We all know babies grow quickly. They can fit great in one size one day, and need to size up the next. With that, parents are packing away clothing their child has outgrown and sizing up frequently. By knowing where to donate baby clothes you’re helping ease the new parent’s minds that they knowingly can find clothing for free or at a very inexpensive price, which will help them in the long run.
But what can you do with those clothes that no longer fit your little one? Or how can you help out families in need?
*Note, the following organizations may not be available in all areas.
Large Organizations
Large organizations like the ones listed below and many others are probably some of the easiest places to donate your used baby clothing. These tend to have very simplistic drop-off or pick-up options and may work best with any schedule.
Goodwill
Goodwill may be the first place you think of when you think about donations of any kind. But did you know, this organization has been around for over 120 years? There are over 3,200 Goodwill stores in North America, making it easy to donate your gently used clothing, housewares, electronics, and furniture. To find the nearest stores, donation sites, or even outlet centers click here.
Salvation Army
You may recognize the name Salvation Army as the volunteers ringing bells by red kettles outside of stores around the holidays. But did you know you can donate other items as well? The Salvation Army helps about 25 million Americans yearly and has been helping in 133 countries since 1865. When donating to the Salvation Army, your used items are then sold in their thrift stores. All sales go to their Adult Rehabilitation Program. To find the nearest drop-off location or to schedule a pickup click here.
Vietnam Veterans of America
Donating used clothing through the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is as easy as collecting your items and scheduling a pickup. When you donate your used clothing or household items through the VVA your items help support programs for veterans. The VVA will take used clothing, shoes, baby items, small appliances, kitchenware, furniture, and electronics. To schedule your pickup, click here.
I have personally used VVA on many occasions to pass on baby clothes that no longer fit or even to clear out some space that we now needed for baby items. I found it to be the most convenient way to help others and free up space.
Local Organizations
Most of the time with local organizations, you know your donation will go to local families.
Places of Worship
Places of worship usually know when their members or members of the community have a need for a certain donation. We recently knew a family that has a small fire that caused their baby’s room to be severely damaged including all of their clothing. The community with the church came together and let everyone know where to donate baby clothes and other items they needed at this time. Sometimes places of worship also hold thrift events. They take gently used clothing and sell it by the bag or very inexpensively and proceeds go to the church or local families in need.
Shelters
Homeless shelters, emergency shelters, and domestic violence or women’s shelters may be a place to donate clothing. It may take extra work to see if they are in need of certain items but can really benefit people when they need it most. My suggestion is to search for shelters in your area and try to contact them to see if they’re accepting any used men, women, or baby clothes at this time.
Soup Kitchens
Some soup kitchens accept more than just food or monetary donations. By doing a quick search and finding soup kitchens near you, they may have additional information on their site on what they accept and what condition those items should be in.
Local Families
Local families are just that, families in your community. One added benefit you can get from donating to a local family is a new friend, especially if you’re children are similar in age!
Local Buy Nothing Pages on Social Media
An easy way to donate baby clothes is through your local Buy Nothing page on Facebook. All you do is post a photo and short description about what you’re trying to donate and people comment if they’re interested.
*Always practice safe pickup. If you’re uncomfortable giving out your home address, arrange for a public location. Or even sometimes towns have safe exchange spots at local township buildings or police stations.
Local Parenting Group on Social Media
If you feel like your local Buy Nothing page isn’t the right fit for you, check the rules on your local parenting pages. Some groups may have certain days where you can post baby items “for sale” or they could help you with additional ideas on where to donate baby clothes.
*Again, if you’re not comfortable meeting up or giving out your address, go with a friend to a public meeting area.
Hand Down to Friends/Family/Co-Workers
Finally, hand-me-downs! Do you have a new baby coming into the family? Is your friend or co-worker welcoming a new addition? See if they’re looking for any handed-down clothing. Especially if the used items you have fit with the seasons of their new baby, your hand-me-downs might be very welcome.
From personal experience hand-me-downs are awesome! We are thankful for the clothing from family members as well as local families on the Buy Nothing and our local parenting pages. We barely had to buy anything new until we were in larger sizes (2T). We have also made sure we give back to our community when we outgrow the clothes as well.
Why donate?
If you need another reason why you should donate baby clothes, think about how it helps your carbon footprint. By giving your gently used clothing another life, you’re keeping that waste out of landfills. According to NIST.gov, “only about 15% of used clothing and other textiles in the United States get reused or recycled.”
Overall, knowing where to donate baby clothes can help out families as well as the environment.
