How Donating Your Clothes Helps People and Charities
A bag of clothes you no longer wear can do more good than you might think. It helps families who need good clothes at a fair price, raises money for the charity you choose, keeps people in work and keeps clothing out of the bin.
- Families
- Your chosen charity
- Local jobs
- Your council
1 · Families
Families who can buy good clothes for less
Most of the clothes we collect are worn again. Some are sold here in the UK, and many go to second-hand markets abroad, where a warm winter coat or a child’s school shoes can cost a fraction of the price of new.
For a family on a tight budget, that difference matters. Clothes you have finished with become someone else’s everyday wardrobe. How they get there, from your doorstep to the market stall, is on what happens to my clothes.
2 · Charity
The charity you choose
When you book, you choose where your donation goes, and a large percentage of the proceeds goes to that charity. Every collection adds to the total our donors have raised.
RSPCA
Rescuing, caring for and rehoming animals in need, and working to prevent cruelty.
Action for Children
Practical help and protection for children and young people across the UK.
Together for Short Lives
Support for seriously ill children and their families, working with children’s hospices.
Advance
Free, confidential support for women, including women facing danger at home.
You can also choose to plant trees with Ecologi instead. Read more about each one on our charities page.
3 · Jobs
People in work
Every collection is work for real people: the drivers who collect from your street, the team at our warehouse who sort every bag by hand, and the traders and stallholders who sell the clothes on.
4 · Your council
Your council and neighbourhood
Clothes in a household bin have to be collected and disposed of by your council, and that costs money. Every bag that comes to us instead is one less for the council to deal with. That is one reason many councils work with us: see council partnerships.
5 · The planet
Less made new
A piece of clothing worn again doesn’t need to be made new, so the water, energy and materials that went into it keep doing their job. See how donating clothes helps the planet.
Making your donation count. Give clothes that are clean, dry and wearable: they are the ones that raise the most. Keep shoes in pairs, empty every pocket, and choose your charity when you book. Not sure what to include? Start with what clothes can I donate?
Ready to donate your clothes?
It’s free, you don’t need to be at home, and you choose the charity your donation supports.