sorted line. It carries the highest proportion of clean wearable garments because it is built from the stock that sorts cleanest at the table, so the buyer sees the lowest level of unusable pieces when a bale is opened.
What does credential clothing mean?
Credential clothing is the line drawn from higher value labelled stock. We supply it as a sorted line and as original unsorted, so a buyer can take the mix as it arrives or take it after our sorters have removed the weaker pieces.
What is the difference between Grade A and Grade B?
Grade A is clean wearable stock with minor faults only. Grade B is also wearable, but it carries visible faults such as fading, small repairs, or missing fastenings. The grade you pick depends on how your own table sells.
Is original unsorted stock available?
Yes. Original unsorted credential clothing is available alongside our sorted credential line. Availability by grade and packing is confirmed per order.
Can grades be mixed in one container?
Yes. A mixed load is quoted per booking. Tell our desk which grades you want and in what proportion, and we confirm that the mix works inside one container before you commit.
Do you supply tropical mix and summer mix to Latin America?
Yes. Both lines ship to Central America, South America, and the Caribbean in 20ft and 40ft containers on CIF or FOB terms, and both are built for the hot and humid markets those regions trade in.
Request Grade Specifications and a Container Quotation
Send the grade or grade mix you are considering, the bale packing you want, the container size, and the destination port. Our export desk replies with the specification for that grade and a written quotation on CIF or FOB terms, confirmed per booking.