When you donate clothes or other items to charity, it can be difficult to know exactly what happens to them. It’s totally natural to be worried about how much good your donations are actually doing, and certain studies have backed up that concern.

 

According to the Council for Textile Recycling, thrift stores typically only resell about 20 percent of donated garments, with the rest likely to end up in landfill.

 

Those are pretty damning figures. So is there anything we can do to make sure our unwanted goods go to a good place? Thankfully, there are a few places designed to encourage ethical clothing donation. And in this article, we’ll be informing you about some of the best ones out there.

 

We’ll explore these main points:

• What Is Ethical Fashion?

• Why Should We Donate Clothes?

• Where To Donate Clothes: 9 Top Picks

Here’s how your unwanted clothes can make a difference.

What Is Ethical Fashion?

The damage that’s done across the world by the fast fashion industry has become much more widely understood in recent years.

 

Fast fashion is responsible for a range of environmental issues including synthetic fiber and plastic waste, non-renewable energy reliance, and excessive water use.

 

But even so, switching to ethical practices is easier said than done. “Ethical fashion” is also a very slippery term, one that can be interpreted in a number of ways. Put simply, ethical fashion is garment design, production, and distribution that focuses on reducing harm to people and the planet.

 

The term ethical fashion was coined in response to an industry that’s notorious for underpaying employees, allowing them to operate in unfair or unsafe working conditions, and damaging the planet.

 

And it’s not just about how the clothes are made in the first place — it’s also about their journey further down the line.

 

Why Should We Donate Clothes?

Donating clothes is a good way to try and reduce the impact your fashion choices are having on the environment, even in a small way.

 

Donating your unwanted clothes can help prevent them from ending up in landfill, where it can take years and years for them to fully break down, releasing harmful gases into the environment in the process. It also benefits other people.

 

Just because you don’t want that pair of old jeans anymore, doesn’t mean someone else won’t. Everyone has different tastes, and we’re all different shapes and sizes, too. That means as long as your clothes are in decent nick, there’s probably someone who could use them.

 

Donating clothes gives them a new life and has the potential to help others in your community. So where are the best places to send those garments over to?

 

Let’s pick out some of the top options.

Where To Donate Clothes: 9 Top Picks

Here are 9 places that can find a good use for your unwanted clothes.

#1. American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is one of the oldest and most well-respected humanitarian organizations out there.

 

Helping millions of people all across the world, they focus on providing emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education to those in need.

 

Their partnership with clothing collection organization GreenDrop allows them to take donated clothes and re-sell them to thrift stores to benefit the American Red Cross. Donations can be made at a local GreenDrop drop-off center or via an at-home pick-up.

#2. Room To Grow

Room To Grow is all about empowering people to help others in their local community. The charity works to offer clothing, coaching, and community building to low-income families, and a big part of that process centers around clothing donations.

 

Only baby clothing and gear is accepted by Room To Grow. All items must be in good condition, but other than that they’re not fussy. They’ll take clothing, shoes, toys, and all sorts of other baby gear.

 

Individual donations can be made via drop off locations in New York City and Boston, and gifts and monetary donations are accepted too.

#3. Salvation Army

Everyone’s heard of the Salvation Army. The international charity organization was first founded in 1865, and they provide all sorts of branches of community support.

 

Part of the Protestant church, they help families in poverty, people facing disasters, veterans and domestic abuse survivors in need of support, and much more. They’ll accept clothes donations from the public, as long as that clothing is in good condition.

 

The Salvation Army takes men’s, women’s, and children’s items, and you can donate by either finding a local drop-off location or scheduling a pick-up. Check out their site for more info.

#4. Dress For Success

Some people are used to wearing smart outfits all the time, whether they have to for work, or it’s just their fashion sense. If you’re someone with tons of professional clothing, Dress For Success could be the perfect place to send some of it.

 

This is a non-profit that seeks to empower low-income women by providing them with work-appropriate attire that can help them get employment. Since its inception in 1997, Dress For Success has expanded to almost 150 cities in 25 countries.

 

Only new, work-appropriate, ready-to-wear women’s clothing is accepted. Donations can be dropped off at your nearest affiliate location, but you should call in advance before heading down.

#5. Free The Girls

Lots of people don’t realize how useful their old bras can be. Free The Girls is another organization based around helping women.

 

They take bras and send them to survivors of sex trafficking in places like Uganda, El Salvador, and Mozambique. Here, the women have the opportunity to sell the bras in second-hand markets and earn an income that can support them and their families.

 

Free The Girls accepts new and gently-used bras in all sorts of styles and designs. To donate, fill out the donation form on the Free the Girls’ website, then drop off donations at a nearby drop-off location.

#6. Goodwill

Another well-known place to donate used clothes and other items, Goodwill is a non-profit funded by a massive network of thrift stores all over the US. Revenue from the stores is directed towards helping individuals find employment and access training.

 

Anything that can’t be sold will be forwarded to recycling organizations rather than landfill. New and gently used clothing, shoes, accessories, books, furniture, and other items can be dropped off at your local Goodwill stores. Check out one near you here.

#7. Planet Aid

While reading this list, you might have been put off to learn that most of these charities are after clothing that’s in good, wearable condition. Thankfully, there’s an organization that’s a bit different.

 

Planet Aid’s mission is to save all textiles from the landfill. In order to do so, they sell and reuse all donated clothes in developing countries, with proceeds going towards development projects to fight poverty in these areas.

 

If you’ve got clothing with plenty of wear and tear lying around, you can put it all in a bag and drop it off at one of Planet Aid’s 19,000 yellow drop-off bins across the country.

#8. ThredUP

ThredUP is an online thrift store where you can buy and sell second-hand clothes. Since 2012, around 78 million items have been upcycled on thredUP, including men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and shoes.

 

While you can sell clothes online and earn money, today we’re talking about donations. ThredUP provide a donation kit where instead of giving you money, they will donate $5 to a charity of your choice. You can set up an account on their website, or their app.

#9. Soles4Souls

Soles4Souls is probably your best bet for donating shoes. Accepting all styles and sizes of new or gently-worn shoes, its mission is to collect unwanted footwear and redistribute it to those who need it most.

 

They also take clothes, too. But unlike organizations like Planet Aid, Soles4Souls are after garments that are in good condition.

 

You can donate at a drop-off location near you or ship your donations for free with Zappos for Good, a service business designed to be the world’s most community-focused large company. If you do choose to ship your donation, make sure you include a donor form.

Make A Positive Change

There are a number of ways in which making a donation to one of these organizations can have a super positive impact.

 

Clothes donations can help the planet, provide resources for those in need, redistribute clothing and footwear, and contribute to amazing community schemes like the ones we’ve discussed in this article.

 

If you want to start having a more ethical relationship with the clothes you wear, finding out where to donate clothes near you and committing to that process is one of the best things you can do.