How To Create Your Own Clothing Company

7 Places to Donate Used Clothes

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When it comes to charity, we're all used to donating money or giving up our free time to help others less fortunate than ourselves, but some people are in need of basic provisions such as clothing. Most financial experts believe that you should spend no more than 5% of your monthly salary on clothes. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average family takes home $4,553 each month, which means they should spend no more than $227 on clothing. That's a lot of money to some families that struggle to pay for food and energy bills.

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross provides help for a lot of different people. When you donate clothes to them, they'll pass them onto victims of natural disasters who have lost their clothing when disaster struck. Victims of Hurricane Katrina and those who suffered through Hurricane Ike benefited from clothing donated by the American Red Cross. Although any clothes are gratefully received, shoes, purses, and linen can also be accepted by these guys.

The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army accepts all clothing for men, women, and children that are in a good enough condition to be sold in one of their stores. The proceeds from these sales help the Salvation Army to fund their adult rehabilitation centers. Check out salvationarmyusa.org to find your location drop-off point.

Dress for Success

Before you get a job you need to look presentable. That's just not possible if you have no money. That's where Dress for Success comes in. This charity provides low-income women with business clothing that will help them gain confidence and allow them to be presentable for an interview. The charity also gives women a week's worth of clothing when they find a job. If you think you can help, go to dressforsuccess.org to find your local drop-off point.

Career Gear

As with Dress for Success, Career Gear recognize how important appearances are when you're trying to find work. These guys help low-income men to get a better job or to get into work by providing them with business clothes and toiletries. They need formal suits, shoes and any other accessory such as ties, and they'll accept your used clothing at a drop-off point in New York City, or you can ship your clothes to them. Go to careergear.org for shipping details.

Planet Aid

Planet Aid aims to help the environment by encouraging us to re-use our clothing. This charity will accept any and all quality clothes in one of their nationally available drop-off bins. These clothes are often recycled through the textile industry or resold in shops for profits that help developing nations.

Donate My Dress

If you have a dress to drop off, give it to Donate My Dress. This non-profit organization has a national network that accepts used clothing, which is donated to low-income women across the country. Your old dress could be used for a special occasion such as a high school prom or any other formal event.

Goodwill

Goodwill is a charity that sells your used clothes to help fund their community outreach works. You can donate any clothes for men, women or children with Goodwill. Check out their website at goodwill.org for details where to drop off your used clothing.

How Clothes are Used

When you clean out your closet some of the clothing goes directly to families who need new clothes but the truth is that the majority of the clothes donated are actually sold to raise money for the charity you donated them to. That might be at odds with your impression of how you're helping but recycled clothes are a valuable commodity for charities who sell the clothing in their shops or in bulk to recycling firms. It's estimated that only 10% of all donated clothes go to families that need them. The other 90% are sold in stores to raise money or sold in bulk to recycling companies.