To think charity donations aren't appreciated?

[USERJ]

I saw a viral Tik tok of a lady in what looked like a donation centre, going through the bags and making complaints about what people have put in these bags. (Dirty clothes I agree is completely unwanted!!)
But some things she complained about were a pair of high heeled shoes, a religious outfit and some items which can be considered out of fashion. Now whilst I appreciate if you had just lost everything in an earthquake you may not be thinking of high heels straight away but surely they would be of use to someone? Someone who needs heels for a job? For a job interview? Or for any special occasions coming up?
The religious outfit she seemed to mock just makes me lost for words. I then looked at the comments and similar videos were shared from different donation centres of other volunteers complaining for example a sports top that was bobbly...like really?? (My clothes are bobbly!!)
I'm not saying all donation centres do this but AIBU to be annoyed by watching this video?

I really don’t imagine heels are going to be needed by an earthquake victim who has lost everything, and religious outfit (what type?) could be offensive.

They need warm practical clothes right now. As for the bobbling, can you imagine how low you would feel losing loved ones, and everything you possess, and then know you are viewed by the rest of the world as not ‘worthy’ of decent, quality, good condition clothing?

My clothes are bobbly, but I wouldn’t donate them to someone who has just lost their whole world. You should be annoyed at the people who donate useless crap, not the video highlighting it.

I remember being in a donation warehouse (collecting for refugees) a few years ago and saw a couple of things they'd kept for the wtf value. They included a 'sexy witch' halloween outfit, and a pair of half cut off jeans - one full leg, the other side pretty much arse cheek length.

People use these charity collections as a way of clearing out wardrobes, the way they would donate to a charity shop, rather than selecting items that would actually be useful in the particular situation.

Not everyone can afford to go out and buy new clothes for themselves never mind new clothes to donate. I don't see anything wrong with donating clothes that have been worn that may not fit anymore, everyone has a use for something. I agree that fancy dress / lingerie type clothing is not appropriate but even so donating shirts, or smart items of clothing could be of use to someone.
It wasn't just the earthquake donations it was a few different videos linked in the comments and I couldn't believe the comments some of the volunteers were making about clothes being "tacky" or saying "err what is that" about something that is reasonable to wear but might not be their taste!

This.
People use charity donations/shops as an alternative to going to the local tip.

That’s the point of charity shops though. That’s why they are getting stuff for free

It's not helpful to donate high heels to an earthquake relief effort. It's the opposite, because someone now has to spend time sorting and disposing of them when they could be doing something much more useful.

I used to work in a charity shop and you would be amazed by the amount of unusable crap that gets donated. I wasn't particularly grateful to receive unwashed sheets, used continence pants or broken toys.

No, it isn't.

My mum volunteers at a charity shop. The utter shite people leave in to them just to clear their junk out is unreal. They had to stop donations after covid because people used them as a dumping ground, included dirty knickers. And no, nobody wants bobbly clothes. People getting clothes in disaster situations or because they can’t afford to buy new shouldn’t be expected to wear visibly worn clothes. Fgs I create two piles - one for donation and the other not good enough to donate as they are too worn. Charity shops if part of a big charity also have to hit fundraising targets and they can’t do that with rubbish people wouldn’t wear any more themselves because it’s worn out.

No. It’s so they can sell SELLABLE clothes to raise money for charity. Not sift through your crap to find anything worth selling.

I volunteered in a charity shop a few years back and many people used it as an alternative to the dump and donated crap that was no use to anyone. We used to get loads of used, unwashed pants donated too.

Is it possible some people thought the donations would be sold or sold for rags and the proceeds going to the charity to help instead of the actual items?

And half the shit they get, they could not give away. Who wants a bobbly jumper? Or a pair of leggings with holes/stains?

Stop using charity shops as a way to get rid of rubbish.

I day tripped with some others to Manchester to help sort one of the big refugee warehouses, care4calais’s. The stuff donated was often completely culturally inappropriate, tube tops, fishnet tights and tiny mini dresses were just the start. As well as very worn and stained children’s clothes and used underwear!
the point is they have so much donated they can be picky, this was the mountain of stuff, it was at least 8M deep and 7m tall

Why do these collections still happen? Why are people in the UK sending used clothing that costs time and money to sort and ship to a country that is a major manufacturer of clothing and textiles? This cannot be a good use of limited time and resources. If you want to donate, donate cash to DEC/Red Cross.

I volunteered for a charity shop once, and I was physically digusted to the point of almost gagging and then realised why I was given gloves. A bag of mouldy, wet clothes. Another urine soaked etc Broken toys etc.
As for unfashionable, I do see what you mean ie people should be grateful but I think now because so many people give good quality things away, and most charity shops are inundated, many people are out of touch, I have been guilty of this too thinking some will want my great stuff which to them might be junk.
It also means the charity shop then has the cost of having to dispose items which has become a real.issue in my area.
My aunt now goes and waits for them to take what they want, then gets rid of the rest herself. I think this is the best thing to do if you're well intentioned.
There is probably an aspect that standards are higher which isn't necessarily a good thing (ie beggar's can't be chosers) and some people are in fact quite fussy and ungrateful

This, a million times this. Ask any disaster relief charity what they want and 99% of the time they'll answer "money". It's portable, flexible and always appropriate. See the last para here about dignity. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64554165

the only way to get fabric to a fabric recycling facility in our area is to put it in a clothes bank dumpster which is with all the other recycling dumpsters for glass, metal, paper etc. the charity shop that brands the dunpster gets to pick out anything saleable and the rest gets recycled as fabric which is better than it going into landfill. I get that the sorting isn't a fun job but it's got to be done by humans. I label my bags "non saleable fabric for recycling" and "saleable" to help them, but I don't know if my judgement is correct.

It's a massive problem and drain on the resources of all of the charities/groups who collect nd distribute donations.

It's a waste of time having to pick out the dirty clothes, the high heeled shoes and the fancy dress witch outfits when you're taking the clothing to the immediate afternath of an earthquake zone. You then have to PAY out of charity funds to get rid of the crap. They may or may not be able to redonate or redistribute to a more appropriate outlet who may be able to sell them in a charity shop, but if what they've asked for is warm, clean clothing, anything else is actively hindering their relief efforts.

It's a big problem.

I wish all the donations of stuff would just stop. Give cash

I think you are being unfair OP.

You admit that you don't know where this activity took place, nor what cause it was for. So how can you possibly judge if the sorters were being unreasonable.

Your title is also unfair. Of course charities are grateful for donations. They couldn't operate without donations.

is the purpose of your post to spark debate? Or is it to find any old reason to criticise charities?

At least with charity shops they have a chance of selling the kid’s Halloween costume or sequinned mini skirt or beach dress whereas none are remotely useful to people in a cold climate in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.

I am a volunteer in a charity shop. A lot of what we get is not sellable. In very bad condition, misshapen, missing buttons, broken zips, very washed out, stained. And that’s just the textiles. Let’s not get started on the chipped mugs, broken toys and ripped books.

at least we can send all the textiles to be recycled. The rest of the stuff costs is money to get rid of.

seriously it’s not hard. “Would I pay my orb money for this”? If you would, donate it. If not, recycle.

I dint make videos of sons of the worst donations though. Maybe I should.

I regularly donate to charity shops. If I have a bundle of clothes that are past their best, l put them in a separate bag clearly marked “rags” as the shop will get money. My rule of thumb for donations is whether they are in a good enough condition to be sold. Clothing and textiles should be freshly laundered. This should surely also apply to clothes being sent out to refugees.

my mum worked in a charity shops, she’s found dirty sanitary towels and all sorts in the bags.