All items · Baby & children
Used playpens
Also covers: play pen, travel playpen, play yard
Can you donate used playpens to a UK charity shop? Usually not.
The short answer
Almost all say no
Of the 153 UK charities we track, 16 say no and 1 may accept in some cases. 3 of those are category-wide rules rather than a direct mention.
Evidence last verified
Why shops may refuse it
Used playpens can be difficult to check for missing parts, recalls and current safety compliance, so a number of charities decline them.
What to do instead
A local baby bank may accept a clean, complete model with its instructions — contact them before travelling.
Charity by charity
17 mentions-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Playpens”
-
Can't accept
Cots, carrycots, moses baskets, playpens
Their wording
“Cots, carrycots, moses baskets and playpens”
-
Can't accept
Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland category-wide rule
Applies to all baby & children items
Their wording
“Baby furniture and equipment”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Moses baskets, carry cots, playpens, high chairs.”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Cots, carry cots, playpens”
-
Can't accept
Phyllis Tuckwell category-wide rule
No baby-related equipment accepted
Their wording
“Highchairs, pushchairs or baby-related equipment”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“playpens”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Playpens”
-
Can't accept
Shown when searching 'Playpen'.
Their wording
“Thank you for thinking of us. Unfortunately, we’re unable to accept this item because of children’s safety concerns. We have to meet strict safety standards, so we can’t take items if there’s any chance they might be damaged, faulty, or not meet current regulations.”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Cots, carry cots, playpens, highchairs”
-
Can't accept
Playpens listed under items the charity cannot take.
Their wording
“Inflatable toys, soft toys without the CE label or toy guns, prams, pushchairs or buggies (unless brand new), cots, cot mattresses, carry cots or playpens, high chairs or car seats”
- Can't accept
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Playpens”
-
Can't accept
St Wilfrid's Hospice category-wide rule
In addition to cots, prams/strollers, carriers and car/booster seats being explicitly listed as not accepted. Baby/children's clothing is separately and explicitly welcomed ('Clean and undamaged children's clothing', 'Clean and undamaged baby clothing') and sits under the Clothing & accessories category, not this one.
Their wording
“Baby and nursery equipment”
-
Can't accept
Also excludes playpens and baby baths.
Their wording
“playpens, baby baths, baby door bouncers, baby walkers”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Highchairs, cots, carry cots, playpens”
-
Check first
Only accepted with identification (not accepted without it).
Their wording
“Cots, carry cots, playpens, high chairs – without identification”
Not mentioned in 136 charities' guidance
Absence from a charity's list doesn't mean they accept it — it just isn't singled out. Ask your local shop.
- Accord Hospice
- Acorns Children's Hospice
- Age UK
- Ardgowan Hospice
- Ashgate Hospicecare
- Ayrshire Hospice
- Barnardo's
- Barnsley Hospice
- Blythe House Hospice
- Bolton Hospice
- British Red Cross
- Butterfly Hospice Trust
- Butterwick Hospice
- Cancer Research UK
- Children's Hospice South West
- Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS)
- Claire House Children's Hospice
- Cransley Hospice Trust
- Crisis
- DEBRA
- Demelza Hospice Care for Children
- Derian House Children's Hospice
- Dogs Trust
- Dorothy House
- Douglas Macmillan Hospice
- Dr Kershaw's Hospice
- East Lancashire Hospice
- Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria's Children's Hospice
- Ellenor
- Emmaus
- FARA Charity Shops
- Farleigh Hospice
- Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity
- Forget Me Not Children's Hospice
- Garden House Hospice Care
- Great Oaks Hospice
- Great Western Air Ambulance Charity
- Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice
- Heart of Kent Hospice
- Helen & Douglas House
- Highland Hospice
- Hope House & Ty Gobaith Children's Hospices
- Hospice in the Weald
- Hospice Isle of Man
- Hospice of the Valleys
- Jersey Hospice Care
- Julia's House
- Katharine House Hospice (Stafford)
- Katharine House Hospice, Banbury
- Keech Hospice Care
- KEMP Hospice
- Lewis-Manning Hospice Care
- Lindsey Lodge Hospice
- LOROS Hospice
- Marie Curie
- Martin House Children's Hospice
- Mountbatten Isle of Wight
- Moya Cole Hospice
- Naomi House & Jack's Place
- Nightingale House Hospice
- North Devon Hospice
- North London Hospice
- Nottinghamshire Hospice
- Octavia Foundation
- Overgate Hospice
- Oxfam
- PDSA
- Pendleside Hospice
- Pilgrims Hospices
- Primrose Hospice
- Princess Alice Hospice
- Prospect Hospice
- Queenscourt Hospice
- Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People
- Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care
- Rotherham Hospice
- Royal Trinity Hospice (London)
- Saint Francis Hospice
- Salvation Army (SATCoL)
- Samaritans
- Save the Children
- Scope
- Sense Scotland
- Severn Hospice
- Shelter
- Shooting Star Children's Hospices
- Springhill Hospice
- St Andrew's Hospice (Lanarkshire)
- St Barnabas Hospice (Lincolnshire)
- St Catherine's Hospice (Crawley)
- St Catherine's Hospice (Lancashire)
- St Christopher's Hospice
- St Clare Hospice
- St Columba's Hospice
- St Cuthbert's Hospice
- St David's Hospice Care
- St Giles Hospice
- St Helena Hospice
- St John's Hospice (London)
- St Luke's Cheshire Hospice
- St Luke's Hospice (Harrow & Brent)
- St Luke's Hospice Basildon & Thurrock
- St Luke's Hospice Plymouth
- St Luke's Hospice, Sheffield
- St Margaret's Hospice Care (Somerset)
- St Mary's Hospice
- St Michael's Hospice (North Hampshire)
- St Nicholas Hospice Care
- St Peter & St James Hospice
- St Raphael's Hospice
- St Richard's Hospice
- St Vincent's Hospice
- Strathcarron Hospice
- The Children's Trust
- The Kirkwood
- The Myton Hospices
- The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice
- The Prince of Wales Hospice
- The Shakespeare Hospice
- Traid
- Treetops Hospice Trust
- Trinity Hospice (Blackpool)
- Tynedale Hospice at Home
- Wakefield Hospice
- Wales Air Ambulance
- Weldmar Hospicecare
- Wigan and Leigh Hospice
- Willen Hospice
- Willow Burn Hospice
- Willow Wood Hospice
- Willowbrook Hospice
- Wirral Hospice St John's
- Wisdom Hospice
- Woking & Sam Beare Hospices
- Woodgreen Pets Charity
- YMCA (England & Wales)