# Do you take your "crap" clothes to Goodwill, or just the stuff that's still in good shape? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2011, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400 "2011-07-09T10:43:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400/42 "2013-11-12T18:51:14Z")
Regarding this discussion about how some of the charities will take the crap clothes so they can sell them to a fabric recycler. How can I cut out the middleman and sell my crap clothes directly to the fabric recycler? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400/43 "2013-11-12T19:36:44Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > How can I cut out the middleman and sell my crap clothes directly to the fabric recycler? Our Goodwill outlets sell clothing by the pound to the public. Clothing they don’t sell then gets sent overseas for pennies on those dollars. Exactly how many pounds of clothing do you have? ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400/44 "2013-11-12T19:44:23Z")
I wouldn’t even know how to weigh it. But I have several large boxes packed full of stuff, some of which is sellable/wearable and a lot of which isn’t. It’s enough that it would require several trips to Goodwill I think. I’m all for donating the sellable stuff to Goodwill, but why should they make all the pennies on the wholesale to-be-recycled stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400/45 "2013-11-12T20:04:45Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I’m all for donating the sellable stuff to Goodwill, but why should they make all the pennies on the wholesale to-be-recycled stuff? To make donating to them even easier? The OP’s problem is negated when people know that Goodwill isn’t burdened by having to pay to take stuff to the dump, since they use 100% of all donated clothing - even the filthy nasty stuff. The pennies they make per pound of the textile recyclables are a result of having a large, efficient infrastructure that can squeeze those pennies out. Got a giant baler? How about a fleet of delivery trucks? Got a long-standing relationship with the company in China that does the recycling? How about a shipping company to get it there? ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400/46 "2013-11-12T20:46:39Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > To make donating to them even easier? The OP’s problem is negated when people know that Goodwill isn’t burdened by having to pay to take stuff to the dump, since they use 100% of all donated clothing - even the filthy nasty stuff. > > The pennies they make per pound of the textile recyclables are a result of having a large, efficient infrastructure that can squeeze those pennies out. Got a giant baler? How about a fleet of delivery trucks? Got a long-standing relationship with the company in China that does the recycling? How about a shipping company to get it there? Sheesh, I’m sorry I offended you with my brilliant idea to get filthy rich recycling some old jeans. Absent any substantial detail, I envisioned it like this: textile recycler makes rounds to various Goodwill shops around town. “Got anything today, Maxine?” “Yeah, Bubba, we’ve got 500 pounds of denim jeans in back, you know where they are.” And then Bubba loads the 500 pounds of jeans on his truck, pays the few cents, and his company makes dollars turning those textile scraps into whatever. So my question was, how do I get Bubba Textile Recycler to stop by my house, or is there a drop off spot somewhere in my city? But no, apparently, it’s a moral affront to Goodwill. So I’ve gotta haul my 150 pounds of jeans (or whatever it is – it’s more than just old mom jeans from the 90s) over there and make _them_ sort it all out. Nothing in this thread indicated I would need a giant baler, a fleet of delivery trucks, or a shipping company to China. My apologies for not knowing better. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400/47 "2013-11-12T21:04:33Z")
I’m not quite sure why you read any annoyance in my post. Anyway, if you’re really looking to make a couple pennies off that shitty pair of gabardines, why not just donate them to Goodwill and take the tax deduction? It’d surely be more than you’d get from Bubba. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400/50 "2014-07-04T16:25:17Z")
**Molinski** , spam works better when you actually link. I suspect that tons of clothes from a hoarder’s house would be in pretty crappy (literally) shape and would be refused by a naked homeless guy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-your-crap-clothes-to-goodwill-or-just-the-stuff-thats-still-in-good-shape/588400.md?page=2)