Imagine you have some old clothes you don’t wear anymore. Perhaps they don’t fit, or perhaps you are just a bit tired of them. They are still in good condition, so someone could make use of them. Rather than letting them be thrown away and wasted, you put them in a bag and donate them to your favourite charity. What happens next?
Initial sorting
In a perfect world, people would only send clothes that are still fit to wear to charity shops; however, it is not uncommon to receive items that are mildewed, otherwise contaminated, or damaged. Some may even have to be immediately discarded into landfill. Milder wear and tear is not necessarily a dealbreaker, but most charities are not going to have the time to do their own repairs.
The shopfloor
Wearable, sellable clothes will be displayed on the shopfloor for prospective customers. Some will be sold quickly; for example, a womens Aran sweater from a store such as https://shoparan.com/womens-irish-sweaters/ is likely to be a sought-after item. Others may remain in place for days or weeks and prices could have to be reduced to try to encourage purchases. If they stay too long, they may have to be relocated to a different shop or even removed from sale completely.
If it doesn’t sell
If it proves impossible to sell the clothes from the shop, there are alternative options such as donating them elsewhere or sending them to an auction where clothing is sold en masse. One of the last steps before the clothing is discarded for good is to offer it to textile recyclers. The fabric may be resold abroad, used for industrial purposes, turned into different items such as insulation or soundproofing, or used for creative projects.
Sorting and organising donated clothes is a complicated process, and not all will be sold from the shopfloor; however, recycling your unwanted garments can reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, with donating them to charity one way in which you can do this whilst raising money for a good cause.