Unwanted Clothes Collection for Charity 👗👟👜

BlueBelle. I am shocked by this and was totally ignorant of the huge wastage, and also the problems that this surfeit of clothing is causing in countries where it is shipped.

I am wary of using private companies to dispose of my unwanted stuff, and would prefer to give direct to charities, because it’s difficult to know if profits are fairly distributed, and indeed where the clothing ends up. However I didn’t realise this was such a huge problem for charities.

This is a side effect of over the over consuming throwaway society that we have become I guess.

We donate to YMCA but sometimes they are overwhelmed with donations so this is a good link to keep.

We all have too many clothes.

I have quite a full wardrobe, but most of my stuff is years old, perfectly wearable, and I rarely go anywhere important.

If we all made do with what we’ve got, and wore our clothes ‘out’ more, maybe there wouldn’t be such a problem.

And if we borrowed books from the library, instead of purchasing the latest best seller….

Yes we do have a rag bag and send quite a lot off . I’m not sure how much in kilos per week . I too was surprised how much donated stuff gets ragged . I was also surprised about the amount of dirty clothes the public donate! How hard is it to wash before you donate ? .

Tenko some of the stuff donated I often wonder where the donors heads are
No we don’t want puked on baby bibs, dresses or tops etc or sheets with urine stains, worn knickers or bras, we don’t need stuff with holes in or totally unwashed . Kids stuff with felt tip scribbled on or just a whole bagful of unusable toys with bits broken or missing, soft toys with chewed hands tail etc.books that have been torn or written or coloured in

Of course we also get bags of beautiful stuff but we do get far more than we can keep or sell often more than 100 donations some days I do all I can to find alternative homes for some things that we can’t sell
….
A few years ago when the Syrian refugee problem was at its height I became a coordinator from my own home to collect lorry loads of clothes and other useful items for these displaced people. I gave out leaflets about what I could and couldn’t accept but still I got some most unsuitable items for these poor folk, many walking across Europe, to try and get to safety . ‘The best’ being women’s very high heeled (sexy) shoes, thongs, swimming costumes and the very best a scarlet basque.

BlueBelle
I could tell some very embarrassing stories about the donations from our own volunteers.
My manager is so kind and lovely that she won’t offend anyone with donations. That won’t happen for the next 6 weeks, I’m in charge 😉

Oh dear! I don’t know what to do now. I have been in contact with the charity recommended by Fanny and although I live in a rural area they do collect from my area weekly but having read some of the comments on here I am hesitant to proceed. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I decided not to enquire after reading that they give the charities £x per ton of clothes collected - I know that charity shops get money for clothes they can’t sell but would like to think that what I have to donate, all good quality, some good labels, clean and wearable, doesn’t fall into that category. So where do the clothes they collect end up? That worries me. A charity would get a very tiny sum based on weight for my nice things if I used this company. Such a shame.

BlueBelle

Where do the clothes etc go ?

Don’t know about this scheme but I read this in the Times this weekend .
It’s actually quite a long article but the gist of it is that we are buying too much and passing the burden of disposing of our unwanted stuff over to third world countries.

Yes PamelaJ1 that’s the crux of it. We consume, and waste too much. Clothing manufacture & distribution (and waste presumably) is responsible for 10% of the world’s global emissions.

Isn't it better to sell on your good clothes? Ebay and Vinted are simple to use. You can sell at low prices just to get rid of stuff - and encourage others to explore second-hand bargains. It's surprising how it all adds up. I like the idea of somebody else making use of them, even by selling on.

Our charity shop is closed at present, yet still people dump all kinds of utter rubbish outside. Things I'd have to put straight in the bin or rip up for cleaning rags, like ancient t-shirts are left there.

I’ve used eBay for years both buying and selling , but I’ve just discovered Vinted . It’s so much easier to upload photos and the items details than eBay and no fees.

For those who aren’t aware of what happens to all that throw away clothing.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/horrific-cost-fast-fashion-obsession-30570544

I am having a good sort out of clothes that are in good condition and DH found a Salvation Army 'bin' which accepts such items so hopefully he'll take them there.

Athrawes
All the clothes in the Salvation Army bins go to rag recycling.
Not to their shops.

That’s good to know MerylStreep. I have lots of ex-charity shop clothes that are only fit for rags and have been wondering how to get rid of them.

MerylStreep

For those who aren’t aware of what happens to all that throw away clothing.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/horrific-cost-fast-fashion-obsession-30570544

That is shocking MerylStreep. It’s worth remembering the horrific photographs on here before being tempted to buy things we don’t need especially “bargain” clothing.
There is a huge environmental and indeed climate impact in the manufacture and disposal of this stuff.
A true indictment of our throwaway society.