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From street bins to social stores and trading markets, we help you understand the destination of your donations.
Did you know that a cotton T-shirt can take 10 to 20 years to decompose, and about 100 to 300 years if it is made of synthetic fabric? So if you have clothes you no longer wear, don’t put them in the dumpster or the recycling bin. This waste ends up in landfills, and for every kilo of clothing, the impact on carbon dioxide emissions is 3.1Kg, estimates the European Commission.
Alternatively, you can contribute to the circular economy and transform the life of someone who really needs it. Discover some of the sites that are dedicated to collecting used clothing for recycling, reuse, or social support.
The street bins
There are different companies responsible for managing the containers on the street, in schools, supermarkets, and other places. To make your work easier, we have decided to divide them by color, so that it is easier for you to identify them when you pass by them on the street. If, even so, you want to know more about the exact destination of your donation, you can call the phone number available on each container.
These are the most common containers:
. Yellow: They accept clothes packed in bags. The clothes are forwarded to social stores and local institutions that request them after being sorted, sanitized, and cleaned. If they are not in good condition, they are sent to recycling. There are more than 600 between Lisbon and Porto. (Find more at Cáritas Diocesana de Lisboa)
. Dark green: They accept clothing, shoes, and household textiles. Part of the donations is sold in Humana’s second-hand stores in Portugal (19%), another part is reused outside Portugal in preparation centers in Spain and Bulgaria (40%) and the rest is sold to textile reuse and recycling companies (41%). The funds raised are intended for cooperation projects in health, education, and agriculture in Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, and for local projects and social institutions. There are more than 800 containers throughout the country (Learn more at Humana Portugal)
. White: They accept clothing, shoes, toys, and home textiles. They serve specific partnerships with local town halls, parish councils, associations, companies, and schools. There are more than 250 containers and 4 thousand collection points throughout the country, and in some cases home collection can be scheduled (Learn more at H Sarah Trading)
. Light blue: They accept clothing and home textiles, shoes, accessories (bags, wallets, caps, etc.) and toys, enclosed in bags (you can use the disposable ones you have at home). In partnership with the municipalities, the company contributes to environmental actions and helps financially the social solidarity institutions in the regions of Aveiro, Porto, Viana do Castelo (Know more at Wippy).
. Light-green: They accept clothes, shoes, and toys in partnership with local municipalities, the Red Cross, gas stations, shopping centers, or supermarkets. Part of the stock is stored to respond to emergency situations and the funds from the reusable goods (about 60%) are donated to institutions in the municipalities. About 30% of the goods are recycled and 10% are incinerated. There are more than 3 thousand containers located all over the country, mainly in Braga, Seia, Benavente and Albufeira (Learn more at Ultriplo)
Direct Donations
The solidarity (or social) stores receive some donations through the street bins, in coordination with Social Security and the municipalities. Some accept direct donations and in times of shortage of goods, they communicate their needs to the Parish Councils, Town Halls, Parishes, or IPSS. In Lisbon, there is this platform that allows access to the list of social stores in the district.
Most of the social solidarity institutions communicate their needs through their websites or social networks. You can also contact them by phone to understand how you can get your clothes to the right institutions and people, depending on the age and size of their users’ clothes or shoes. We have prepared some suggestions here.
At shopping centers, In addition to the above mentioned containers, there are some stores with textile collection programs. This is the case of C&A, through the project We Take it Back which accepts used clothing, belts, bags, household textiles, and shoes. Zara has also installed containers in some stores, such as the one in Santa Catarina, in Porto, which, in addition to clothing in partnership with the Red Cross, collects the boxes of packages refused by customers. Before you leave home, check the website of the stores or the shopping center nearest you to find out about the campaigns in effect.
Resale
The platform for selling second-hand clothes MyCloma created the project ReUse in partnership with Auchan, available in seven stores where you can donate used clothes in exchange for a voucher that can be discounted at the Auchan space or on the MyCloma site, or donated to an NGO. Know More here.
Other stores like Kid to Kid, Tops N Dolls, Kiabi, Micolet, Retry, Vinted, reCloset have resale programs for used clothing, toys and other equipment. After evaluation or according to the weight of the donated clothes, the donor receives a monetary value, a balance in the store, or in some cases, may donate the amount to charity.
5 initiatives to donate and exchange used clothing
- Freecycle – A non-cash item exchange platform.
- Citypoints Cascais App – platform that encourages good practices from the citizens of Cascais, including the donation of useful goods. Each good deed earns points that can be converted into prizes such as workshops, books, and events, among others. In Sintra, there is a similar application called To Be Green.
- Exchange Market – A non-profit association that promotes the liberation of used clothing by organizing, together with the community, clothing exchange events. Each participant can bring up to 10 pieces to exchange and can even organize their own market.
- Circular Wear – project that encourages people to exchange clothes through “swap spots”. You can request your own spot if you have a co-work, cafe, hostel, bar, company, startup, or other community space.
- White Stamp – Portuguese circular platform White Stamp that allows you to donate items and exchange them for credits that can be converted into items from participating brands.
There is no shortage of solutions for clothes you no longer wear, and none of them involve throwing them in the trash. But you too can be an agent of change. Start the discussion with your community and organize a donation or clothing exchange, why not? Find out from your local schools and town halls about families who might need help. The planet and the community thank you.
She spent her childhood between Algarve and Lisbon, studied Arts but followed Journalism, likes clams with toasted bread as much as sausages with savoy cabbage. In short, her life is as much about the sea as it is about land. Her feet are always bare and she sings loudly when she goes shopping. She likes to grow pioneering projects with impact, from food-based to mobility, as long as they help someone in their mission. Social responsibility speaks to her heart, so she regularly volunteers and donates her clothes. Her reference in sustainability is her grandmother, who has always used bath water, fruit peels for tea, and treasures her belongings with her heart.
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Sustainable Development Goals 🍃
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