All items · Clothing & accessories
Fancy dress without suitable safety labelling
Also covers: fancy dress, costume, dressing up clothes, children's costume
Can you donate fancy dress without suitable safety labelling to a UK charity shop? No.
The short answer
They say no
Of the 153 UK charities we track, 11 say no and none says yes.
Evidence last verified
Why shops may refuse it
Children's costumes are treated as toys and shops need their safety marking and fire-safety information to be intact.
What to do instead
Check the sewn-in label and packaging for the applicable CE or UKCA marking and warnings. Use textile recycling for clean, dry items a shop cannot resell.
Charity by charity
11 mentions-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Fancy dress outfits”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Nightwear or fancy dress without the “keep away from fire” label attached”
-
Can't accept
Condition: must include a fire caution label.
Their wording
“Dressing Up Clothes & Nightwear are accepted only if they include a fire caution label”
-
Can't accept
The same statement also excludes children's clothing without fire safety labels, including hand-knitted clothing.
Their wording
“Children’s clothing or fancy-dress costumes without fire safety labels, including hand-knitted clothing”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Fancy dress without fire labels”
-
Can't accept
Accepted only if clean, a complete outfit, and has a CE label attached.
Their wording
“However, please ensure that all fancy dress items are in saleable condition. ✅ Clean - washed and free from odours or stains ✅ Complete outfit - all main parts included ✅ CE label attached”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Clothing and textiles: Without fire safety labels, including certain nightwear and children’s items (e.g. fancy dress, knitwear with drawstrings).”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Fancy-dress costumes without fire safety labels”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Nightwear and fancy dress not labelled fire resistant”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Nightwear and fancy dress not labelled fire resistant”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Fancy dress costumes without BS5722 flammability standard label.”
Not mentioned in 142 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
- 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
- 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 at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland
- Hospice in the Weald
- 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
- 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
- Shaw Trust
- Shelter
- Shooting Star Children's Hospices
- Southern Hospice Group
- 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
- Strathcarron Hospice
- 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
- Traid
- Treetops Hospice Trust
- Trinity Hospice (Blackpool)
- Tynedale Hospice at Home
- Wakefield Hospice
- 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)