Aibu to take things from outside the clothes bank

[Untamedfemale]

Just what the title says my kids need clothes and there are always bags of them outside the clothes bank a lot of people seem to go through them and they often end up on the floor etc so do you think ibu to have a look through and take some.

[Cw112]

I would say it depends on how much you need the clothes? If you can afford to go to the charity shop and buy them there then I'd say YABU, but if you couldn't afford to do that and your children are in need then I don't think that's unreasonable at all.

[IhateHermioneGranger]

@Untamedfemale

I have money for food and bills after that not much at all

Sounds like us. I sympathise a lot but use the charity money to look in charity shops or even ask on FB for freebie clothes instead.

[Comedycook]

But those criticising the op. Who do you think is more deserving of the clothes?

[Brokendaughter]

Honestly I'd rather give clothes/stuff I want to get rid of to someone who really needs it than hand it to some overcharging charity shop so they can employ management on high salaries while treating their volunteers who do the real work like trash.

[Oldsu]

Actually it may not be stealing from the charity, a high court ruling in 2010 stated that articles left outside a charity shop do not belong to the charity until they have accepted the donation by taking them into the shop, they still belong to the person donating the goods until then , a charity bin may be different, but it could be said that as the goods were outside the bin the charity do not own the goods until they actually collect them. Obviously in both cases the donator would have wanted them to go to the charity so the charity would lose out if things were taken from outside the bins or shop but legally it could be theft from the donator not from the charity

[Blinkingheckythump]

What world are we living in where a parent is so desperate to clothe her children she's having to rummage through bags at clothing bank, getting verbal abuse doing so, and then strangers on the Internet are jumping on her too?! God forbid any of you horrible people ever in dire need.
@Untamedfemale you go ahead. But also please take on some of the advice on here. There are lots of free sites on the Internet, fbook etc these days. There's no shame in using them or asking on them. A lot of people do simply to reduce waste, not out of a desperate need

[Blinkingheckythump]

@WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps

The clothes are NOT bloody fly-tipped. They are left BY the charity clothes bank, because clearly the clothes bank/skip is full. What the OP is doing stealing from a charity. Stop trying to sugar coat it as something else.

It is actually classed as fly tipping. She's taking them because she's desperate ffs! And they will probably get wrecked before the charity collects them due to weather. And I'd hazard a guess that most people use them out of ease, rather than a drive to donate to that particular charity. Myself included!

[Comedycook]

@Brokendaughter

Honestly I'd rather give clothes/stuff I want to get rid of to someone who really needs it than hand it to some overcharging charity shop so they can employ management on high salaries while treating their volunteers who do the real work like trash.

Completely agree

[smooththecat]

On fly-tipping, ‘donations’ left outside the bins or shops are rained on and pulled out of bags by people and left on the ground. Most bins and shops have signs asking you not to leave things like this, it goes straight in landfill. If you can’t be bothered to hand it over in a proper fashion, put it in your own bin for landfill so the charity does not have to pay to dispose of it.

[sheepandcaravan]

I really don't know what else to say to get the point across, but this is classic Mumsnet.

Can I shout.

I RUN A LOCAL CLOTHES BANK

LEAVING STUFF ON THE GROUND IS FLYTIPPING AND IF WE FIND A NAME WE WILL REFER IT.

THE BANKS NEED THE CLOTHES INSIDE OR WILL NOT COLLECT

ANYTHING ON THE GROUND PEOPLE LIKE ME HAVE TO COLLECT AND BIN

[sheepandcaravan]

I'm going away now.

But I'm so annoyed by some of the people on this thread I've had an idea. I have spoken to the church hall committee and said can I bring every bag that is left outside the bank to there and have open Saturdays, flytipping bags, help yourself.

Saves me a twenty mile drive to tip. Lots of people happy to clean it up and take it there and whatever is not wanted can then go to tip.

Those of you saying you are being unreasonable, please think carefully about your actions. No doubt those of you dumping it have stuff worth saving.

[mauveskies]

@WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps

The clothes are NOT bloody fly-tipped. They are left BY the charity clothes bank, because clearly the clothes bank/skip is full. What the OP is doing stealing from a charity. Stop trying to sugar coat it as something else.

Apparently everything you said here - the opposite is so.

They are considered fly-tipped. It is not stealing. It is helpful tidying up!

[XenoBitch]

@sheepandcaravan

I really don't know what else to say to get the point across, but this is classic Mumsnet.

Can I shout.

I RUN A LOCAL CLOTHES BANK

LEAVING STUFF ON THE GROUND IS FLYTIPPING AND IF WE FIND A NAME WE WILL REFER IT.

THE BANKS NEED THE CLOTHES INSIDE OR WILL NOT COLLECT

ANYTHING ON THE GROUND PEOPLE LIKE ME HAVE TO COLLECT AND BIN

Thanks for this.

All the bin/shops near me say not to leave stuff outside. It is fly tipping.
It will go to landfill and not benefit the charity or the people those charities support.
You will actually be costing them money, because they have to pay to have your fly tipped shit removed.

[Chloefairydust]

If they are laying around on the floor in front of the clothes bin it’s fine. If they are inside the clothes bin then don’t do it. I heard of a story in Australia of a woman who got stuck inside a recycling clothes bin, she was trying to get clothes out of it and fell in, couldn’t get out and actually died… So cautionary tale… Be careful 😮

[Winterscomingagain]

Usually things are lying on the ground because the bins are full. You're obviously in need of clothes for your children so I don't see the problem.

[entropynow]

Not necessarily. Our clothes bins are run by the council

[RealBecca]

How often are you doing it and how much do you need that you've been seen doing it, called names and asked people for stuff as they hand it over?

[user1468105798]

@TonksInPurple

YANBU the stuff on the floor gets binned anyway. So go for it, if you read all the writing it says not to leave stuff outside it.

Totally agree. I've spoken to our local council operatives ,who have to bin anything on the floor, even in tied bags.

[Untamedfemale]

@RealBecca

How often are you doing it and how much do you need that you've been seen doing it, called names and asked people for stuff as they hand it over?

If I see bags outside I will check them I have 5 children so constantly need new stuff

[GoldenSpiral]

I would check out any local jumble sales at community halls or scout halls near you OP. The clothes are ridiculously cheap, approx. 20p per clothing item. You need to arrive as the gates open though and there is a bit of a scramble!

[Theraffarian]

The things I donate wether to recycling bins, charity shops , clothes banks etc are items we no longer need . I have no real allegiance to any of the charities and just hope they are useful in some way shape or form . I absolutely have no issue with someone helping themselves to things they need . In fact we often leave food items in a donation cupboard that’s been set up locally and have even had a conversation about if some items are picked up and sold when we have left an odd gift item in there . We decided that if that was the case then that person needed the money for something and once we give the item away we no longer control what happens to it .

[Untamedfemale]

@Theraffarian

The things I donate wether to recycling bins, charity shops , clothes banks etc are items we no longer need . I have no real allegiance to any of the charities and just hope they are useful in some way shape or form . I absolutely have no issue with someone helping themselves to things they need . In fact we often leave food items in a donation cupboard that’s been set up locally and have even had a conversation about if some items are picked up and sold when we have left an odd gift item in there . We decided that if that was the case then that person needed the money for something and once we give the item away we no longer control what happens to it .

That’s one thing I wouldn’t do is sell anything on I would donate it if it was clothes I no longer needed

[Untamedfemale]

@GoldenSpiral

I would check out any local jumble sales at community halls or scout halls near you OP. The clothes are ridiculously cheap, approx. 20p per clothing item. You need to arrive as the gates open though and there is a bit of a scramble!

I’ll keep an eye out don’t really see them advertised though anymore

[MyrtlethePurpleTurtle]

@Cordeliathecat

What are the ages of your kids? If they are slightly younger than my own I have huge bags of clothes that I’ve just cleared out from my kids wardrobes, most of them barely worn as both my kids seem to have gone through a massive growth spurt.
I’d be happy to post them to you instead of me taking them to my local clothes bank.

That’s a lovely post!

[InSpaceNooneCanHearYouScream]

@CourtneeLuv

Do what you need to do. Until the charity collect it, it's technically not theirs, it's dumped.

And those bins aren't particularly charitable anyway. It all gets sorted and sold abroad.

^ This.
All this pious spouting about 'Stealing'. You wouldn't be stealing anything, the previous owners have dumped it OUTSIDE a clothes bank.