In 1991 The Salvation Army decided to modernise and improve its recycling methods in an effort to create jobs in a time of recession and raise more funds to help carry out it's "good works.
The most effective way to achieve these objectives was to set up a professional business that would compete on equal terms in the commercial world. Salvation Army Trading Co Ltd (SATCoL) has introduced modern business management techniques and concepts to this "old" business. Operating partnerships were established with British business and local councils that are still in force today and continue to grow both numerically and in an advisory capacity. Due to the complexity of the market place, in which The Salvation Army had no expertise, a long-term contract was negotiated with a bespoke textile recycling company, Kettering Textiles Limited, to collect, sort and distribute clothing donated to The Salvation Army Clothing Collection Scheme. The outcome has been that by sheer quality of service the SATCoL/KT "partnership" is the largest collector of clothing in the United Kingdom today and the operator of choice when textile recycling is needed.