Skip to content

Charity shops get creative with unsellable donations

Matt Weigold
BBC Radio Stoke
BBC A man in a navy polo shirt and a lime green lanyard stands in a charity shop. The walls are white and dark grey with a large green sign reading 'Thank you Stone!' He is surrounded by used furniture such as cabinets, a lamp, chairs, television and keyboardBBC
Jamie Richards, from AED Donate, said they offered a free collection service to avoid receiving damaged furniture

Rag merchants, home collections and car boot sales are just some of the ways charity shops in Staffordshire say they are dealing with poor quality donations.

A recent BBC investigation heard from staff at charity shops in another part of England who felt they were being used as a bin, with problematic donations including damp clothes and dirty nappies.

Jamie Richards is chief executive of the Staffordshire-based charity AED Donate, which offers free defibrillators and has has opened a second shop in Stone.

"We're zero-landfill as an organisation, so we will recycle pretty much everything," he promised.

"It does cost. There is a trade waste aspect to that. But people do tend to give us really high quality items."

In the investigation, the BBC found staff who said their week could involve rifling through 100 bags of donated clothes, much of it unusable.

The Charity Retail Association insisted current industry conditions were a "blip".

Listen on BBC Sounds: A walk down Stone high street reveals the different ways charity shops manage unwanted donations

Stone's high street has six charity shops, all with their different ways of dealing with unwanted items.

Sue Mitford, at The Children's Society shop in the town, uses a rag merchant to make money from any clothes not fit for sale.

But she said she would welcome any clarity from those donating, to make the process simpler.

"They will come and say these items are not for sale, they'll actually write on the bag 'rags' so we know we can get the money for them," Ms Mitford said.

A woman in a purple fleece, black T-shirt and purple lanyard stands in the door of a charity shop. The woman has shoulder-length blonde hair and glasses. Women's clothes, books and soft toys can be seen inside the shop.
Adele Allen said they relied on volunteers making cat beds and blankets from unsellable clothing

Adele Allen manages the Cats Protection branch shop in Stone and has her own feline-themed method of repurposing.

"People buy rags for sewing, crafting, we've got volunteers that make cat beds, cat blankets and anything to do with crafting," she listed.

Ms Allen admitted she had to be "picky" about what was sold in the shop and had sold lesser quality items at local boot sales.

She said she was grateful for all donations made to the charity but asked people to be selective.

"If it's really damaged, broken items, try and take it to the local recycling centre," she asked.

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

More on this story
Related internet links