donations Tags | OpShops Near Me

What can I donate?

Decided it’s time to declutter? Or the kids have outgrown their clothes, but they’re still in excellent condition? By donating your pre-loved items to Vinnies they will get a new life, support Australians doing it tough and reduce landfill and the impact on the environment. Vinnies shops need your great quality items to help fund Vinnies programs across the country that support 1.3 million vulnerable Australians each year. Thank you so much for your wonderful donations! What can I donate? When considering whether something can be donated to Vinnies, our rule of thumb is if you’d give it to a friend, then it’s ok to give to Vinnies. Men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories Homewares, including manchester Kids toys Books, CDs and DVDs Furniture (check your local Vinnies can take furniture) Some Vinnies shops take electrical goods; please call your local shop before dropping off What can’t I donate? It takes a lot of money and volunte…

How second-hand stores are adapting to increasing fast-fashion donations

Second-hand store volunteers and workers are working harder having to sort through cheap clothing to get to items that are good enough to put on store shelves.

Key points: The number of donated fast-fashion goods is increasing Second-hand stores are trying to find innovative ways to repurpose unsellable goods University of South Australia Associate Professor Deirdre Tedmanson said people need to rethink their purchasing behaviour

Emma Mertens has witnessed this trend over the past 11 years working as a paid sorter for a Lifeline store at Port Pirie in South Australia's Mid North.

"The quality of clothing has actually gone down. I feel things aren't as well made as what they used to be," she said.

"We have an A-grade section which goes straight to our shops, that's at 20 per cent whereas years ago, it was around the 50 per cent mark.

"We've also got a…

Are you an accidental dumper? Make sure your donation counts

Items dumped outside charities and charity bins cost millions to clean up but research shows that 50 per cent of people who leave items outside charity shops or beside donation bins don’t realise they often end up in the bin.

NSW EPA Executive Director Waste Operations Carmen Dwyer said the accidental dumper problem could be fixed. “Leaving items outside means they can be damaged by vandals or the weather and illegally dumped goods burden charities with the disposal costs,” Ms Dwyer said. New research from the NSW Environment Protection Authority shows that it costs NSW charities $7.3 million a year to clean up items left outside charity shops and donation bins. “These people that think they are doing the right thing by leaving their quality unwanted items outside a store or beside a full charity bin need to know that charities still want those items – they just want them in good condition.” “Let’s put an end to accidental dump…

Trash or treasure: Do you know the difference?

A tsunami of unusable donations is overwhelming Australian charity shops. Can a clever social marketing campaign change donor behaviours and solve the problem?

William Holmes Donations

A tsunami of unusable donations is overwhelming Australian charity shops. Can a clever social marketing campaign change donor behaviours and solve the problem?

William Holmes When it comes to charity stores and bins, would you consider yourself a champion donor? Unlike the garden variety donor - who takes items to charity stores that may be of no use to anyone else - the champion donor considers what it is they're donating. They judge whether the item is in appropriate condition, and check all the parts are present and working. While the champion donor is not contributing to the 60,000 tonnes of unusable product that overwhelms many of Australia's 2,500 charity shops each year, the same c…