All items · Bedding & textiles
Towels
Also covers: bath towel, hand towel, beach towel, dog towel
Can you donate towels to a UK charity shop? It depends.
The short answer
It depends
Of the 153 UK charities we track, 5 say no and 5 say yes.
Evidence last verified
Why shops may refuse it
Clean towels may be resold or used by animal charities, but worn or stained towels are not suitable for a shop floor.
What to do instead
Ask whether the shop sells towels or accepts separately labelled dog towels. Keep useful worn towels at home for cleaning, or use a textile bank if they are clean and dry.
Charity by charity
10 mentions-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Towels, duvets and pillows”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Dirty clothing, bedding or towels”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“used bedding, blankets, duvets, pillows or towels”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Rugs/towel”
-
Can't accept
Their wording
“Bedding, mattresses and towels”
-
Accepted
Their wording
“Soft furnishings - rugs, linens, curtains, towels, cushions with fire safety labels”
-
Accepted
Their wording
“Yes, please — we’d love your donation! However, please ensure that all towels are in a saleable condition. ✅ Clean - freshly laundered with no strong odours ✅ In good condition - no holes, fraying or worn areas”
-
Accepted
Their wording
“Curtains, towels, tea towels and bedding.”
-
Accepted
Their wording
“Textiles: bedding, curtains, rugs & towels”
-
Accepted
Their wording
“Household textiles: Curtains, bedding, towels, cushions and rugs”
Not mentioned in 143 charities' guidance
Absence from a charity's list doesn't mean they accept it — it just isn't singled out. Ask your local shop.
- Accord Hospice
- Acorns Children's Hospice
- Age UK
- Ardgowan Hospice
- Ashgate Hospicecare
- Ayrshire Hospice
- Barnardo's
- Barnsley Hospice
- Blythe House Hospice
- Bolton Hospice
- British Heart Foundation
- British Red Cross
- Butterfly Hospice Trust
- Butterwick Hospice
- Cancer Research UK
- Children's Hospice South West
- Claire House Children's Hospice
- Cornwall Hospice Care
- Cransley Hospice Trust
- Crisis
- DEBRA
- Demelza Hospice Care for Children
- Derian House Children's Hospice
- Dogs Trust
- Dorothy House
- Douglas Macmillan Hospice
- Dr Kershaw's Hospice
- East Lancashire Hospice
- Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria's Children's Hospice
- Ellenor
- Emmaus
- FARA Charity Shops
- Farleigh Hospice
- Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity
- Forget Me Not Children's Hospice
- Garden House Hospice Care
- Great Oaks Hospice
- Great Western Air Ambulance Charity
- Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice
- Heart of Kent Hospice
- Helen & Douglas House
- Hope House & Ty Gobaith Children's Hospices
- Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland
- Hospice in the Weald
- Hospice Isle of Man
- Hospice of the Good Shepherd
- Hospice of the Valleys
- Jersey Hospice Care
- Julia's House
- Katharine House Hospice (Stafford)
- Katharine House Hospice, Banbury
- Keech Hospice Care
- KEMP Hospice
- Lewis-Manning Hospice Care
- Lindsey Lodge Hospice
- Longfield Community Hospice
- LOROS Hospice
- Marie Curie
- Martin House Children's Hospice
- Mountbatten Isle of Wight
- Moya Cole Hospice
- Naomi House & Jack's Place
- Nightingale House Hospice
- North Devon Hospice
- North London Hospice
- Nottinghamshire Hospice
- Octavia Foundation
- Overgate Hospice
- Oxfam
- PDSA
- Pendleside Hospice
- Phyllis Tuckwell
- Pilgrims Hospices
- Primrose Hospice
- Princess Alice Hospice
- Prospect Hospice
- Queenscourt Hospice
- Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People
- Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care
- Rotherham Hospice
- Rowans Hospice
- Royal Trinity Hospice (London)
- Saint Francis Hospice
- Salvation Army (SATCoL)
- Save the Children
- Scope
- Sense Scotland
- Severn Hospice
- Shaw Trust
- Southern Hospice Group
- Springhill Hospice
- St Andrew's Hospice (Lanarkshire)
- St Barnabas Hospice (Lincolnshire)
- St Catherine's Hospice (Crawley)
- St Catherine's Hospice (Lancashire)
- St Christopher's Hospice
- St Clare Hospice
- St Columba's Hospice
- St Cuthbert's Hospice
- St David's Hospice Care
- St Giles Hospice
- St Helena Hospice
- St John's Hospice (Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal & Garstang)
- St John's Hospice (London)
- St Luke's Cheshire Hospice
- St Luke's Hospice (Harrow & Brent)
- St Luke's Hospice Basildon & Thurrock
- St Luke's Hospice, Sheffield
- St Margaret's Hospice Care (Somerset)
- St Mary's Hospice
- St Michael's Hospice (North Hampshire)
- St Nicholas Hospice Care
- St Oswald's Hospice
- St Peter & St James Hospice
- St Peter's Hospice
- St Raphael's Hospice
- St Richard's Hospice
- St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP)
- St Wilfrid's Hospice
- Strathcarron Hospice
- Sue Ryder
- Thames Hospice
- The Children's Trust
- The Kirkwood
- The Myton Hospices
- The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice
- The Shakespeare Hospice
- Traid
- Treetops Hospice Trust
- Trinity Hospice (Blackpool)
- Tynedale Hospice at Home
- Wakefield Hospice
- Wales Air Ambulance
- Weldmar Hospicecare
- Wigan and Leigh Hospice
- Willen Hospice
- Willow Burn Hospice
- Willow Wood Hospice
- Willowbrook Hospice
- Wirral Hospice St John's
- Wisdom Hospice
- Woodgreen Pets Charity
- YMCA (England & Wales)