About Us

First Fruit Warehousing was set up in November 2002 as part of the work of the East London based charity First Fruit. The focus is to develop training opportunities, employment experience, life-skills support and back-to-work initiatives for people with a history of unemployment and / or homelessness.

First Fruit Warehousing was set up in partnership with Green-Works to store, recycle and re-sell office furniture. The furniture comes from a range of Corporate Donors who no longer need their office furniture. The vision for Green-Works was to divert as much office furniture as possible from landfill sites. This is proving hugely successful as mountains of furniture have been rescued and re-sold!

Most of the furniture we take in is suitable for reuse, but some is inappropriate for use and is recycled. None of the furniture that we take in from Corporate donors goes into landfill. Scrap has also been used in the community for shelves and as artwork!

We store a large amount of furniture which is available for sale to members of the community, at a quarter of its original price. We stock a wide range of furniture, examples of which are displayed on this website, which is often of a very high quality. This is available for purchase by charities, schools, churches, businesses and members of the public. For great deals on used office furniture visit our warehouse anytime 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.

As a Christian charity, First Fruit’s aims are to provide real employment and experience for people in our society who have been disadvantaged. First Fruit Warehousing provides the context for this to happen, with the aim of equipping people to move on into full time permanent employment elsewhere. During their time with us, team members will gain a forklift truck license and training in warehousing, recycling, health and safety and first aid. We also provide support to help them move on in other areas of their lives, for example setting up bank accounts, securing permanent accommodation and dealing with health issues.

Facts and Figures

  • The warehouse is 32,000 square feet.
  • We employ around ten staff to recycle and re-sell our furniture.
  • We process around 400 tons of furniture each month.
  • 100% of the furniture we receive is either re-sold or recycled – none of it goes to landfill.