Charity shops, I apologise

[thedevilinablackdress]

I've loved charity shopping for over 30 years, but like many I've long mixed it with online second hand shopping.
The stories in this Guardian article are not new to those of us who've read threads on here, work in the shops or know people who do.
I never sell online myself and am a very mindful donatter, but my own eBay addiction and Vinted dabbling is contributing to this in a way.
Shops won't want to discourage donations, but it seems more push back on the mountains of crap is needed.

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026/oct/13/people-sell-their-best-stuff-on-vinted-how-charity-shops-became-a-dumping-ground-for-unsellable-clothes

This is where the circular economy works incredibly well. It needs much more government support to make happen (a few years ago i knew of some regulatory issues where excess construction material could not be donated because it was essentially termed "waste" and the construction company would be liable for any onwards disposal. Madness when a charity wanted the material to use and sell on, the construction company wanted to donate but the regs designed to prevent fly tipping and irresponsible or incorrect disposal made it difficult).

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is an excellent place to start with looking at the circular economy

www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/

There’s been a massive change in what is available over the last ten years or so. I used to regularly get a lot of decently priced natural fabrics, now a lot of what I see is overpriced Primark/SHEIN stuff. Last week I did get a lovely 60% merino 40% mohair deep purple check scarf for £2.50. This was in with the Primark/supermarket scarves and all priced the same 🤷‍♀️

There’s 2 local to me I still visit fairly regularly as I feel the pricing is fair. But still lots of the cheaply made fabrics. I do use Vinted a lot now as there’s just so much more choice and it’s obviously easier to browse from your sofa 😅 I try and avoid buying new wherever possible.

Definitely agree with this too. Some of the things you see on Vinted are outrageous.

I mean in the shoe example, just buy some laces and give them a polish at least if you want to sell them. You’d definitely get closer to the original price or you might actually see them in a new light and want to keep them!

same around me...or they only accept a linited amount at set times of day. Round me, its not just limits set on clothing, its limits set on anything.

The primary purpose of a charity shop is to make money for the charity, so if the stuff is selling at that price, good luck to them.
I once donated a suit I'd bought in a sale, and later saw it in the window for more than I'd paid for it. I thought if someone's going to buy it for that much, then why not? It's all for a good cause.

I don’t go to charity shops anymore. The quality and pricing are not worth it. The last time I donated, the woman was so rude. I took my nicest clothes that just didn’t fit anymore and thought I was doing something altruistic. She didn’t say thank you just said threatening things around how they better be washed, clean and in good condition. I never saw them in the shop even though each of the items must have cost over £100 each. Left me thinking they either took them to sell or keep or chucked them. Never again.

Now I occasionally sell on Vinted but Vinted is also full of overpriced crap. Really I just want to be able to pass on good quality clothes that don’t fit or suit. But the solution is to not buy more which is something I have been trying to do. I wear the same clothes all the time and I don’t really need more clothes.

My nearby chazza has 2 large plastic skips full of clothing. 50 pence each or fill a bag for £3. Last week I had a rummage and found a brand new pair of M&S ladies jeans, some very decent Next and Oasis items which I bought. Laundered and pressed I then sold them at reasonable prices.
Most of the local chazzas welcome resellers because they want to get rid of the stuff.
Our local barnardo has a 50p event on, they have some nice plants pots etc for 50p each.
Many charity shops are pricing themselves out of business by asking too much for a lot of the stuff. Bringing the prices down would result in many more sales.
Our local BHF is soon closing down

I live in a very poor area of the UK and for us, the beginning of the end was when the Charity shops changed from dual mission - to earn for their cause and also sell cheap quality clothing, to a pure fundraising model.
I do not buy cheap fast fashion and when I used to donate a 3 year old wool coat that had cost me £300 the main thing I wanted was for a local woman to have lovely coat for £10, so when I saw them price things for MORE THAN I HAD PAID NEW then list them on line as they were "too good" for the poor people here, I thought I'd do the same. I now sell them and donate to a local community based children's charity.

I never saw them in the shop even though each of the items must have cost over £100 each. Left me thinking they either took them to sell or keep or chucked them.

They may have an eBay shop or pass the donations onto another shop in the chain to ensure that they don't have too much of one type of clothing etc. Also, if they were good quality and well priced, they may well have sold soon after going on the rails.

I donate the clothes I no longer (can’t) wear to charity shops as I just can’t be arsed with the selling faff. It’s not as if I’m donating Chanel or Dior, so high street stuff goes to local charity shops.

Nothing wrong with that like nothing wrong with buying from Amazon. These online businesses destroy high street shops. Once they take over the market, then service declines.

when the Charity shops changed from dual mission - to earn for their cause and also sell cheap quality clothing, to a pure fundraising model.

I'm not sure they ever explicitly had a dual mission. Each charity is registered with the Charities' Commission which includes the objects of the charity. I would imagine the Cats' Protection League, say, never had 'sale of affordable clothing to alleviate poverty' in their objects.

ETA good for you for doing the work to maximise the ££ and then donate the proceeds, though!

You always see bags dumped out the charity shops around here and I'd hate to have to sift through those.

My step MIL died suddenly and FIL eventually started clearing her wardrobe. He washed and meticulously ironed everything and put them on hangers. Some were brand new items. He tried to donate them to the charity shop but they refused due to the hangers. He offered to take the hangers away and fold the clothes but because he didn't have a bag with him to put them in- they still refused.

@SheilaFentiman when I volunteered in Oxfam 1991-1998 they specifically said they did this, but it may have been specific to this shop, or charity. It is certainly why I donated. Seeing them root in the back for 3 good pairs of leather school shoes for a single mums in desperate need and then say "oh no no, these weren't going on sale for much, you can have them for £1 a pair" felt like exactly the sort of thing we donate for.

I don’t think buying second hand from Vinted and buying from Amazon are comparable.

People just think it's an easy way of dumping their unwanted tat sadly.

Why not?

Buying retail goods online from anyone that doesn't also have a bricks and mortar presence impacts the High Street.

The price was really low like £2 per item, without the chance for normal consumers to buy them.

I do get they need to make a profit but it means the items cannot be bought by the average consumer in charity shops - often people with very little money. Buying a product marked up on Vinted (let's estimate £10) vs £4 or so in a charity shop seems unfair. If everyone is selling on Vinted there's little for average charity shop users to buy any more.

Ah, interesting. I also volunteered at Oxfam in the 90s, though not for as long as you.

I don't think we ever pulled stuff out specifically for someone in need who had come in though (there was a team - aka two ladies - who did the pricing in the back room or after hours, and we weren't supposed to sell any unpriced stuff)

The charity shop doesn't have an obligation to be fair to customers, though.

If selling designer stuff in bulk at £2 an item leaves space on their shelves for High Street tops at £2 each, then they have used their space and their donations pretty efficiently, especially if they don't have the infrastructure to create a Vinted or eBay shop for themselves, do all the posting etc.

It may not be wrong as such but

1. As shoppers realise that there is only rubbish left, they will stop going in at all.
2. They might be able to see those designer items at higher individual prices

Its not just the impact on the high street though is it. Its the environmental impact.

You’re changing the topic of discussion though. We were talking about the impact of overconsumption on charity shops and the environment, as shown in the article. The piece doesn’t talk about how online purchases are impacting the high street; it’s about charity shops and how only rubbish is donated.

I run a charity shop as part of a charity I manage and the bags of donations range from “alright” to “need a hazmat suit to go through it”. We’ve had soiled thongs, paint splattered joggy bottoms, a broken sieve. Some people see us as a bin I swear. If you couldn’t sell it, why could we?
having said that, I love vinted and our charity shop has a page too as an extra income stream which just makes it easier to reach a lot of people

I agree with this. I popped into one this week to buy a jigsaw puzzle for my son - it was £7!! I walked out without anything.