Unwanted clothes

This is the general problem.

People think no more about what happens to all those bags once it's out of their hands.

It's an environmental disaster. The transport to China to sort, then shipping to elsewhere in the world to move it all along, this is before a vast amount gets dumped.

I suppose because I see it happening all around me, it just makes me hyper aware of the issue.

I do not know the charity linked. So I am not implying they don't do what they say they do. I know there are good organisations that help the needy all over.

But there is just too much waste with nowhere to go.

Having wrestled with this same issue, I decided to donate to the Salvation Army clothing bins. I believe quality stuff is redistributed to families in need or sold in their shops.

It was the best option I could find.

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/clothing-bank

I donate them to the local hospice hub.

Gosh that's a long post. I kind of feel bad that I don't care what happens to them, I just want rid! 🤣🤣

Anyway, you can check out the charities bit on their page if you get the urge.

https://anglodoorstepcollections.co.uk/

I know what you mean. I was selling a few bits in Vinted recently and the sheer volume of barely worn clothes is utterly horrific. Clothing should be much, much more expensive in my view, to stop people buying it like sweets! I read somewhere that there’s enough clothing already on the planet to cloth the next 6 generations, without manufacturing anything!

I think the rule is that you shouldn’t buy more than 5 new items a year if you want to be sustainable (including shoes and handbags).

Zero Waste groups on Facebook are good - an alterative to freecycle. I both give away and get stuff from that site.

I try really hard to buy less.

There's one (in fact more than one) of those near me too, and they also take toys and books, but they either only take baby stuff (we're past that stage), don't want the sizes/toys I've got because they already have too many, or have a drop off window of something like 10-12 on a Thursday when I'm working (I get that they have limited volunteers but even one weekend drop off a month would help). I eventually gave in and gave most stuff to Anglo doorstep collections, who were quite happy to collect while I was wfh. I must admit I'm not entirely convinced that the stuff sold abroad goes where it's needed, but it as that or the tip.
My current issue is they don't take school uniform, which you'd think would be easy to donate, but the school second hand uniform shop only want branded stuff (apparently no one buys the other stuff secondhand as it's so cheap new) and even the council uniform bank in inundated.

For good quality childrens clothes I'd suggest asking at your local one o clock club or childrens centre in the first instance as they may take in/know who does. There are baby banks all over the place that also take and some food banks run free "boutiques" - my local one does where people can come in for clothes, bedding, kitchen stuff etc which is stocked by donations.

Thinking about cash for clothes, because at least you get something back.
You get peanuts. Drop it off at a charity shop instead. Ask first.

If they aren't taking it, bundle it and offer it on freegle or freecycle.

Thinking about your toddler coat example OP, do you not have a local baby bank you could donate that sort of thing to? I've got one near me that does amazing work with families in need (lots of women fleeing domestic violence,) and they are always in desperate need of good quality baby and kids clothes, toys, and other kids items. It will also stay very local, and won't be being shipped halfway round the world as per your concern about clothing banks.

Have similar problem - family member passed away leaving bags and bags of ties, some unworn.

I think some charity shops are reluctant to take ties as they’re hard to shift.

I wonder if there’s any organisation that recycles things like these, turning them into clothing, bedding soft toys etc?

Had a quick search online but couldn’t find anything.

Surely with kids it's easy? Do people in the UK not do hand-me-downs any more? Where I am, everyone passes kids clothes on to a friend with smaller kids when it's outgrown. When it's too trashed to pass on, it gets used as rags or goes to fabric recycling.

My area has a similar charity and after volunteering with them I am truly agog at the textile waste in this country. They get bag fulls of baby clothes in size 3-6 months, at least a quarter of it given as gifts and never worn! Things that have been worn are also donated with stains that haven’t been properly dealt with or even holes etc. They get so much donated it’s not worth stain removing or repairing so it gets “rag recycled” I would guess that’s probably around of a quarter of the donations.

Having seen this, when I had my first baby I bought her new vests and asked for no new clothes (obviously still got some!) and sent round links for the little loop, which resells good quality clothing (jojo, kite, frugi etc.). These clothes last well and even third for fourth hand, they are going strong!

Our local area also has an excellent second hand sale where the bougie mums sell the nice stuff. We got 8 items from the little white company for £5!

I take my clothes to my local charity shop. I like the charity and they are always taking donations and seem grateful. I also get an annual letter telling me how much my donations have raised which I love!

Do you know what happens after you get your text though?

This is a very likely scenario:

All of those bags of donated goods are sent to a warehouse, where they are unpacked and sorted into clothing types.

One section will be t-shirts. All the white t-shirts will be separated from the colour t-shirts and baled up. If the intention is for rags, white t-shirt material for rags are charged at the higher rate than colour tee-shirts.

The jackets will go to one section. Each jacket type will be sorted according to the jacket type. Puffer jackets will go together. Trench coats will go together. Kids sizes together. And so on.

Then on to the next category of long dress, short dress, light colour trousers, dark colour trousers, gym wear, jeans, shoes well that is just a whole other paragraph.

Then these are sanitized and compressed and wrapped up. A lot of the time they are wrapped up in things like sheeting and multiple of duvet covers and blankets that are there too.

Then they go up for sale and get shipped out to the buyer, who has now ordered 600kg bale of white tees, 50kg of short jackets and 200kg of jeans. A 50kg jacket bale is around 40 - 50 jackets.

Then they arrive to an African port and get shipped off to whoever ordered the bales. Some are for donations, some are for rag businesses, and some are for just for resale. For those going for resale, it just takes a walk to downtown central and there on the street and piles and piles of clothes. Heaped piles With a cardboard sign above saying the price per each item. Jeans 50p, dresses 20p etc.

I think if more people could see the reality, then maybe they would think twice before thinking about adding 20 items to their cart for the upcoming holiday.

I always take stuff to the Salvation Army clothing banks as they either reuse, sell or recycle stuff.

Well it's actually Anglo Doorstep Collections.

They support a number of different charities and you can choose which one when booking.

I am commenting from one of the countries that receives all the excess.

A lot of the clothes that have been donated and do not sell, are then sent to African countries. But much is sold, not donated. I suppose someone has to pick up the shipping and duties somewhere along the line, but the sheer amount of stuff that is available is really quite an eye opener.

If I wanted to, right now I could buy a Coach handbag, Lululemon gym set, and a Moncler coat for less than a weeks worth of groceries.

I also think that those companies that you mentioned, offer you a small amount in cash, as they are selling to a bulk buyer for resale. I cannot tell you with certainty what % of the goods coming in, are truly going to charitable causes. Rags are also quite big business, so bales and bales are coming in, to be chopped up. And then after being soaked with oil or whatever, where to they go? Into landfill I suspect.

And then where do all of these clothes end up. Also into landfill. Or as pp said, the fast fashion graveyard beach in Ghana as an example.

But if you think that you are being charitable donating big bags of items to local charity shops and think that every item is going to used by someone in need, then you are very mistaken. Yes, of course SOME funds will go to the linked charity, and SOME items might go to the poorest of poor, but there is no way one charity can move the amount of items that are coming in. From what I see, a first world country charity shop is a place where you drop off items, and then walk away without a thought to where the items go next.

The answer is to just stop buying so much. The amount of items I have seen that are brand new with tags still attached is shocking.

Let's not even go down the route of how this has affected the textile industries here. We have 45% tariffs now on imported clothing coming in, just trying to reduce the amount Shein etc. stuff coming in as well, and try to save this industry that is dying a fast death.

https://www.ilovefreegle.org/ Works quite well for children’s clothing bundles being given away. Not so good for adult clothing

Do you have a local 'acts of kindness' group on social media?

Our local freecycle group comes under the heading of our local area, so maybe Google your area instead just Freecycle alone.

Which charity is that?

Oxfam ! They send out out parcels for you to post unwanted clothes back to them

UK site is called Freegle

When I lived abroad there was a clothes swap thing - it was fun. You bring a bag of clothes and dump it there and take a bag of clothes you want. Like a market set up with drinks and stuff.

I just give them to a charity that collects from my doorstep.

They're brilliant, they even send you a text when they've done it.