Clothes recycling banks - always shred?

[Roomytrouser]

i have some winter coats to give away, some in very good condition, one with loads of life left but a few little rips and worn patches.

I’ve taken loads of stuff to charity shops over the past year or so as have been clearing out my late DM’s house. Often I’ve been told the shop has too much stock at the moment so not taking in any more donations or they don’t have enough staff on that shift so can’t accept the donations just now.

Very close to me is a clothes recycling bank. Does anyone know if the clothes put in these are always shredded or do they sort through for clothes which have potential to be reused as they are? With winter coming and cost of living the way it is, I’d like the costs to benefit someone if they can but I’ve had piles of things in the house for months now and can’t face another abortive trip to a charity shop.

Not sure about the clothes banks, but maybe you could approach a charity (not shop!) that works with homeless or vulnerable people directly over the phone to ask if they'd take them? They might even pick them up for you.

I have a church contact from my DC's toddler group days who'll take anything that will be useful for asylum seekers and refugees, for instance.

If you want to give away clothes with rips and worn patches you need to fix them first. Or they will end up shredded. No one is going to pay money for a ripped worn out coat unless it’s been carefully repaired and will obviously last some time yet.

Yes, I’ve worked in a charity shop and was told to put everything that had any kind of mark on it in the rag bag even if it looked like it would easily wash off as no one would buy it. I wouldn’t hand in anything with any kind of wear and tear to a charity shop but it seems to shame for something that could keep a kid warm to go in a shredder.

Could you sell on Vinted?

Freegle it people will take it for you

Olio is another good app - people will collect it from you

Thanks, some good suggestions there.

Does anywhere near you have a 'warm rail'?.It's a drop off point for warm clothing and coats that homeless people can help themselves to.I think they are usually run or held at churches.

We have always found homeless shelters to be really grateful of anything you give them. Charity shops can be quite picky over what they sell and perfectly useable items can sometimes end up in their rags which they get a very minimal price per kilo. Our local council recycling centre asks you to leave textiles in bags when you put them in the big container so my thinking is they probably do get sorted into what can be used by a charity/sold on and what gets recycled.

You have to think about the end user: a charity can't really sell ripped or dirty clothes or give them to a homeless person or someone in a women's refuge. I volunteer at a clothes project, we do have a "rough sleeper" rail for borderline items but mostly, dirty or worn out items go for "rags". The rag company then do a second sort into different fibre recycling streams.

It's a good time of year for coats though so maybe a charity shop would appreciate just those.

Can you keep it for gardening or something?