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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To wonder why people who donate clothes to charity shops cut the labels off.

56 replies

Mrsdavidcaruso · 18/05/2013 16:45

I know its not the shops that do it as I used to volunteer in one and a lot of clothes came in with both the size and the shop label removed both from the neckline and the inside of the garment

I have just bought a lovely floaty top in one shop and as the label has been removed I don't know if I have paid £3.49 for something I could have got new in Primark or Matalan for about £12 or something I would have had to pay £20+ for in a higher end retailer. But I liked the top and bought it. Also as the size had to be guessed I took a chance that it actually fitted me ( it did)

I also don't think it is fair on the Charity that donators want to help, price cheap goods too high and the shop will get a rep for being too expensive and no-one will buy - price too low and although the customer is happy it will lose money for the charity. I would imagine such mistakes are common when the shops are run in the main by unpaid volunteers who don't know the difference between Primark and Prada just by the feel and look of a garment.

OP posts:

scaevola · 18/05/2013 16:48

They might be cutting labels out anyhow - itchiness, perhaps, or not wanting to see 18 when other makes have them as a 14.

notapizzaeater · 18/05/2013 16:49

My dh and ds hate labels at the scruff of the neck, they rub so I take the labels out.

awkwardsis · 18/05/2013 16:50

So would you really rather the donor throw them away?! Who's to say they didn't come from a different charity shop first? I know several cut out labels to prevent people trying to take them to get refunds from the original store. Or indeed the retailers themselves cut the labels out before do sting old stock, for the same reason.

ChippingInIsMissingHerLatte · 18/05/2013 16:51

I'm sure people just cut the labels out for their own reasons when they are using the clothes ...

I cut the labels out of lots of my clothes because they irritate me.

awkwardsis · 18/05/2013 16:52

Also, if something is massively over or underpriced ill tell them. I adore charity shops but sometimes they get it very wrong price wise. One near me was selling retro fisher price toys and ladybird books at ten pence each. A collector (or ebayer) would have had a field day

LoveBeingUpAt4InTheMorning · 18/05/2013 16:53

Ditto I'm sure it's done long before they get to he shop

comedycentral · 18/05/2013 16:56

I cut out all the labels in every garment I own. Actually I pick it out via the stitching. I can't stand the labels touching my skin. I donate all my clothes to the charity shop when I don't need them any more.

DameFanny · 18/05/2013 17:00

Plus some shops donate unsold stock to charity shops - Gap used to donate to our local Barnardos* - and they take the labels out so the items can't be 'returned' for a refund.

*this may explain why they're the snottiest shop to donate to

ThreeBeeOneGee · 18/05/2013 17:01

I cut the labels out of my clothes and DS2's and DD's because we have sensory issues and none of us can wear clothes with the labels in, especially at the back of the neck or back of the waistband. I pass most of the clothes down from DS1 to DS2 to DS3, so this means pretty much everyone's clothes except DH's. I cut them out very carefully or unpick them carefully so as not to damage the garment.

I also buy things from charity shops, but buy according to whether I like the garment's cut/texture, not what label it has in it (especially as I will be removing the label of anything I buy anyway).

Honeybadgerdontgiveashit · 18/05/2013 17:01

Why does it matter if you like it?
I also cut labels out, don't care if its Burberry or Tesco, they are irritating.

AnitaManeater · 18/05/2013 17:03

It's to stop people buying them to resell on eBay

alienbanana · 18/05/2013 17:04

Because some clothes have really annoying itchy labels in (like H&M)

I would normally put clothes in a bad marked with the size though, especially kids things

Fairylea · 18/05/2013 17:05

My mum and I cut all labels out of everything. They itch if you have sensitive skin and the ones on the neck can peep out and look awful.

CloudsAndTrees · 18/05/2013 17:10

I cut the labels out of the children's clothes I donate that have my dcs names written on them.

wheredidiputit · 18/05/2013 17:10

I always cut labels out because they itch or they never stay and always stick out. Not to mention how massive some are.

LaRegina · 18/05/2013 17:10

YABU - I don't believe anybody cuts labels out because they're donating their stuff to a charity shop, they do it because they find the labels itchy and irritating or to stop them poking out when they're wearing them, or for some other mysterious reason. You are also BU because I don't see why it matters or why you would care.

ouryve · 18/05/2013 17:11

I sometimes cut labels out if they itch.

FarBetterNow · 18/05/2013 17:15

I cut all my labels out, whether it's a posh make or George.
They itch and make my neck sore.

gallifrey · 18/05/2013 17:17

my dd makes me cut all the labels off her clothes!

EndoplasmicReticulum · 18/05/2013 17:23

I have label-phobia.

Can't stand the feel, sight or thought of them.

All my clothes get delabelled as soon as I get them home. Even typing about it makes me itchy.

LaRegina · 18/05/2013 17:28

Years ago I had a boyfriend who was obsessed with labels - he would cut them off and keep his favourite ones under his pillow to stroke when he was feeling stressed.

He was really secretive about it (wonder why ) and tried to keep it from me but I worked it out eventually - after I hid them and he got really stressed out. God that makes me sound like a bitch doesn't it

We didn't last long after that.

starfishmummy · 18/05/2013 17:33

I cut them out if they itch.
I cut them out before donating if they have ds's name tape on them.

ImTooHecsyForYourParty · 18/05/2013 17:38

As others have said, it's not that they cut them out in order to donate them. It's that they cut them out in order to wear them.

My children have massive sensory issues (autism) and my youngest in particular can't tolerate labels. Am I to cut them out so that he can wear them comfortably or make my son miserable so that if the clothes are fit to be donated when he's outgrown them - they still have labels on?

Nobody cuts out labels in order to donate. Unless perhaps they're old school jumpers with the kid's name on, maybe. That's the only reason I can think why someone would do it.

Bumpotato · 18/05/2013 17:41

I bought 2 tops from H&M yesterday and immediately cut the labels off. I hate long labels that have the potential to poke out advertising to everyone that I am indeed a size 16

jamdonut · 18/05/2013 17:58

I find this perplexing. I have never in my 48 years worn anything where the label irritated me. But perhaps that's because I buy things that are a bit on the big side. Can't abide tight or close fitting clothing (makes me feel claustrophobic!)

Now, the ribbon (or soft plastic) hanger things in the shoulders, on the hand, are intensely annoying, but if you cut them out then the clothing wont sit on a clothes hanger properly.

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