Why is it so hard to give away late husband's clothes?

TomsMom

Can't think of the right board for this topic but I thought more people on the over 50's board might have been in this situation.

I have quite a few clothes and shoes of my late husband's and after giving it some thought I decided that the ones still of good quality and nearly new ones would hopefully be of some benefit to a homeless charity that provides clothes for people.

My daughter offered to take them for me (rather than give them to one of the charity shops locally which don't support this cause) and she rang the Salvation Army who said they would take trousers and coats but not shirts. She rang another one (not sure who it was) who said they would take the trousers but not coats.

One of the coats has not been worn and there are also some shirts not worn. I really don't understand why they have such restrictions. I'm not offering socks or pants but trousers, shirts, jumpers, jackets, a suit, ties and a couple of anorak type jackets. There are also some shoes and there's a pair of trainers unworn.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I live in rural N.Wales so not much around here but my daughter lives in the West Midlands where I would imagine there should be more opportunity for me to donate these items.

Sooki

This thread reminded me of a thread on another forum.

I haven't used the place myself but there is place in Stafford that offers cash for clothes at about 50p per kg, some one got £8.00 for about 3 bags. Apparently thay also take brick-a-brac, at the same price but there are some items they dont accept like duvet covers, pillows or towels

It was said that the items get sorted some to the third world & keep some in the UK for the vintage trade.

I'm sure there are other such ventures dotted around I guess this is why charity bags get stolen.

But this way you can recycle the clothes and what ever money you make you can choose a charity of your choice to donate the funds to.

Kew2u

I had a simular experience with 2 very good pairs of shoes. It wasn't that they didn't want them because they were shoes, it was a case of 'stock balance' I was told. Shelf and rack space is limited and all the charity shops like to keep a varied stock, so they stop taking certain items when they have enough at that time. Have you thought of a card posted in one of your local shops' windows? Some 'Mart' type magazines advertise for free too. What about your local church? Maybe the Minister knows a local family that could put the items to good use?

TomsMom

Kew2u wrote: »

I had a simular experience with 2 very good pairs of shoes. It wasn't that they didn't want them because they were shoes, it was a case of 'stock balance' I was told. Shelf and rack space is limited and all the charity shops like to keep a varied stock, so they stop taking certain items when they have enough at that time. Have you thought of a card posted in one of your local shops' windows? Some 'Mart' type magazines advertise for free too. What about your local church? Maybe the Minister knows a local family that could put the items to good use?

I live in a very small, fairly rural community and I would rather the clothes weren't used here (don't want to see them being worn around here if that makes sense).

We have 3 charity shops, I live behind one of them, and I've seen the amount of clothes that are collected regularly and taken away in a van, and I was also told that they prefer more "fashionable" clothes. Well, being a 64 year old man, although his clothes were nice they weren't "fashionable" IYSWIM.

I do support charities of my choice in various ways but I really was wanting these clothes to go somewhere where they could actually be given to people who need them. There is nothing in my county in N.Wales (a large county so if I could have found somewhere suitable to take them chances are the clothes would be used a good distance away) which is why my daughter was looking for somewhere near to where she lives.

I remember seeing an episode of Secret Millionaire where a homeless charity was featured which helped homeless people get back on their feet, finding accommodation and kitting it out with basic necessities plus a big clothes storeroom where people could choose what clothes they wanted. This was the sort of thing I had in mind if the Salvation Army didn't want them but I haven't found anything like it.

missile

Our local Tesco and Sainsburys both have large containers for charity donations and there is no restriction on what may be deposited. I guess they will dispose of items they do not want.

You could try the warden @ the nearest homeless shelter.

TomsMom

missile wrote: »

Our local Tesco and Sainsburys both have large containers for charity donations and there is no restriction on what may be deposited. I guess they will dispose of items they do not want.

You could try the warden @ the nearest homeless shelter.

As explained in my previous post, we don't have one. I live fairly rural that is why my DD is trying to find somewhere in the West Midlands.

zzzLazyDaisy

What a kind and generous thing to do.

Your daughter could advertise them on her local freecycle. I have given away lots of things there, to people who have been really grateful for the stuff. You do, however, take the risk that someone may just take them and sell them at a car boot - sadly it happens sometimes - but even then, someone at the end of the chain will be pleased to wear the clothes, which is better than them ending up in a skip.

Another thought is that in some supermarket car parks there are recycle collection bins for clothes that are then sorted and sent to third world countries, so there would be no chance of you seeing anyone wearing them, and someone somewhere would be warm for the winter.

meer53

We just bagged everyhting up when my FIL died and took it to the local hospice shop. They took everything. Some bags we put into a Salvation Army clothes bank at our local Co-Op. Don't ask them what they take, just bag it up and take it to the shop. Our local Oxfam takes everything too.

Errata

Both my local Hospice warehouses take anything and everything, sell what they can and recycle what they can't. I would guess any Hospices in the Midlands will operate in much the same way.

TomsMom

I've just got it in my mind that I would like the clothes to go directly to homeless people rather than a charity benefit from selling them. I don't want Save The Children or Tenovus or any other charity shop to have them to either sell on or bag up, I support those in other ways. I would like to support people who aren't as fortunate as my husband was and who would directly benefit from the clothes. It seems quite a difficult thing to do though.

Errata

How about contacting Crisis at Christmas local to you or your daughter?