What Happens to Donated Shoes After Collection?
Once you’ve booked a free doorstep shoe collection and the van pulls away from your door, your shoes start a journey that ends with someone else wearing them. We take them back to our warehouse, sort them by hand, and pass on most pairs that can be worn again. Here is what happens, stage by stage.
- Sorted by hand
- Most pairs worn again
- Proceeds help your chosen charity
The journey
From your doorstep to a new pair of feet
Collected from your doorstep
You leave your bags or boxes of shoes 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.
Our drivers collect from homes all day, so your trainers, boots and sandals travel with everyone else’s donations from your area.
Back to our warehouse
At the end of the round, the driver brings everything back to our warehouse, where the day’s donations are unloaded 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 pair is checked by hand. Our team looks at what each pair is, its size and its condition: a pair of walking boots, children’s school shoes, wellies, heels or slippers. It’s careful work, and it’s what makes sure each pair goes somewhere it will actually be worn.
Shoes are only useful as a pair, which is why we ask you to donate them in pairs and keep each pair together in the bag.
Passed on to be worn again
Once sorted, we pass on most pairs that can be worn again, so they go on to new owners instead of sitting in a cupboard or going in a bin.
Because we only ask for wearable shoes, most of what we collect can go on to be worn. That is why the list of what shoes we can and can’t take matters: the more of each bag that can be worn again, the more it raises.
The money goes to charity
Selling the shoes pays for the collection, the sorting and the transport, and a large percentage of the proceeds goes to the charity you chose when you booked: RSPCA, Action for Children, Together for Short Lives or Advance, or Ecologi, which plants trees. You can read more on who do my shoes help?
Why this journey matters. Every pair worn again is a pair that didn’t need to be made new, and didn’t end up in a bin. We explain what that saves on how donating shoes helps the planet, and what happens to shoes that are thrown away on why old shoes shouldn’t go in the bin.
Anglo Recycling, the company behind Anglo Doorstep Collections, was named Best Clothes Recycling Enterprise 2023 in the Southern Enterprise Awards.
Before we arrive
How to help more of your shoes be worn again
A little care when you pack makes the sorting easier, and means more of your pairs can go on to new owners.
- Donate shoes in pairs, and keep each pair together
- Give them a quick wipe or brush so they’re clean
- Pack them in tied bags or boxes a driver can lift
- Keep them dry: wet bags spoil everything packed with them
The full step-by-step is on how do I donate my shoes?, and outgrown pairs for little feet are covered on children’s shoes.
The bigger picture
What it all means for the environment
We want shoes used again for what they were made for: walking. Your unwanted footwear doesn’t need to go to landfill. It can have a new owner.
Less made new
Every pair of trainers or boots that gets another owner is a pair nobody needs to make from scratch. Why reuse beats new.
Less in the bin
Shoes in a household bin are lost for good. Donated, they stay in use. What happens to thrown-away shoes.
Work out your own
Put in what you’re clearing out and see an estimate of the carbon and water it could save. Try the green calculator.
Questions
Questions about what happens to donated shoes
Are my shoes checked before they’re passed on?
Yes. Every bag is opened at our warehouse and every pair is checked by hand. Nothing is sold straight off the van.
How does my donation help a charity?
Selling the shoes pays for the collection, sorting and transport, and a large percentage of the proceeds goes to the charity you chose when you booked.
Can I donate other things in the same collection?
Yes. We can collect clothes, books, toys and other household items from the same doorstep in one go. See everything we collect.
Do you collect where I live?
We collect from homes across most of England and South Wales. Enter your postcode when you book to see your next dates, or see areas we cover.
More answers are on our frequently asked questions page.
Ready to donate your shoes?
It’s free, you don’t need to be at home, and you choose the charity your donation supports.