Off-white linen carried by recruits (4)

I believe the answer is:

ecru

'off-white linen' is the definition.
(colour of unbleached linen)

'carried by recruits' is the wordplay.
'carried by' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'ECRU' can be found hidden inside 'recruits'.

(Other definitions for ecru that I've seen before include "Raw linen colour" , "Pale, creamy brown" , "off-white" , "not whiter than white" , "light beige" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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