Donate to our shops
Each bag you donate is worth an average of £20 to Age UK and helps older people to love later life.*
What items can I donate?
We accept a wide variety of items, including clothes, mobile phones, computers, homeware, soft furnishings, CDs, DVDs, books, toys and games.
Some items can only be accepted by some of our Age UK shops, such as electrical equipment and good quality furniture.
A few things we cannot accept:
- Broken, incomplete or unsafe items (such as toys, glassware, ornaments, and china)
- Safety equipment (including helmets, children car seats, and safety gates)
- Medical equipment
- Videotapes and cassettes
- Real fur
- Coat hangers
- Quilts, duvets, large bulky curtains, cushions and pillows
If you're unsure whether your items will be accepted by your local Age UK shop, then we recommend you call the shop before donating. If you require further information, please call us on 0800 169 8787.
Can I recycle my unwanted IT equipment?
You can recycle your unwanted desktop PCs, laptops, computer monitors and tablets equipment safely and easily while helping us fund our vital work. Donating unwanted IT can be done through the RDC (IT disposal and recycling) website.
Where can I find my nearest Age UK shop?
We have just over 400 Age UK charity shops throughout the UK, where we accept all types of quality goods, including clothing, shoes, books, accessories and homeware.
Where can I find an Age UK furniture shop?
We have a small amount of Age UK shops across the country that will accept donations of good quality furniture and may be able to arrange house clearances on request. We have furniture shops in the following areas:
- Blackpool, Lancashire
- Boston, Lincolnshire
- Bridgnorth, Shropshire
- Leigh, Lancashire
- Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
- Newport, Isle of Wight
- Orpington, Kent
- Polegate, East Sussex
- Shanklin, Isle of Wight
- Wigan, Lancashire
Increase the value of your donation by approximately 25% with Gift Aid
If you're a UK taxpayer, just complete a simple declaration when you make a donation and we can claim 25p back in tax at no cost to you. For every £10 we make from your donations, we get £12.50.
Can you collect my items?
Donation bags
Look out for an Age UK donation bag posted through your door. Fill it and leave it outside your home on the specified collection day.
Bulk collection
If you have several bags of items and can’t drop them off yourself, call 0800 169 8787 or contact your local Age UK shop to arrange a collection. The more items you have, the more economical a pick-up will be for us. Why not ask your friends, family or neighbours if they have any items to donate too?
Each bag you donate is worth an average of £20 to Age UK*
£10 of that money raised could pay for a weekly friendship call to a lonely older person in the UK.
How will you use my items?
90% of the items donated to us can be sold, and the rest we can recycle
We try our very best to sell every donated item in our shops, and items that are slow to sell are transferred to other shops to be placed on sale again. In the rare occasion that an item doesn’t sell, we pass it to our dedicated rag merchant who runs a recycling scheme.
Some items are sent to Eastern Europe and Africa to be used by people in need, and damaged clothes are given to heavy industry for cleaning wipes. Nothing is wasted if you donate it to Age UK.
For more information:
Call Age UK on 0800 169 8787
*Average bag of donations value is based on the amount of bags donated from April 2016 to March 2017.