Greybull Buys Mid-West Textile, Targets Thrift Town Expansion

Greybull Stewardship has acquired Mid-West Textile, an El Paso-based collector, sorter and grader of used clothing, and plans to expand the company's Thrift Town retail stores. The private investment firm announced the purchase on Oct. 15. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Mid-West Textile, founded in 1982, sits in the collection-and-grading tier of the secondhand supply chain. It sorts and grades used textiles by condition, material, size, brand and style, then routes the output to thrift retailers, vintage boutiques, fiber reclamation operators and industrial wiping cloth suppliers. It also runs its own retail business. The company did not disclose its annual processing volume.

Greybull said it will supply capital and operational support for growth. Mason Myers, Greybull's founder and CEO, framed the deal around extending textile life cycles. "Mid-West Textile has built a leading business around extending the life of used textiles and clothing, and we are excited to support the company in its next phase of growth, including expanding its Thrift Town retail stores in the years ahead," Myers said in a statement.

Where does Thrift Town operate today?

Mid-West's website lists Thrift Town stores in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Richardson, Texas, plus Albuquerque, N.M. The outlets sell pre-owned apparel, home goods and furnishings. The announcement gave no store count, opening timeline or target markets for the planned expansion.

The retail footprint currently spans two states and five cities. Any expansion would add downstream resale capacity on top of Mid-West's wholesale grading operations.

How does the deal fit Greybull's textile portfolio?

The acquisition marks Greybull's third disclosed move in used textiles. In 2023 the firm acquired Reclaimed Cleaning Textiles, whose businesses include World Wear Project. That company, operating as RTCM Holdings, bought Dallas-based United-Southern Waste Material in January 2025.

USW repurposes used clothing for international markets and supplies wiping rags to domestic buyers. At the time of that deal, RTCM said it would expand capacity and support a goal of diverting 100 million pounds of textiles from landfills annually.

Greybull did not outline any plan to combine Mid-West with RTCM. The two companies nonetheless cover complementary outlets for graded secondhand material: retail resale on one side, export and wiping-rag markets on the other.

What does this mean for textile sourcing?

Myers positioned the purchase against rising demand for used-material infrastructure. "As consumers, businesses and communities increasingly look for ways to reduce waste and extend the life of existing materials, we see a significant opportunity to continue to partner with established businesses that provide the infrastructure and expertise needed to collect, process, and give textiles a second life," he said.

The waste-diversion figure attached to the RTCM deal remains the only quantified sustainability target in the portfolio. No equivalent metric accompanied the Mid-West announcement, and no third-party standard or regulatory program was cited. Buyers weighing claims tied to these businesses will need to trace them to disclosed data.

For suppliers of used textiles, the deal consolidates another grading and collection platform under a single financial backer with a stated appetite for further acquisitions. For thrift and vintage retailers sourcing graded product, the question is whether expanded Thrift Town retail will compete for sorted inventory or absorb additional volume. The answer will depend on store counts and processing figures Greybull has yet to disclose.