About this directory

Charity shops turn donations into funding for good causes — but a surprising share of what arrives on their doorstep can't legally or safely be sold, and disposing of it costs charities money that should have gone to their work. Some report spending tens of thousands of pounds a year getting rid of unsaleable donations.

This directory exists so you can check before you bag something up. It records explicit acceptances as well as refusals; silence in a charity's published guidance is never treated as acceptance.

Who runs this

This directory is researched, compiled and maintained independently by FOIMonkey. It is self-funded, carries no advertising or affiliate links, and is not affiliated with, funded by or endorsed by any charity. Every fact on the site comes from the charities' own published guidance, not from any relationship with them.

Where the information comes from

Every entry is taken from the charity's own published donation guidance. Each policy links to its source page, quotes the charity's own wording where useful, and shows the date we last verified it. A monthly automated check watches every source page and flags any change for review — so a "verified" date tells you when a human last confirmed the entry against the charity's own words.

What the statuses mean

• ✕ Can't accept — the charity's guidance says they don't take it.
• ! Check first — they take it with conditions (a fire label, selected stores, sealed packaging…).
• ✓ Accepted — their guidance goes out of its way to say yes, where most say no.
• – Not mentioned — their guidance doesn't single it out. That is not a yes — ask your local shop.

The important caveat

Policies genuinely vary shop to shop, even within one charity: a standard-size shop can't take a sofa that the same charity's furniture store would love, and electrical acceptance often depends on whether a shop can safety-test. Treat this directory as a strong steer, not a guarantee — when it matters, ring the shop you're planning to visit.

This site provides general information, not legal or safety advice. Check current law, product guidance, local disposal rules and the intended shop's own policy yourself. Ultimately, you are responsible for deciding whether an item is yours to give and suitable to offer, and the charity is responsible for deciding whether to accept it.

Donate responsibly

Do not donate anything you do not own. That includes stolen goods, library books, items a friend asked you to look after, belongings left in your home that still belong to somebody else, and wheelchairs or mobility aids owned by the NHS, a hospital or a loan service.

If staff or volunteers refuse something, accept their decision. Do not argue and do not leave it outside the shop: dumped donations can create hazards and disposal costs. Use the item's alternative advice instead.

If something looks wrong

Charity policies change. Every entry here links to the charity's own guidance — that page is always the authority, so when in doubt, trust it over us. A monthly check compares every source page against the version last verified, and any change is reviewed by a person before an entry is updated, so genuine errors are normally corrected within a month.

This site doesn't operate a contact inbox. If you work for a listed charity and something here misstates your policy, updating your published donation guidance is the fastest way to fix it — the monthly check reads that page directly, and it is always treated as the authority over anything written here.