All items · Clothing & accessories
Used swimwear or swimwear without a hygiene strip
Also covers: swimming trunks, trunks swimwear, swimsuit, bikini, swimming costume
Can you donate used swimwear or swimwear without a hygiene strip to a UK charity shop? No.
The short answer
They say no
Of the 153 UK charities we track, 13 say no and none says yes.
Evidence last verified
Why shops may refuse it
Policies vary: some charities require swimwear to be new with tags and an intact hygiene strip, while others group worn swimwear with used underwear for hygiene reasons.
What to do instead
Check the tags and hygiene strip and ask the shop. Use textile recycling for clean, dry items a shop cannot resell.
Charity by charity
13 mentions-
Can't accept
Accepted only if it has a hygiene strip.
Their wording
“Worn underwear or swimwear without hygiene strip”
- Can't accept
-
Can't accept
New swimwear still with tags is accepted (see 'Underwear, socks and swimwear still with tags' in the accepted list).
Their wording
“Used underwear, socks and swimwear”
-
Can't accept
Used swimwear cannot be sold for hygiene reasons.
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.”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Used Underwear and Swimwear including socks.”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Used Swimwear”
-
Can't accept
Used swimwear or swimwear without its hygiene strip is refused.
Their wording
“used underwear/swimwear without hygiene strips”
-
Can't accept
Underwear/pyjamas need new tags; swimwear needs new tags plus a hygiene strip.
Their wording
“underwear or pyjamas without new tags”
-
Can't accept
'Worn' swimwear is explicitly refused.
Their wording
“Underwear and nightwear, worn swimwear”
-
Can't accept
From the swimming-costume ('Swimwear') entry.
Their wording
“✅ New with original tags and hygiene sticker attached ✅ Undamaged - no stretching, fading or pulls ✅ Complete set - for example bikini top and bottoms Please do not donate swimming costumes that are: ❌ Worn ❌Incomplete”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Underwear, pyjamas, dressing gowns, socks, swimwear”
-
Can't accept
Used swimwear or swimwear without an intact sanitary seal is refused.
Their wording
“unless brand new and labelled/with tags”
-
Can't accept
Stated as a blanket exclusion of swimwear, not only items lacking a hygiene strip.
Their wording
“Underwear, swimming costumes, bikinis.”
Not mentioned in 140 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
- Children's Hospice South West
- Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS)
- Claire House Children's Hospice
- Cornwall Hospice Care
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Nightingale House Hospice
- North Devon Hospice
- North London Hospice
- Nottinghamshire Hospice
- Octavia Foundation
- Overgate Hospice
- 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)
- Samaritans
- Save the Children
- Scope
- Sense Scotland
- Severn Hospice
- Southern Hospice Group
- 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 (Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal & Garstang)
- 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 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
- 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
- Tynedale Hospice at Home
- Wakefield Hospice
- Wales Air Ambulance
- Weldmar Hospicecare
- 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)