Do you send any old grot to the charity shops?

[BroccoliSpears]

I took a bag of stuff to the charity shop for a friend recently. I was horrified by the scrotty old tat she was sending. Clothes with holes or deoderant stains, not particularly clean bibs, jumpers so bobbly no one would wear them. Was embarrassed to give them to the charity shop. She's a lovely woman, and a bit of a shop-a-holic and is always beautifully dressed, as are her children. I wonder who she thought would be thrilled to buy such tatty rags? She cheerfully rummaged through the bag and showed me what she was sending so she obviously thought it was fine to send.

I don't send brand new Hermes scarves or anything particularly impressive, but I only send things I think that someone might realistically buy.

I used to work in a charity shop and some of the rubbish people send is breathtaking (literally in the case of unwashed socks and tatty old stained underwear).

So how used is too used? What do you send?

I think it varies from shop to shop - best thing is to sort your clothes into 'nice and re-sellable' and 'scrotty old tat' and then ask. That way, if they don't want the tat, you can take it away with you - also, if they do want the tat, it's already sorted out for them so it saves them a job.

Double x-posts there

I used to volunteer in charity shops and a friend is a shop manager. I send anything tatty in a separate bag marked Rag - many charity shops get money - £2 a bag or so - for rag. And I only put good quality clean stuff in the bag for selling. Things that I'd buy second hand. Nothing bobbly or stained or tatty.

In the shops i worked in nothing got washed or spruced up, if it wasn't in saleable quality at the time it arrived it went straight to rag.

does anyone know if the shops wash everything? dh is always adamant that they do. I always wash everything I send (even if it's not been worn recently, but has just been sitting in a drawer) dh insists it's a waste of energy. any opinions? (I know I could ask but just wondered)

No they don't wash. Not the ones I know. They have volunteers, not a big horde of staff. They put out the good clean stuff and chuck the rest to rag or the bin depending on their capabilities.

that's what I've always assumed.

Why do charity shop clothes always have the exact same smell? It's weird..

I agree chequers. I think they must squirt them with something. it's a really bad smell too. well, it's an ok smell that smells like it's been used to cover up a bad one. if that makes sense.

I only ever send good stuff to charity, stained or ripped clothes go in the bin.

I was under the impression they steamed the clothes (although I cant remember who told me that).

my mum volunteers in the local cancer charity shop. She said that they have a bag for textile waste where unsaleable items go. It goes for recycling and they actually get quite a bit of money for it.
Now when I give her things I tell her if its for the rag bag to save it having to be sorted.

Wow - so glad I started this thread as will now also give scrotty old tat, but in a bag marked rags.