Condition of clothes for charity shop or clothes bank

[tinstar]

We've been having a major clear out and have bags of old clothes from the loft and the wardrobes.

I'm trying to decide what to give to the charity shop/put in the clothes bank or chuck in the skip.

Some of the stuff from the loft smells old but is in good condition. But I haven't got the time or energy to wash it all before giving it to the charity shop. Does it matter? Obviously I'm not talking about anything stained - just that slightly musty smell and crumpled look.

Also wondering whether charity shops only want clothes in tip top condition or if a bit worn is ok too. I don't want to dump useless stuff on them, but don't want to bin stuff someone might use.

Any advice?

I think charity shops want clean clothes to sell (slightly worn is okay, as long as there is still some life left).

And I think they sell unsaleable clothes by the kg to be recycled etc. Some people label these bags to indicate this. Does everyone though? I'm not sure.

I put textiles for recycling in the clothing bank at the tip because that where they tell you to put it.

The key criteria is ‘would you pick this up and buy it in a charity shop’ in terms of cleanliness, smell & remaining life of the garment.

If the answer is no please don’t send it to the Charity shop.

Many years ago I was the FD of a large charity. It cost us a lot of money to dispose of unsaleable items. They can go for recycling but the price paid is minimal and the cost of processing higher than can be recovered in that way.

Anything you wouldn't buy should just go to the Clothing Bank at the tip.

I take all our old fabrics (clean) to the local Hospice shop, I bag the worn out stuff and write on it 'rags' so that they know it is for selling to the ragman. Wearable stuff I just put in with all the other items.

I stopped using clothing banks because:
a) Unless you find one for a specific charity that you want to support it will go to the Council.
b) People climb in and raid them for anything decent.
c) They are rarely emptied and stuff gets dumped on the ground in front of them.

Much better to check with the charity shop that they want stuff for the ragman and donate it to them, then they can sell it directly. I always support the hospice shops or animal rescue shops (the independents ones) before anything else because the bigger charities get funding.

I separate mine into sellable and 'rags' and label as such.

They tend to go en masse to one of the door to door collections. I wait until a bag comes through for a specific charity that takes most things (clothes, shoes, rags, books and bric-a-brac) and then they get the whole lot.

Clean but worn out textiles get shredded to be made into 'shoddy'; UK produces a lot.

They tend to go en masse to one of the door to door collections

You should read the small print on the bag to be sure that it's actually for a charity and how much the charity actually will get. Not all bag collections are for charity.

I work for barnardos. We happily take all textiles as we get paid by weight for recycling. Same with shabby books 🙂 I’m sure other charities are in a similar position. Might be worth you phoning before you plan to drop it off tho to confirm 🙂