All items · Clothing & accessories
Wet, soiled or mouldy textiles
Also covers: dirty clothes, mouldy, damp clothes
Can you donate wet, soiled or mouldy textiles 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 says yes.
Evidence last verified
Why shops may refuse it
Damp or soiled textiles can ruin a whole donation bag — shops have to bin them at their own cost.
What to do instead
Do not assume a charity accepts rags. Reuse suitable fabric at home for dusting or cleaning, save buttons and zips if you sew, or put clean, dry textiles in a textile bank.
Charity by charity
17 mentions-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Soiled or wet clothing”
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Can't accept
Their wording
“Hand knitted or heavily soiled clothing”
-
Can't accept
Damaged, very worn or badly stained items can't be sold in the shops — the charity points donors to community textile-recycling bins instead (for example in Co-op and Morrisons car parks).
Their wording
“For all items that are not suitable to sell in our shops (damaged, very worn, badly stained) please place in the recycling bins found at the following locations”
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Can't accept
Heavily worn/damaged clothing and items with stains or holes cannot be sold.
Their wording
“Whilst we are grateful for every donation, there are some items we simply cannot sell for hygiene, quality or safety reasons. This includes heavily worn or damaged clothing, items with stains or holes, used underwear or swimwear, and broken or incomplete goods.”
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Can't accept
Their wording
“Ripped or soiled clothing”
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Can't accept
Soiled/wet/mouldy clothing, bedding, curtains, towels and duvets not accepted.
Their wording
“Soiled clothing, bedding, or curtains Clothing, bedding, curtains, towels and duvets.”
-
Can't accept
Applies to textile recycling donations.
Their wording
“heavily soiled (e.g. covered in paint)”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Dirty clothing, bedding or towels”
-
Can't accept
From the general 'Clothing' entry (repeated for men's/women's/children's clothing).
Their wording
“Please do not donate clothing that is: ❌ Dirty”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Soiled or dirty clothing”
-
Can't accept
Stated with reference to soft furnishings/donations generally, not limited to clothing.
Their wording
“we are unable to accept soft furnishings that are suffering from effects of damp, mould, chemical / perfume spillage or any type of animal or smoke residue.”
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Can't accept
Includes scrap textiles and rags.
Their wording
“items that are damaged or soiled including scrap textiles and rags”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Soiled or heavily stained items”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Poor quality or soiled clothing, shoes, bags etc”
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Can't accept
Their wording
“Soiled or Damaged Clothing”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Soiled, stained or damaged items (including clothing and accessories)”
-
Accepted
Accepted as 'rags' for recycling income - separate into a bag/box and label it 'rags'.
Their wording
“don't dump your holey, stained or tired clothing; instead, donate it to us! We ask that you separate your unusable items into a separate bag or box and label this 'rags'.”
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
- Ayrshire Hospice
- Barnardo's
- Barnsley Hospice
- Blythe House Hospice
- Bolton Hospice
- British Heart Foundation
- 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
- 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
- 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 at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland
- Hospice Isle of Man
- Hospice of the Good Shepherd
- 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
- Longfield Community Hospice
- LOROS Hospice
- Marie Curie
- Martin House Children's Hospice
- Mountbatten Isle of Wight
- Moya Cole Hospice
- Naomi House & Jack's Place
- North Devon Hospice
- North London Hospice
- Octavia Foundation
- Oxfam
- PDSA
- Pendleside Hospice
- Phyllis Tuckwell
- 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
- Rowans Hospice
- Royal Trinity Hospice (London)
- Saint Francis Hospice
- Salvation Army (SATCoL)
- Save the Children
- Scope
- Sense Scotland
- Severn Hospice
- Shaw Trust
- Shelter
- Shooting Star Children's Hospices
- Southern Hospice Group
- Springhill Hospice
- St Andrew's Hospice (Lanarkshire)
- St Barnabas Hospice (Lincolnshire)
- 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 (Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal & Garstang)
- St John's Hospice (London)
- St Luke's Cheshire Hospice
- St Luke's Hospice (Harrow & Brent)
- 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 Oswald's Hospice
- St Peter & St James Hospice
- St Peter's Hospice
- St Raphael's Hospice
- St Richard's Hospice
- St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP)
- St Vincent's Hospice
- St Wilfrid's Hospice
- Strathcarron Hospice
- Sue Ryder
- Thames 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
- Treetops Hospice Trust
- Wakefield Hospice
- Wales Air Ambulance
- Wigan and Leigh Hospice
- Willen Hospice
- Willow Burn Hospice
- Willow Wood Hospice
- Wirral Hospice St John's
- Wisdom Hospice
- Woking & Sam Beare Hospices
- Woodgreen Pets Charity
- YMCA (England & Wales)