How to recycle damaged clothes and textiles
First decide if an item can be repaired or reused. If it cannot, use a service that clearly says it accepts worn or damaged textiles.
Guidance checked 16 September 2026
Find a clothing donation point
Search by postcode, town or item. Check the bank sign or operator page for its accepted items and condition rules.
What this guide covers
Included
- Torn, worn or permanently stained clothes
- Clean, dry fabric that is not suitable for reuse
- Local collections or drop-off points that state they accept damaged textiles
Not included
- Wet, mouldy, oily or chemically contaminated material
- Carpet and underlay
- Duvets, pillows and other filled bedding unless named by the service
Steps to follow
Assess the whole item
A missing button or open seam can be easy to repair. Put a wearable item aside for repair or reuse before you treat it as recycling.
Separate by condition
Make one group for reusable clothes and one for clean, dry items that are too worn or damaged. Keep wet, mouldy and contaminated material away from both groups.
Find an explicit rule
Look for wording such as worn-out clothes, damaged textiles or rags on the council, charity or operator page. A listing for clothes alone does not answer this question.
Check excluded item types
Confirm shoes, fabric offcuts, uniforms, underwear, curtains and bedding separately. Do not infer that one textile category covers another.
Prepare the load
Make sure accepted material is dry. Use the bag or container stated by the service and label a rag bag only when the service asks you to do so.
Use the correct container
Read the sign at the site before you deposit anything. Take the material home if the rule is absent, the bank is full or the container does not match the listing.
Words on a listing matter
Clothing for reuse and fibre recycling are different routes. Some organisations can recycle items they cannot sell, while others accept only saleable donations. The operator's current wording is the deciding information.
- Accepted: the item or condition is named.
- Unknown: the page only says clothes or textiles.
- Not accepted: the page or bank notice excludes the item.
Deal with difficult material safely
Do not hide dampness, mould or contamination inside a bag. Keep paint, oil and chemical contamination away from donations. Ask the council or a suitable waste service for the correct route if normal textile recycling does not accept it.
- Air and dry a recently washed item before packing it.
- Do not cut up a wearable item merely to call it a rag.
- Keep pins, needles and other sharp objects out of fabric bundles.
Other routes to consider
- Repair
- A tailor, repair café or simple home repair can return an otherwise sound garment to use.
- Creative reuse
- Use suitable clean fabric for a planned project, patch or cleaning cloth. Do not store it without a real use.
- Council advice
- Use the council's item checker or contact the waste team when contamination or material type makes the route unclear.
Related local and item guidance
- How to donate wearable clothes
Prepare items that are still fit for use.
- Donate shoes, linen and duvets
Check item-specific rules before using a textile point.
- Browse item guides
Find preparation and local-route guidance for a specific item.
Common questions
- Does every clothes bank accept torn clothes?
- No. Use a bank only when its operator clearly accepts worn or damaged textiles.
- Should I label damaged clothes as rags?
- Only if the receiving service asks you to. A label does not make an unaccepted item acceptable.
- Can I mix wearable and damaged clothes?
- Separate them when the service requests this. Even without that instruction, sorting first helps you send wearable items to reuse.
- What should I do with wet or mouldy fabric?
- Keep it out of donation and recycling bags. Check your council's advice for the material and contamination because normal textile services can refuse it.
Official sources for this guide
Local rules can change after the review date. The data sources page explains how this site checks public information.