Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Jimerson.
Brian, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
For over 20 years Brad Reilly and I have been working in the little-known universe of used clothing. Most people that I know are blown away when I answer the inevitable question, “what kind of work do you do?” Typical responses range from, “I had no idea that even existed” to “no, seriously, what do you do?” Truth is, it is a fairly large industry that works to prevent used clothing and shoes from entering the waste stream. According to estimates, the average American will throw away roughly 70 lbs. of clothing and shoes annually. We are talking billions of pounds of clothing, shoes and other textiles being purged from American households annually. Generally speaking, the most common methods to discard the clothing are to donate the goods to a charitable organization or simply allow it to be taken to a landfill. This is where our industry as a whole and our company bring value to the local community as well as communities in foreign lands.
Green Valley Recycling is a small Houston based company with big dreams. We are tucked in between Market Street and I-10 just outside the North Loop. Each day our team strives to provide a service that benefits the people of Houston. We are fortunate that the recycling needs in our industry far exceed what we have been able to collect up until this point, but we are making progress.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
If we look back over the years, it has definitely been a bumpy road for us. Our initial model to collect clothing was 100% based on placing clothing donation bins around the city. We had 150 boxes and a truck that would drive a daily route. It was a complete guessing game because as we would pull up to the box, there was no way of knowing exactly what you might find in or around the box. Often times the box was either on its side as a result of kids having fun or the box was missing all together. We joke that it only took us 10 long years of dealing with this before we wised up and decided to try something new, something not done in our industry.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Green Valley Recycling – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Today, Green Valley Recycling serves Houston with a new method of collecting the clothing from the public. We created a simple program that sets us apart from the rest of our industry. One that we proudly named Bag It Weigh It Sell it!
The program has experienced tremendous growth over the years. We discovered that we are able to recycle and repurpose more product now using our new model than we were using the old-fashioned model. That is a big win for the environment. Aside from keeping these items out of the landfill, Green Valley Recycling stands alone in our industry by paying Houstonians by the pound for their clothing. You read it correctly, we pay for the clothing. Rather than donating the clothing to a box sitting on a street corner, Houstonians have come to realize that they can Cash In on our Passion for used Fashion! That is a big win for our clients.
We are reminded daily of how fortunate we are to have such a diverse and growing number of clients bringing their cars loaded down or trucks full of clothing to us. It is still surreal to come back from lunch and pull in behind a truck with the bed loaded up with bags of clothing driving down Mercury Road. Sometimes it is individuals cleaning out a closet or a local sports club or school group or Boy Scout troop looking to hold an easy fundraiser. We are flexible and eager to assist in any way we can.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on building relationships with Houstonians, innovating, scaling our concept and doing our best to remain relevant.
Pricing:
- Clothing: $.18lbs
- Shoes: $.10lbs
Contact Info:
- Address: 9850 East Freeway
Houston, TX 77029 - Website: www.texasusedclothing.com
- Phone: 713-516-2212
- Email: info@texasusedclothing.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/webuyusedclothing
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
