What Happens to Donated Bed Linen and Towels?
Once you’ve booked a free doorstep linen and towel collection and the van pulls away, your bags go back to our warehouse. There we sort every item by hand and pass on what can be used again. Most of the sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases and towels we collect go on to be used in someone else’s home. Here is what happens, stage by stage.
- Sorted by hand
- Most items used again
- Proceeds help the charity you choose
The journey
From your doorstep to a new home
Picked up from your doorstep
You leave your tied bags or boxes out by 7am on your collection day. You don’t need to be in.
The evening before, we email you an estimated arrival window and a link to follow the driver on the day. The driver loads your bags into the van with the rest of the day’s donations.
Not booked yet? The steps are on how do I donate my bed linen and towels?
Back to our warehouse
Our drivers collect from homes all day, then bring everything back to our warehouse. The day’s donations are unloaded there together.
Nothing is sold straight off the van. Every bag goes through the same checks first.
Sorted by hand
Every bag is opened and every item is checked by hand. Our team looks at each flat sheet, fitted sheet, duvet cover, pillowcase, table cloth and towel to see whether it is clean, whole and fit to use again.
Items that can be used again are sorted by type, so sheets go with sheets and towels with towels. Anything that can’t be used again is set aside at this stage. You can read what happens to it in stage 6.
Repackaged, with less waste
Once sorted, your bedding and towels are repackaged so they can travel safely. We try to waste as little as we can along the way. The plastic bags you packed them in are used again as padding, and cardboard boxes are recycled.
Passed on to be used again
Usable linen and towels go where they are needed most. They are sold at affordable prices to people who can’t easily buy them new. A good set of sheets or a thick bath towel can last for years in someone else’s home.
You can read more about the people your donation helps on who do my bed linen and towels help?
The items that can’t be used again
We only ask for clean, usable bedding and towels, so most of what we collect goes on to be used again. What can’t be used again is recycled where it can be, so it doesn’t simply end up as waste.
That is why the list of what bed linen and towels we can and can’t take matters. The more of each bag that can be used again, the more it raises. If you’re unsure about a well-used towel, see can I donate old towels?
The money goes to charity
Selling the linen and towels pays for the collection, the sorting and the transport. A large percentage of the proceeds goes to the charity you chose when you booked.
Why this journey matters. Every sheet or towel used again is one that didn’t need to be made new, and didn’t end up in a bin. We explain what that saves on how donating bed linen helps the planet. What happens to bedding and towels that are thrown away is on why shouldn’t old sheets and towels go in the bin?
The bigger picture
What it all means for the environment
We want bedding and towels used again for what they were made for. Your old sheets and towels don’t need to go to landfill. They can go on to a new home.
Less carbon
We estimate that every kilo of linen and towels used again, instead of made new, saves around 3 kg of CO2e.
Less water
We estimate the same kilo saves around 2,500 litres of water that would have gone into making new bedding and towels.
You can give your sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases and towels a second life, along with many other household items: book a free doorstep collection and choose the charity your donation supports. To check we collect near you, see areas we cover.
Ready to donate your linen and towels?
It’s free, you don’t need to be at home, and you choose the charity your donation supports.