We’re urging donors to ‘Sift Before You Gift’ to prevent volunteers encountering unsuitable donations such as used underwear and grubby clothing.
Our friendly reminder comes following a spate of donations that would be more fit for the washing machine or recycling centre than to display in our eight charity shops across South London.
Our Retail Supervisor, Barbara Kelly said: “We really appreciate clothing donations, they’re what keep our charity in business, but while most contributions are suitable for our shops, we encounter some things we’d rather not come across!
“We often get dirty or heavily worn items which we have to dispose of ourselves, costing our charity much-needed funds to do so. In the worst-case scenarios, we’ve had used underwear cropping up among donated clothing, making it very unpleasant and unhygienic for our volunteers and staff members.
“If donors took a few minutes just to sift through their items one by one before bagging them up, this would eliminate any unsuitable garments that might have got caught up with the rest of the clothing. Please check the items are suitable for resale and are pre-loved garments, not clothing with excess wear and tear.”
Five per cent of donated clothing sent to landfill
The Charity Retail Association estimates that by weight, five per cent of donated clothing must be disposed of as waste due to being unsuitable for either reuse or recycling. This is mainly due to items being soiled, sodden, heavily stained with oil or paint or otherwise contaminated.
Recent items our volunteers have found in donation bags include both men and women’s soiled underwear, torn and worn bras, dirty and damaged socks and unwashed, stained or torn items of clothing.
Items we cannot accept include poor quality items (dirty, ripped, torn, stained garments with broken zips, etc), underwear, lingerie or swimwear. Recent items volunteers have found in donation bags include both men and women’s soiled underwear, torn and worn bras, dirty and damaged socks and unwashed, stained or torn items of clothing.
We are also requesting people not to leave bags outside our shops in Knights Hill, West Norwood, Brixton, Purley, Wallington and Caterham, but instead drop off donations inside during opening hours.
“We often get people leaving bags outside our shops, but the items can often get damaged by rain, stolen by opportunists or ripped open by foxes thinking the bags might contain food. Please call in during normal opening hours to ensure your donation is received safe and sound,” Barbara said.
Funds raised from items sold in our charity shops is used to support up to 48 people who have experienced homelessness. We provide them with a home, meaningful work in our social enterprise, and an opportunity to regain lost self-esteem to help rebuild their lives.
If you’d like to make a donation to any of our shops, please check out their opening hours and addresses on the link here.
Main pic: Unfit for sale – Retail Supervisor Barbara Kelly highlights a couple of unsuitable donations.