Do you buy your children clothes in charity shops?

[Lifeisshort123]

One of my closest friends thinks it's strange that I buy around half of my children's clothes from charity shops, I've got a great charity shop I go to around twice a month that have lovely clothes and very good prices. I don't see a problem with it, it's inexpensive usually, good causes and you save money. I don't see the problem considering I wash everything when we get home. I get clothes for my 4&6yr old as well as shoes and I've had great deals.
Today I brought from one charity shop: Converse for DS- £2.50
Orchard game- £1
Crocs for both DD & DS- £1.50 each
Tesco Onsie for DS- £1
Swimming costume for DD- 50p
Ralph Lauren shirt for DS-£2

Do you get your children clothes in a charity shop, I don't see the problem in it.

I have no objection to it, but have never found anything worth buying for my boys. We did experiment with ebay buying for DS1, as a baby, but gave up after the 2nd bag of nasty, mouldy stuff we wouldn't even have donated to a charity shop, ourselves.

I do donate.

Good stuff straight to a shop.

Iffy stuff into a bag. (I'm not carrying it all on the bus!)

Shite straight to the fabric recycling at the council tip, or into the bin if it's heavily soiled and just not worth washing.

Yes. I live in Oz and the quality of clothing here is BAD unless you're loaded. In charity shops I can find the good quality things very cheaply and sometimes English clothes too.

I buy far more from charity shops here than I did in the UK though. In the UK I found shops like H&M were cheap enough to mean I didn't need charity shops.

Of course YANBU. You are being very sensible. Why on earth it would bother anyone else (even if they don't do it themselves) I have no idea.
I do most of my clothes shopping in charity shops too.

I buy 90% of the kids wardrobe in consignment stores (haven't found any charity shops here really). Lots of mini/baby Boden, le petit bateau, Ralph Lauren etc. The condition is remarkably good (especially for young boys trousers). They're not that cheap, I could probably buy cheaper new at the local Primark equivalent, but I know they'll wash really well and I like the brighter colours. High street stuff here is bland and too "adult" for my tastes.

I had a pair of Lelli Kelly shoes once for 50p. They were pretty much brand new and would have cost over £40 new. It's hit and miss but you do come across bargains.

I'm a charity shop volunteer and half of my wardrobe is from charity shops as well as the kids!

We have some very good stuff handed in for small children in our shop, especially baby stuff, often still on the original hanger and never worn. People get so much stuff when their babies are born and it's never worn. There are slimmer pickings for older children as clothes get worn more and damaged, and we won't sell stained items or things which are too bobbled. JUst before Christmas though I got a beautiful M&S girls party dress for my 11 year old for around £3, she wore it for the school Christmas party and looked lovely. I also often pick up size 6 or size 8 hoodies for her, brands like Hollister which I'm not prepared to pay full price for and which the charity shop charges around £5 for. I also remember a gorgeous "Sarah Louise" little red cord pinafore and checked blouse set I got for her when she was about 2 and was just the cutest thing ever. Also had some very good coat/jacket bargains for the boys, although we never seem to get as many tops and trousers handed in for older boys which are worth selling on.

It also depends on the policies of the shops to what you find - the one I help in is in an area with LOTS of families and children and we get a lot of kids clothes. We have limited space so don't sell any used pants, socks, swimwear, babygros, baby vests or shoes. Only new ones which have clearly not been worn. (We do send all those things for recycling though, they don't go in the bin). A shop in a city centre area with fewer families is less likely to have good children's clothes.

I would much rather a Boden/John Lewis/Fat Face tshirt from a charity shop for £1.99 than a new one from Primark at the same price. There's no comparison on quality and you're not depleting world resources even further. Plus I quite like that in charity shops you can get something a bit different, something youre not going to see dozens of other kids wearing.

Oh and one last bargain - bought a stripe cotton Tommy Hilfiger shirt for my teenage boy for 99p, he loves it, the quality is very good and it's something that will be passed on through the family and back to the charity shop when he's finished with it.

I dont as too expensive at charity shops but buy alot second hand via fb selling sites and ive been lucky on hand me downs. Toys etc dont care wher from so charity shop, etc. All gets washed before use. Plastic toys in the dish washer.

Yes we have abundance of them but live in affluent area, get very very good quality new ish stuff from CS, also source from car boots etc, ebay and Tk Max and H and M, nowt wrong with it at all in ye olden days CS used to be smelly musty places with not great clothes in, different world now.

I have in the past but there's never anything decent for kids in the ones near me . Buy the odd thing from eBay though normally something that would be expensive and I wouldn't pay full price for as long as things are in decent condition doesn't bother me at all love a bargain !

The vast majority of DD's clothes are second hand, either from charity shops, flea markets or ebay equivalent. I also buy a lot of my own clothes from charity shops. She also gets hand-me-downs from OH's little sister who is 3 years older.

I do get second hand wellies and snowboots for DD as they don't alter their shape to fit the feet like trainers and other tighter fitting shoes do. Got myself a pair of Norwegian sheepskin boots for a euro recently, they're great!

Yes, I do, and I mostly buy my clothes in them too. There are 10 in my town and I try to go around them all every few weeks. I only buy stuff that I like that is in good condition, and that includes shoes. Try to look for 'good' labels too. Kids grow out of clothes so quickly buying everything new seems such a waste of money and the planet's resources. Finding stuff is hit and miss as it obviously depends on what has been donated in the right size and finding it before someone else does. I also use hand me down clothes and shoes from my sister's child who is 2 years older and really don't see the difference. I also love nct sales. I do buy some new things in sales if I really like them. I was on the lookout for a secondhand winter coat all autumn but couldn't find one I liked so bought new but will hopefully be used for my sister's second baby and my second if I have another.

Yes, don't even think twice about it.

I always do if I see stuff, but it's getting harder and harder to find decent stuff.The mark up in some shops round here is shocking; manky looking Primark tops selling for more than they would have cost new!
eBay is my friend though.

Yep I buy 3 year old ds stuff in charity shops. Round here you get nice m and s and next stuff barely worn for £2 to £3 each, what's not to like. ...

No, but my local Ines are pretty rubbish.
I do buy them eBay bundles though, great for nursery and playing outside.

I don't. I prefer to buy new and could get not bad stuff from supermarket ranges. Certainly don't judge anyone else for doing it.

Stuff bit more expensive now as ds 13

90% of my son's stuff is eBay/nearly new sale/ charity shop. Means he can wear high quality stuff for Primark prices. Funnily enough, people who loudly announce they would never, ever buy second hand (and have no Idea where his catimini/monsoon/smafolk/frugi/polarn o pyret... comes from) always compliment me on his look and complain they can't afford this Ort of practical clothes (waterproof trousers, gloves, 2coats so there is a spare one). I just smile and say that shopping around is worth it

I don't purely because it is cheaper for me to buy from Primark, Asda etc and I'm not bothered about labels. Although, if I am in a charity shop and I see something cute then I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. Though I won't buy second hand shoes - even if they were cheaper.

When dd was a baby and toddler almost all her clothes (apart from shoes and underwear) were from charity shops. I tended not to find so much that she liked when she was older.

Most of my work clothes come from charity shops.

You can get cheap clothes from Primark etc, but I'd rather give the money to charity.

Yes, I do. I love charity shops, some are better than others but top buys include a Mini Boden duffel coat for £3.50 and some Mamas and Papas/Next/M&S jeans and joggers for £1 (all in lovely condition). Nursery spares generally come from there too, long sleeved tops for 50p. I've also accumulated a fantastic collection of kids' books from charity shops. The vests/babygrows I see in there tend to be stretched and bobbly so I wouldn't buy those, or shoes, because the ones in the shops I go all seem very badly worn.