Most people drop off a bag of unwanted clothes and assume the items will soon be hanging on a thrift store rack. Sometimes they do. But donated clothing can take several different paths after it leaves your hands.
Thrift stores and charities receive huge amounts of clothing every day. They have to sort through those donations, decide what can be sold, and find another use for items that don’t make it to the sales floor. Some clothes are sold locally, some are listed online, some are bundled for resale, and others are recycled or discarded.
So what really happens after you leave that donation bag at the door? Here are 16 things worth knowing.
Only a Small Percentage Makes It to the Sales Floor
It’s easy to assume that every shirt, pair of jeans, and jacket you donate gets a spot on a thrift store rack. That’s not how it usually works.
Staff sort through donated clothing and select pieces that are clean, wearable, and likely to sell. Items that are damaged, heavily stained, badly worn, or otherwise unsuitable may be pulled from the start.
A donation can still be useful without ending up in the store, but the path it takes depends on its condition and the needs of the organization.
Related: 12 Reasons Thrift Store Prices Keep Climbing
Charities Receive More Clothing Than They Can Sell
Donation centers can receive enormous amounts of clothing, especially during spring cleaning, holiday seasons, and community donation drives.
The challenge isn’t always getting donations. It’s dealing with the amount that comes in. Storage space, staff time, transportation, and disposal all cost money, so charities have to be selective about what they can process.
This is one reason it’s better to donate clean, usable clothing rather than treating a donation center like a place to get rid of anything you no longer want.
Donations Go Through a Sorting Process
Before donated clothing reaches shoppers, it usually goes through some form of sorting.
Workers or volunteers check for stains, tears, missing buttons, odors, broken zippers, and other problems. Items in good condition may be priced and sent to the sales floor, while other pieces may be set aside for another use.
The process can happen quickly because donation centers may have thousands of pieces moving through their facilities.
Related: 10 Things You Should Never Do at a Thrift Store
Fast Fashion Creates Major Challenges
The quality of donated clothing has changed over the years. Many inexpensive fast-fashion pieces are made with lightweight fabrics and construction that may not hold up through repeated wear and washing.
That can make them difficult to resell once they’ve already been worn. A shirt that looked fine when it was purchased may have little resale value after the fabric stretches, pills, fades, or develops damage.
This is one reason buying fewer, longer-lasting clothes can make a difference long before the donation stage.
Unsold Clothing Often Gets Marked Down
A piece of clothing doesn’t always sell at its original thrift store price.
If it sits on the rack for a certain amount of time, the store may reduce the price. Markdowns give shoppers another reason to buy the item and free up rack space for new merchandise.
Some stores have their own schedules for price reductions, while others use colored tags or special sale days.
Related: 20 Things You Never Thought to Buy at a Thrift Store
Some Clothes End Up in Clearance Bins
Clothing that doesn’t sell at regular prices may eventually move to a clearance section.
These bins and racks can contain a mix of items, including clothing that has been marked down several times. Bargain shoppers sometimes find good pieces this way, especially if they’re willing to spend a little time sorting through everything.
For the store, it’s one more chance to sell an item before finding another use for it.
Large Amounts Are Sold by Weight
Clothing that can’t be sold individually may be bundled with other textiles and sold in bulk.
At this point, the individual shirt or pair of pants may have little importance. Buyers purchase large quantities by weight and then decide what can be resold, recycled, repurposed, or otherwise processed.
This is one reason a donated piece can leave the original thrift store and continue through several stages before reaching its final destination.
A Significant Amount Gets Exported Overseas
Large quantities of secondhand clothing are shipped to buyers in other countries.
These shipments can contain clothing that didn’t sell locally, along with other textiles gathered through donation and resale programs. Depending on the destination, the clothing may be sold through markets, shops, street vendors, or other resale channels.
So the sweater you donated locally could eventually be sold thousands of miles away.
Related: 12 Clothing Items People Wish They Never Donated
Not Everything Sent Overseas Gets Reused
Exporting clothing doesn’t mean every item automatically finds another owner.
Some markets receive more secondhand clothing than they can sell. Pieces that are poor quality, damaged, unsuitable for local demand, or simply unwanted can eventually become waste.
That is one reason donating clothing should come after trying to get as much useful life out of an item as possible.
Donations Can Impact Local Clothing Industries
The international trade in secondhand clothing has been debated for years.
In some countries, inexpensive imported clothing gives people access to affordable garments. In other places, large volumes of imported used clothing can make it harder for local clothing makers and textile businesses to compete.
The impact varies from one country and market to another, but the issue is more complicated than simply sending unwanted clothing somewhere it will automatically be needed.
Some Donations Are Recycled Into New Materials
Clothing that can’t be resold may still have value as a textile.
Depending on the material and recycling process available, old garments can be shredded or processed into products such as insulation, carpet padding, furniture stuffing, wiping cloths, and industrial rags.
Textile recycling isn’t available for every garment, but it gives some unwanted clothing another use instead of sending it straight to a landfill.
Related: Shoppers Say Goodwill Is Charging Too Much for Donated Items
New Clothing Gets Donated Too
Thrift stores don’t receive only used clothing from people’s closets.
Retailers may donate unsold merchandise, overstock, discontinued products, or items that were never purchased. Some of these pieces still have original tags attached.
That’s why it’s possible to find brand-new clothing at a thrift store. A piece may have never belonged to another person at all.
Thrift Stores Operate Like Retail Businesses
Many thrift stores support charitable organizations, but running a store still comes with plenty of expenses.
Rent, electricity, employee wages, transportation, storage, cleaning, sorting, and disposal all cost money. The store needs to sell enough merchandise to cover those expenses and, in many cases, contribute money toward the organization’s programs.
This is why donation centers can’t simply keep every item that comes through the door.
Higher-End Donations May Be Sold Online
A designer jacket or rare vintage piece may be worth much more online than it would be on a regular thrift store rack.
Many organizations have staff who look for valuable or unusual donations and list them through online marketplaces or auctions. Designer clothing, vintage pieces, collectibles, rare shoes, and other sought-after items may receive this treatment.
So a valuable donation might never appear in the local thrift store at all.
Donated Clothing Helps Fund Programs
The money raised from donated goods can support a wide range of charitable programs.
Depending on the organization, proceeds may help fund food assistance, shelters, job training, rehabilitation services, community programs, or other forms of aid.
This means a donated sweater doesn’t necessarily have to go directly to someone who needs clothing to make a difference. Selling that sweater can help pay for services that benefit people in other ways.
Some Donations Cost Charities Money
One of the least obvious parts of donating clothing is that unusable items can create an expense.
Clothes that arrive wet, moldy, heavily soiled, contaminated, or badly damaged may have to be removed and discarded. Someone has to handle those items, transport them, and sometimes pay disposal fees.
Before filling a donation bag, take a quick look at each piece. If something is too damaged or dirty for another person to wear, it may be better suited for a textile recycling program or household rag pile, depending on the material and local options.
A donation is most helpful when the item has some useful life left in it. Clean, wearable clothing gives charities a much better chance of turning your unwanted items into sales, materials, or support for their programs.
