What happens to the clothes you donate to Oxfam shops etc if....

[HyacinthB]

....they don't manage to sell them. Do they just 'junk' them, or do they pass them on for some sort of textile recycling to a third party?

they used to go to the rag man, but afaik they mostly get chucked now - no-one buys recycled dishcloths any more.

it's funny how progress actually means going backwards in so many ways.

What they do at my mum's shop is anything that's not fit for sale (or anything that doesn't sell I guess) is sold to the rag man. So the charity still benefits.

oh there is still a rag man! oh good.

I just know all the charity shops in Brighton town centre chuck it all out.

[confused emoticon] - so for some charity shops it goes to the rag man and for others it doesn't.

Is it possible to buy clothes made from recycled materials?

There is a rag man in Lyme Regis, that much I can tell you What do the Council do with the textiles they collect at recycling centres?

Not sure about buying clothes from recycled materials, logically it should be possible ...

recycled clothing on sale in \link{http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki%5Cwww_uki.nsf/0/C35C99B5DB99D24F802570A0004C8ADB?opendocumenttop shop}

I've got some nice quality little boy's clothes (under 2 yrs) - I don't want to fanny around selling them on Ebay (neither time nor inclination) or similar - I want to 'give them away' f.o.c as long as I know they will be used (would be criminal for them to go to waste....

Would they sell well in a charity shop, or are people a bit sniffy about kitting little Tarquin out in charity clothes?

What's the best way to dispose of them to ensure that they are used again?

top shop

Should be okay HyacinthB, as long as they are in good nick - my mum basically snaffles everything decent that comes in for little ones at her shop (she does pay for it, I should add) - ds is dressed either in charity shop stuff or second-hand kit from his cousins! (Some of which was charity shop stuff as well).

You could always take some in and ask at various charity shops, I know what you mean about not wanting to give things away just for someone else to bin them.

thanks for the links Iota...

Yep, there are in good condition tribpot; so I'll drop them off....

I buy lots of children's clothes in charity shops

Mind you pity you can only buy them from Top Shop in London - still it's a start. Maybe they will be more common place on the High Street in years to come

Well TooTicky - I reckon when I drop of ds' clothes I should stop and peruse the rails for some charity shop autumn and winter range for him, eh?

Absolutely HB - charity shops need customers as well as donors. Similarly, people need to buy recycled products to make recycling worthwhile.

I feel sure I read that something like 95% of textiles are recyclable (made into all sorts of things).

the facts - loads of uses for reycled textiles, so keep 'em coming

Cloth can usually be recycled as industrial wipes if it has no other value.

They use rags for cushions and similar

Oxfam I worked in sent all unusable textiles to a recycler, think it was for industrial wipes type thing. When DH worked in a garage they used to buy in bags of assorted textiles for cleaning up, it was recycled charity stuff.

Love charity shops, my two were clothed head to toe in second hand gear for at least the fisrt five years of their lives.