Donate clothes and goods

The lowdown on what you can and can't donate, where to donate, our best decluttering tips and more.

Thank you for your continuous support over the last challenging months. The good news is, many of your favourite Red Cross shops are now open again.

Safety is our first priority, so we're working hard to keep our shops safe.

Here's how:

Extra disinfectant cleaning in our stores and our distribution centre
Limiting the number of customers at any one time for social distancing
Providing hand sanitiser in all stores
Our volunteers and staff are using gloves
Holding recycled donations in our distribution centre for 72 hours before sorting for sale

We will continue to monitor the changing COVID environment and adjust our policies in line with this.

Our open shops are now accepting donations of great quality preloved items. Your donations help us continue our work supporting people around the country, now and always.

We look forward to welcoming you back through our doors and will continue to work hard to opening more of our store network.

We’re re-opening more of our stores across Australia every day. Find your nearest store and give them a call to check if they are open.

Donating in-store

Red Cross Shops sell new and pre-loved, good quality clothes, shoes and accessories and we need quality donations all year round. The funds raised go to support Red Cross teams helping people as they overcome hardship, crisis and disaster in Australia and across the Asia Pacific.

What you can donate

Quality women’s, men’s and children’s clothing
Bags, shoes and accessories
Books, CDs and DVDs
Homewares

When contributing to our charity bins in store, make sure your donations are clean and usable. Your donations should also be worth buying – if you wouldn’t buy it then we probably won’t be able to sell it.

What you can't donate

Stained and damaged clothing and goods
Used beauty and hygiene products
Electrical goods (computers, TVs, lighting etc)
White goods (including fridges, washing machines and microwaves)
Kitchenware (such as cutlery, dishes, pots and pans - unless in new packaging)
Furniture (including beanbags, tables and mattresses)
Baby items (car seats, highchairs, cots etc)
Outdoor items (such as BBQ’s and trampolines)
Harmful products (including knives, weapons and gas canisters)

We don’t sell products that may be harmful to our staff, volunteers or customers. Nor do we sell items that conflict with our Fundamental Principles. Red Cross has to pay to dispose of items that we can’t sell, so please do not donate items that we can’t accept.

Where to donate

If you have donations to drop off, thank you so much. You can donate over the counter at any Red Cross Shop during trading hours. There’s also specially-marked charity bins in-store where you can donate. Please donate responsibly. Don’t leave donations outside our shops as these can be damaged by the weather or other people.

Tips for decluttering your wardrobe

Lay your wardrobe out in your room and split into two piles: the items you wear often and the items you don’t seem to wear as much.
Take the items you don’t wear as much and try on each piece as part of an outfit – shoes and all. By doing this you can see what you like and don’t like, what doesn’t fit, and what you realistically won’t wear anymore.
Gather the clothes, shoes and accessories you no longer want or need and check they’re undamaged, unsoiled, and of good quality. If you wouldn’t give it to a friend don’t donate it.
Take your donations to an Australian Red Cross Shop and receive a stamp on our loyalty card for your generosity. Once you reach 10 stamps you’ll get 25% off your next purchase.

Business or retailer stock donations

Red Cross accepts stock donations from businesses and retailers facing challenges with limited space or who have excess stock to clear.

We are available to book in product collections and can work with you on bespoke requirements that your business may have. Donations receive an acknowledgement letter, which can be used for tax purposes.

Products we accept
We accept new, saleable products (that are not damaged or faulty) in these categories:

Women's clothing and accessories
Men's clothing and accessories
Kid's and baby clothing
Music, movies, books and games
Homewares and manchester

Please check out to our donation guide above. If you have stock outside of these categories to donate or have any questions at all please contact us - we would love to talk to you.

Country Road partnership

We are excited to have teamed up with Country Road to offer you an exclusive bonus when you donate pre-loved Country Road clothes and accessories.

Thanks to our Fashion Trade program when you donate one or more Country Road items you score a $10 voucher to use in any Country Road store Australia-wide. Vouchers can be redeemed on purchases of $50 or more, one per transaction. Donations can be made at any Country Road or Red Cross store all year round.

Where the money goes

The funds raised from your donations go to support Red Cross teams on the ground in Australia and across the Asia Pacific. They might help us to make daily welfare phone calls to older folks who are isolated, support communities recovering from a disaster, welcome families making a new life in Australia after years in a refugee camp, and so much more. Your quality donations will help us to continue providing this much-needed support for people overcoming hardship, crisis and disaster. Thank you so much for your generosity.