Questions about donating to our shops

Yes, we can accept donations of clothing and light accessories by post. Simply order a mailbag, fill it with any items you’d love to go to a new home and send it back via Yodel all for free! Your donated items will be listed on Oxfam Online Shop.

Donate clothes by post

It is not usually commercially viable for most shop teams to collect donations from your home. However, collections can sometimes be arranged locally, so it's worth asking your local shop (contact details can be found on our Shopfinder). Our furniture shops (which you can also find through our Shopfinder) do offer a local collection service.

If you have something particularly valuable to donate, please mention this when you call.

Yes, we can. Signing up to Gift Aid in your local shop or online means that every time you tag your bag of donations with your unique donor number, we can raise a life-changing 25% more from the government at no cost to you.

Find out more about Gift Aid in our shops

We will do our best to return any item that you have donated to Oxfam by mistake. Please call our Shop Support Team on 0300 2001 333 for advice.

Oxfam and its recycling partners can help turn mobile phones, gadgets and computers into money - to go towards our work around the world to end poverty. Find out more on how and what to recycle with Oxfam.

We do not set prices centrally. Oxfam is very lucky to receive so many good quality donations from the public and we believe the best way to thank our donors for their generosity is to get the best price we can for their donation (which in turn raises as much money as possible for Oxfam's work).

Based on this principle, each individual shop team creates their own price list, using their judgement to decide what prices and products will best suit customers in their location.

Clothes and blankets are among the many items we can sell in our shops here to raise funds, but Oxfam does not send clothes and blankets overseas, however good their condition. This is because customs regulations, fumigation of second-hand items, transport and communications make the process of exporting second hand items very complicated, time-consuming and expensive.

It is much easier to buy these items (with the money our supporters donate) in the countries where they are needed. It reduces the cost to Oxfam, helps stimulate local markets and economies, and we can be sure that the goods that we source are appropriate – both for the local environment and the local culture.

There are many local initiatives in poor countries where women knit or make clothes, and Oxfam tries to support them by buying their products and distributing them through its programmes. This ensures women can learn new skills, earn an income and support their families, buy crops, send their children to school, and get the healthcare they need.

That's why making a cash donation is one of the most effective ways to support our emergency work.