Have I stolen something?

[GoldfishParade]

Walking back to car at a big retail estate, I found a piece of fabric on the floor. It looked a bit wet and dirty but I could see the pattern and I really liked it, so i picked it up (and disinfected my hands). It turned out to be a kind of silk (or silk like) bandana - a weird coincidence because I have been wanting one in exactly this kind of colour!

I put it in my pocket and took it home but now I feel like I've done something wrong. At the same time there were so many shops in this place that I wouldnt know which one to take it to.

So what do you think?
YABU = Finders keepers
YANBU = You should have left it there and should now do something (what?) about it

I think you have your Yabu and Yanbu mixed up?😁
Don't worry about the material,just wash and use.

Did it still have the shop tags on? Isn’t it more likely someone dropped it out of their pocket or handbag? (Presuming it was on the floor outdoors not inside the shop).

OP, I wouldn’t worry about it.

@LittleRa
Yes that is what happened, no tags or anything, the shop reference was more like: if there had just been one or two shops I would have left it with staff in case someone came back retracing their steps looking for it. But there were loads of shops!

I found a head torch at the side of the pavement a few years ago. Like you, I'd been needing one. I moved it to the side and left it (not obviously but not hidden) and retrieved or a week later.

Don't feel guilty OP, but do give it a good wash.

Why would you have taken it to a shop? Don't you think it's more likely that it belonged to someone and they dropped it?

The normal thing to do in those circumstances is to put it on a post or fence or something like that nearby, so if the owner retraces their steps they will see it. I'm not sure why that didn't occur to you. A bit late to do anything about it now, although some people round here post a picture on our local Facebook groups to reunite it with an owner.

Are you sure that's not someone's germ ridden face covering that they've dropped?

Probably someone was using it as a mask and discarded it when they got back to their car. My husband wears a silky-type mask. He prefers it because it’s lighter on his nose and face.

Yeah in this climate I wouldn't be picking up what sounds like a face covering.

It's theft by finding if you want the technical term. If you make some reasonable steps to reunite it with its owner, that will mitigate against the crime.

So glance around, see if there's anybody to offer it to, shrug, move on. That'll probably do.

That said, I dropped my hat whilst on holiday once. It was made for me by my Mum and I'd had it for many years and wore it everywhere. I joined a local community FB page and asked/begged locals to keep an eye out. A lovely and v honest local said she'd picked it up, washed it and was using it as a basket liner/pillow for her dachshund. She met up with me the next morning and returned it. I was very happy.