All items · Furniture
Upholstered furniture without a fire label
Also covers: sofa, armchair, settee, footstool, padded headboard, cushioned chair
Why shops refuse it
Furniture fire-safety law makes it illegal to sell upholstered items without the permanent fire-resistance label (pre-1950 pieces are exempt).
What to do instead
Check under the cushions and on the underside for the label before you give up — if it's genuinely gone, book a council bulky-waste collection.
Charity by charity
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Can't accept
Acorns Children's Hospice
Pre-1950s upholstered furniture is exempt; items with rips/tears exposing inner fabric also excluded.
Their wording
“Upholstered items without a fire safety label attached”
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Can't accept
Barnardo's
Listed as 'soft furnishings'.
Their wording
“Soft furnishings without fire safety labels”
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Can't accept
British Heart Foundation
Cushions, cushion covers and tailored upholstery covers are also rejected unless they have fire safety labels.
Their wording
“Upholstered items without fire safety labels”
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Can't accept
British Red Cross
Applies to nursery furniture and all upholstered/foam-filled furniture; pre-1950 items exempt.
Their wording
“complies with The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 and has the relevant label attached, or predates 1950”
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Can't accept
Cancer Research UK
Also cushions/fillings without fire labels.
Their wording
“Upholstered furniture post 1950s without fire label”
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Can't accept
Cornwall Hospice Care
Their wording
“Upholstered furniture without a fire label”
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Can't accept
DEBRA
Furniture made before 1950 is accepted even without a fire label.
Their wording
“Upholstered furniture without fire labels attached (unless made before 1950)”
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Can't accept
Dogs Trust
Their wording
“upholstered furniture without fire labels”
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Can't accept
Dorothy House
Their wording
“Upholstered furniture that has no fire label”
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Can't accept
Emmaus
Their wording
“Furniture without fire labels”
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Can't accept
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity
broad category rule
General furniture is not accepted.
Their wording
“Furniture”
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Can't accept
Keech Hospice Care
Their wording
“Furniture with textile sections (such as sofas, armchairs, and dining chairs with soft padded seats) must have the original Fire Safety label attached.”
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Can't accept
LOROS Hospice
Furnishings must comply with 1988 fire regulations and have fire labels attached
Their wording
“Furnishings need to comply with the 1988 fire regulations and items must have fire labels attached.”
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Can't accept
Marie Curie
broad category rule
No specific furniture items singled out; the page lists furniture as currently unaccepted.
Their wording
“Furniture.”
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Can't accept
Overgate Hospice
Fire label required on each item of a set unless pre-1950s.
Their wording
“Upholstered furniture without a fire label including all items donated as sets”
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Can't accept
PDSA
broad category rule
Temporary suspension of furniture donations (framed as current, not permanent)
Their wording
“For the time being, we won't be able to accept furniture and have no collections available.”
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Can't accept
Princess Alice Hospice
Horsehair upholstery is exempt.
Their wording
“Must have a Fire Label attached to each item (unless an upholstered item is horsehair)”
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Can't accept
Scope
Furniture is only taken at the Wakefield and Grimsby shops at all; even there, upholstered items must have a fire label.
Their wording
“Upholstered items will need fire labels attached.”
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Can't accept
Sense Scotland
All soft furnishings and foam-filled furniture must carry a fire safety label; older foam-filled furniture may also be refused due to safe disposal costs.
Their wording
“all soft furnishings MUST have fire-retardant labels”
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Can't accept
Shaw Trust
Also covers cushions and covers lacking fire safety labels.
Their wording
“upholstered furniture without fire labels”
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Can't accept
Shelter
Applies at Furniture Shops, the only Shelter locations that take furniture; required by law.
Their wording
“upholstered items without a fire label (this is required by law)”
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Can't accept
St Barnabas Hospice (Lincolnshire)
Includes beds/mattresses, padded headboards, upholstered dining chairs and footstools without fire labels
Their wording
“without fire labels, e.g beds/mattresses, padded headboards, upholstered dining chairs and footstools”
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Can't accept
St Giles Hospice
Their wording
“Upholstered items & soft furnishings without permanent fire labels attached”
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Can't accept
St Peter's Hospice
Their wording
“Upholstered furniture without fire label”
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Can't accept
St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP)
Labels must be attached prominently, visible and legible; also covers cushions and tailored furniture covers.
Their wording
“attached to the furniture in a prominent position be clearly visible and the wording on both sides can be read with reasonable ease”
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Can't accept
Sue Ryder
Furniture predating the 1950s doesn't need a fire label.
Their wording
“upholstered donated furniture without a fire label (unless pre-1950s)”
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Can't accept
The Children's Trust
Their wording
“Upholstered furniture without a fire label including items without labels that are part of donated sets.”
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Can't accept
Traid
broad category rule
No furniture or other bulky items — Traid shops handle clothing and textiles only.
Their wording
“duvets, pillows, furniture or other bulky items”
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Can't accept
Trinity Hospice (Blackpool)
Their wording
“Upholstered furniture where the Fire Safety label is not attached”
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Can't accept
Wales Air Ambulance
Exemption for furniture pre-dating the 1950s
Their wording
“Upholstered donated furniture without a fire label (unless pre-1950s)”
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Can't accept
Willen Hospice
Furniture and upholstered items must have fire labels
Their wording
“Furniture & upholstered items with fire labels”
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Can't accept
Woodgreen Pets Charity
broad category rule
Furniture and other household items are not currently accepted because their collection service is not running.
Their wording
“our collection service is not currently running”
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Can't accept
YMCA (England & Wales)
Their wording
“All upholstered items must have a fire label attached.”
Not mentioned in 11 charities' guidance
Absence from a charity's list doesn't mean they accept it — it just isn't singled out. Ask your local shop.
- Not mentioned Age UK
- Not mentioned Claire House Children's Hospice
- Not mentioned Crisis
- Not mentioned FARA Charity Shops
- Not mentioned Octavia Foundation
- Not mentioned Oxfam
- Not mentioned Phyllis Tuckwell
- Not mentioned Salvation Army (SATCoL)
- Not mentioned Samaritans
- Not mentioned Save the Children
- Not mentioned St Christopher's Hospice