Used Clothing Donation: Declutter and Donate to Charity

Recently we were decluttering our home with a focus on old clothing we were no longer wearing.  I’m sure everyone has those items that don’t fit right anymore, suit your fashion style, or bring you joy.  With any items we want to get rid of, our goal is to avoid the landfill. 

Used Clothing. Source: www.pexels.com Photo by Alexander Grey

Donating used clothing is a simple way to make a difference but can also be a challenge to get rid of if you don’t have a vehicle. In Canada, I’ve found two charities that can accept used clothing donations and offer free pick-up services:  Diabetes Canada and the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Why Donate Your Used Clothing?

One of the biggest reasons to donate old clothes is to help the environment and reduce waste.  In Canada, 500 million kilograms of clothing are thrown into the garbage each year.  A study published in Resources, Conservation and Recycling by the University of Waterloo and Seneca College evaluated how much of the clothing garbage could be diverted from the landfill.

Garbage Dump. Photo by Collab Media on Unsplash

What they found is that diverting this waste could significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions because 65% of it could be reused and 21% recycled. One of the authors estimates that annually it would be the equivalent of driving 310,000 cars, plus supplying energy to 218,000 Canadian homes and filling 35,000 Olympic pools of water.  The good news is 92% of Canadians have donated clothes to charity, so we have the collective will to reduce our environmental impact while helping those in need.  

For me, one of the biggest challenges is figuring out where to donate my used clothing items.  I try to see if someone in the extended family could make use out of them, but that is rare because no one is my size, and they don’t necessarily have my fashion style.  

I’ve also tried to donate clothes locally to shelters but the truth is they aren’t equipped to accept clothing and don’t have the storage space. The shelters are looking for monetary donations to help support those in need.

Where to Give Away Clothes

I’ve found the two best places to donate clothes are Diabetes Canada and the Kidney Foundation of Canada, also known as Kidney Clothes. 

Both non-profits have a partnership with Value Village which buys the clothes based on volume.  Value Village has the storage space and storefronts to sell the used items.

Benefits to Diabetes Canada

Diabetes Canada has been partnered with Value Village for nearly 40 years and 100% of the net proceeds are used for research, education, programs and services. Every year, about $4 million is raised through the used clothing collection program.  

How Your Clothing Donations Help Diabetes Canada. Source: www.declutterfordiabetes.ca 

Approximately 100 million pounds of donated items are diverted from landfill annually.  Diabetes Canada uses these proceeds to send 2,000 Type 1 diabetic children and family members to D-Camp where they can learn how to manage the disease and make new friends.  The funding also provides supports for 11.9 million people affected by the disease.

Benefits to Kidney Foundation

The Kidney Foundation has a program, Kidney Clothes, that does the same thing as Diabetes Canada, partnering with Value Village.  The proceeds of the clothing donations go towards kidney research and providing programs to help people living with kidney disease.  The Kidney Clothes program is only available in Ontario and Calgary so far.

I reviewed the 2023 Annual Report and discovered that more than half of money raised for the Kidney Foundation is used for research and providing financial support to patients.  How much is raised by the clothing donation program isn’t explicitly stated in the report.

Not Just Used Clothing Donations

Although I am focusing on where to give away clothes, both non-profits accept a broader list of used items for donation.  If you plan to donate, here is what they will collect:

TEXTILES

• Accessories and bags
• Clothing (all types) 
• Curtains
• General cloth items - bedding and bath items
• Shoes and boots
• Sleeping bags

ELECTRONICS & SPORTING GOODS

• Cameras
• DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes
• Cell phones, PDAs
• Sporting goods (packed in a box/bag)
• Laptops
• Tablets
• Toys, games, and gaming consoles

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

• Bakeware
• Barware
• Bath items
• Books
• Cookware/pots and pans
• Cutlery, utensils
• Decorative accents
• Small household appliances (blenders, irons, hand mixers etc)
• Tableware

How to Donate Old Clothes

Because used clothes are going to Value Village, the expectation is they are cleaned and ready for sale. Normally I try to donate items that aren’t too worn out or don’t have holes or tears.  Kidney Clothes accepts clothes that are worn and with some damage, so these items can be donated too. The key is that they are clean, dry and free of contaminates.

Both organizations request that the donations be placed in bags or boxes, weighing under 40 pounds. If you are using their pick-up service, they need to be labelled with a “D” for Diabetes or “K” for Kidney depending on who is collecting the items.  I usually leave my labelled bags on the porch before 8 am on the day of pick-up.

My Used Clothing Donation

Clothing Donation Pick-up Services

I am a big fan of the pick-up services both non-profits offer.  It’s incredibly convenient to have the donation truck pick-up our bags and boxes because we don’t own a car.  It’s quite difficult for us to trek large garbage bags of clothes to a donation centre by public transit. 

Fortunately, the pick-up service is free of charge, so there really is no reason to avoid decluttering and donating. Pick-ups can be scheduled online or by phoning their contact numbers.  The truck will arrive between 8 am and 9 pm on the scheduled day, but because the driver’s route is unique to the day, you never know when your items will be collected. 

Missed pick-ups happen occasionally because the truck is full before the end of the day.  When that occurs, I just reschedule and put the items out for pick-up at a later date.

Value Village Controversy

When using the pick-up services, Value Village is where all our used clothing and household items end up.  The company is owned by Savers, Inc., which is a for-profit company based out of the United States. Even though Savers partners with non-profits to source the goods for sale, the company does not operate as a non-profit. 

Savers doesn’t disclose their profitability figures, but it is estimated that they earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Because of this, many donors are unhappy that Value Village makes such a huge profit and the charities themselves aren’t reaping the full benefit. 

Value Village Store. Source: NOW Magazine. Photo by Amanda Snyder/Crosscut

Part of the re-sale aspect of these used items is to provide an option for lower income households to buy affordable clothes and household goods.  Value Village prices have shot up in recent years compared to other thrift stores like Goodwill, especially for brand name clothing.  

“Value Village Boutique” locations carry higher-end designer clothes with a focus on unique, quality items at a higher price point.  I’ve heard complaints that the prices are unreasonable at these shops. 

What Happened to Goodwill?

In Toronto and the surrounding area, there used to be over a dozen Goodwill stores selling used clothes, that offered unionized employment to 450 people.  Part of the Goodwill model was to provide employment to people having difficulty getting work. The doors were closed in 2016 when the Toronto chapter filed for bankruptcy due to a cash flow crisis.  

With the rising cost of rent and wages, Goodwill was unable to generate enough revenue from the store sales to cover those costs.  There was an operating shortage of $4 million dollars that the Ontario government funded with a grant for several years, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Goodwill stores open as the fiscal gap grew wider.

Goodwill logo. Source: www.goodwillindustries.ca

Three stores re-opened in Toronto since the bankruptcy, but they are drop-off locations only.  Goodwill operates independent chapters, collecting the clothing and selling directly to the public.  It continues to be a challenging business model for this non-profit to operate in our current environment of escalating operating costs. 

With only three stores in Toronto, there is too much stuff being donated for Goodwill to collect and resell everything. I think supporting Goodwill is a great idea, but its small scale means there needs to be other alternatives like the Value Village for-profit model otherwise all of our used items will end up in the garbage dump. 

For a Good Cause While Saving the Planet

Donating clothes and household items is a sustainable way to declutter unwanted things without straining the local landfill.  It has the bonus of bringing funds to charities like the Diabetes and Kidney associations, thereby helping people who suffer from these diseases. 

These non-profits have made it super easy to donate by coming straight to your door.  It is a great way to help the planet and the community, so make sure you don’t throw your unused items in the garbage.  

Where Can I Donate Used Clothes Near Me?

Here are the contact links if you want to find out more:

Goodwill locations for drop-offs

Diabetes Canada pick-up or call 1-800-505-5525

Kidney Clothes pick-up or call 1-800-414-3484

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