Charity Shop rejects

[fulltimeworkingmum]

I finally had a good look through all the clothes my DD (4) and DS (2) have grown out of - this was at the behest of DH who, not being a hormonal mummy, cannot understand the need to keep every sock and T-shirt. Anyway, I took masses of stuff to my local charity shop who said they could not take it as there was no market for it and they just couldn't sell it. I was a bit taken aback but the woman insisted I take the stuff away again. I felt awful - it's a charity particularly close to my heart.
This isn't really an "Am I being unreasonable" post, I know, but has anyone got any suggestions on what I can do with this stuff? It's all great quality, good condition stuff from mid to high end high street stores. There's no-one family/friends wise to pass it on to. I really can't be bothered to sell on Ebay - I work full time and packaging and posting is a bit of a bind.
Any constructive suggestions would be great and sorry again for the post in the wrong section

The last time I donated to a well known charity shop (3 black sacks), they asked me to take them to the back room. The room was packed from floor to ceiling with all sorts of things and at the back was a woman ironing clothes. When she saw what I was bringing in she said "oh for fucks sake, not more clothes"
My old clothes now go to friends and family, who pass things on to their friends if they don't want something.

Do you have a car park near you with bottle banks etc? The one near me has a Salvation Army clothing bin. I put unwanted clothing in there or give it to my local Help the Aged shop. If there's anything really nice/barely worn I eBay it, but do see your point about the postage taking up time.

All these stories make you think twice about giving to charity shops don't they???

Perhaps if they reduced their prices, they would sell more? Oh sorry, that's for another thread

Am full of admiration for Ahornak who rummages through charity shops bins! Do you do it at the crack of dawn/middle of the night or openly? Not sure I'd have the nerve. Could possibly disguise myself though.

I have found some organisations in my local area now and have e-mailed them to arrange donating the stuff I won't need or be able to take with me.

I found:

Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (PAFRAS)

Red Cross

Homeless Shelters

I think perhaps an idea might be for the charity shops to provide a list of women's refuge's under priveleged nurseries etc that would love to have these baby clothes

we only want to help those less fortunate than us

ok, I e-mailed the Salvation Army after posting on here, becacuse I was worried that the big bag of baby clothes I had just put in one of their recycling bins would have gone to the rag trade. I was feeling a bit sick actually as it was mainly boden/gap stuff that I thoughht might make the SA some money in their shops!

anyway, I had the following reply from them today:

Hi, thank you very much for taking time to contact us with your query and I am pleased to say you can be reassured.

Donated clothing is collected by local collectors and transported to a central facility in Kettering to be checked for waste or soiled items. Happily we collect more clothes than can be used to satisfy any local or national needs identified by The Salvation Army, or to supply our charity shops, so the bulk is exported to other countries, mainly in Eastern Europe where they provide clothing that people can afford. All funds generated but the clothing collections are used in the United Kingdom by the Salvation Army.

This means that the first call on any donated items is humanitarian needs identified by The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom the surplus is exported to provide affordable clothing in Eastern Europe . Many people there are unable to buy new clothing. Profits generated are then gift aided to The Salvation Army to support its work in the UK

I was going to say Salvation Army clothing bank because they sort/sell/recycle as appropriate - thisisyesterday has beaten me to it.

Thisisyesterday, it sounds to me like the Salavation Army sell the clothes to one of these clothing companies (similar perhaps to Bagsforschools that sort of thing) and they probably get paid quite a small amount per tonne of clothing. What these big companies do with the clothes or how they distribute them abroad and on what profit basis, I have no idea.

TB brutally H, I actually don't think the Sally Army will make any more from your nice Boden things than if you had stuck a load of tatty stained George items through the slot. (If I'm wrong and I would love to be, then someone correct me)

If you have Boden and Gap to get rid of and you are clearly a better person than I because I would ebay it, why not sell through a clothing agency for a premium profit and give the money to charity? There is a preworn children's clothing shop in my town and they are begging for Boden stuff which hardly touches the shelves, it's so popular. The tattiest, most rubbish Mini Boden T shirt will sell for about £6....

tbh i tried ebaying a lot of stuff and half of it didn't sell and the other half went for peanuts, so i decided i'd rather give it away!