Where to donate clothes? (Durham: new home, employment, shoppers)

[fester600]

Howdy,

So I received a bunch of shirts and pants for Christmas and I am going with the motto "Out with the Old, In with the New".

I am curious if there were any places to donate clothes in and around the SW Durham (Southpoint) area. We used to always donate to GCF (Free Online Learning at GCFLearnFree.org) but there does not seem to be a store anywhere close by...

Thanks!

[clj2]

Have you tried Goodwill or Salvation Army? If you have a lot of "stuff", they will usually come pick it up, IIRC.

[Heathercp]

We take all of our donations to the Goodwill store on Garrett just south of 15/501. It's easy to drop things off and it's usually pretty busy. Lots of shoppers, in other words. I've always gotten the sense that my items are quickly going to find a new home.

[ut04257]

Goodwill and Salvation Army will only pick up if you have furniture.

[clj2]

Oh, OK. Thanks ut.

[goat1of2]

I've put some things in those large yellow "Planet Aid" boxes which seems to be everywhere now...gas stations, shopping center parking lots, even at the county dump sites!

Does anyone know what happens to that stuff?

Edit: Okay, so I answered my own question. Turns out that "Planet Aid" may not be a reputable charity. There are many articles, written by seemingly valid news organizations, questioning their standing as a charity and their methods. Seems like, by being more convenient than Goodwill, they are redirecting the stream of unwanted goods away from other charities.

[mia78]

I read something about those Planet Aid boxes and the like that they bundle the clothing up and sell it overseas to poorer countries. The clothes that are in too poor condition for use by others is shredded up and used for upholstery stuffing or things like that. I honestly don't see the difference in donating the clothes as both ways, you are getting rid of the clothes and they are going to be sold or recycled. I think it's much better than them going into a landfill. Planet Aid boxes are definitely providing a convenience to me as my corner gas station is a lot easier to drop off than going out of my way to one of the thrift stores.

Me personally, I prefer to use freecycle and craigslist as my first means of getting rid of the clothes because when I want it gone, I want it gone yesterday. Many times, my bags of clothes are gone from my doorstep within 1-2 days.

[skaternum]

Originally Posted by mia78

I read something about those Planet Aid boxes and the like that they bundle the clothing up and sell it overseas to poorer countries.

From a reposting of an article in the Boston Globe (http://www.rickross.com/reference/tvind/tvind46.html) :

But almost none of the clothes donated to Planet Aid are given away, and only about 6 percent of the money the group raises is spent on charity, a Planet Aid official acknowledged a week ago.

[mia78]

I didn't read the entire article, but I never understood that their profits were going to charity. They clearly state on the boxes that they are for profit (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I said in my other post that the clothes were going to be sold overseas, not given away to needy people overseas. They're in the lucrative business of clothing recycling just like GCF and Salvation Army. Someone may prefer that their clothes are donated to support local programs that GCF funds and others just want the clothes gone ASAP.

[skaternum]

Originally Posted by mia78

I said in my other post that the clothes were going to be sold overseas, not given away to needy people overseas. They're in the lucrative business of clothing recycling just like GCF and Salvation Army. Someone may prefer that their clothes are donated to support local programs that GCF funds and others just want the clothes gone ASAP.

Well, you said, "I honestly don't see the difference in donating the clothes as both ways, you are getting rid of the clothes and they are going to be sold or recycled." There is a huge difference. Planet Aid uses 6% of its revenue for "programs." Goodwill Industries uses 84% of its revenue for programs. Last year Goodwill served 1.1 million people through its employment and training programs. Huge difference.