Americans currently consume nearly 20 billion garments a year. That’s 68 garments and 7 pairs of shoes per person, or more than one piece of clothing purchased per week. With so much clothing being purchased on an annual basis, it’s no surprise to learn that many clothing items ultimately end up being thrown away. However, as items that are thrown away end up going to waste in a landfill, it’s actually better to donate gently used clothing items to charity instead. If you make the decision to donate used clothing, there are several steps that you should take and that’s what this article will be taking a look at.
- Choose A Charity You Want to Donate to: One of the first steps that you should take when donating gently used clothing is to decide which charity you want to donate to. For example, one choice can be the American Red Cross, as Red Cross clothing donations can be made at Red Cross donation centers on a daily basis. There are also military charities, religious charities, and various social charities that also happily accept used clothing donations as part of their day to day operations. If you’re having a hard time choosing, try to find a charity that you can closely identify with.
- Locate the Closest Clothing Donation Center: Another step that you need to take when donating gently used clothing is to locate the donation center that is closest to you. For example, Red Cross donation centers can be found across the United States, along with a number of other charitable donation centers related to other charities. It’s highly possible that whichever donation center is closest to you will also determine which charity you ultimately end up donating to.
- Determine How the Donations Are Being Delivered: After these steps are taken, after you’ve looked at Red Cross donation centers, and other charitable donation centers, the final step that you need to take is to determine how your clothing donations will be delivered to the charity you’ve selected. As a general rule there are several ways to do this. Typical donation methods include having the charity pick up boxed donations at your home, leaving the donations at designated drop-off points, and taking the donation directly to the charitable donation center. The option you choose will largely depend on whichever method works best for you, as each way works well to get the donation to its intended destination.
In conclusion, there are several steps that should be taken when donating used clothing. These steps include choosing a charity you want to donate to, locating the closest clothing donation center, and determining how the donations will be delivered. All of these steps need to be taken when donating gently used clothing to charity.
