Where to Donate Old Clothes, Household Items, Etc. in Halifax: A Brief Primer
There’s a dark side to shopping and unfortunately it shows up in the hoards of waste produced by discarding clothes and other household items.
Here’s where to donate your old clothes, household items, etc. in Halifax so we can make at least some sort of gesture to save our poor planet.
GREAT HALIFAX CLOTHING SWAP
The Great Halifax Clothing Swap organizes events where you bring donations and then peruse clothing tables filled with other donations, taking home any items you’d like for yourself.
There is no limit to what you can take so this can be a great way to get a new wardrobe while also doing a significant purge.
Entrance fee is $15 with clothing and $25 without. The fee includes workshops, Museum of Changemakers + Vendors, panel discussions, and a community quilt.
Leftover items are donated to their charity partner, Affirmative Ventures, and proceeds from the event will be donated to Threading Change, a youth-led, justice-oriented non-profit created to address systemic injustices and inequities in the global fashion industry.
Check out their website for information about upcoming events:
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Dress for Success aims to help unemployed and underemployed women achieve economic independence. An important part of their project is providing women with professional attire that can be worn for job interviews or at work.
They accept the following clothing donations:
Interview appropriate attire
Classic and casual attire
Professional separates such as blouses, pants, skirts, dresses, and blazers
Outer coats
100% linen and/or 100% silk clothing
New retail items with tags
Work-appropriate shoes and boots
Scarves
Gloves
Leggings
Handbags
Briefcases
In-season donations are accepted on Mondays at The Social Boutique from 11 am - 2 pm or by appointment.
Learn more here:
SPCA
The SPCA is a registered charity that helps animals in need. Every year nearly 15,000 pets are helped through animal rescue, progressive programs, and rehoming.
Although not technically right in Halifax, they also operate an SPCA Thrift Store in Dartmouth where 100% of proceeds support local pets in their care.
They accept a wide variety of household items including:
Quality used clothing
Shoes
Home decor items
Toys
Jewelry
Appliances
Art
Books
Furniture
Donations are accepted Mon-Sat 10 am - 5 pm and Sun 12-5 pm.
Learn more here:
https://www.novascotiaspca.ca/how-you-can-help/thriftstores/
THE HOSPICE THRIFT STORE (FORMERLY COMPASSIONATE CLOSET)
A similar concept to the thrift store above, the Hospice Thrift Store uses all of its revenue to support Hospice Halifax, which offers palliative care to terminally ill patients.
The Hospice Thrift Store accepts:
Clean, gently used or new men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing
Accessories including purses, wallets, scarves, shoes, boots, and jewelry
Household items
Donations can be dropped off Mon-Fri 10 am - 5 pm at the designated drop-off area behind the thrift store.
Read the details here:
OUT OF THE COLD
Out of the Cold supports residents in need by offering permanent supported housing.
Although they are not accepting most clothing right now, they do accept a variety of specific donations.
Check their website to confirm, but right now this should include:
Tents
Tarps
Winter sleeping bags
Bedding
Radios
Books
Towels
Working cell phones
Physical donations can be dropped off at either their Halifax or Dartmouth locations.
Learn more here:
www.outofthecold-hfx.ca/donations
MISSION MART
Another similar concept to the SPCA and Hospice Thrift stores, 100% of Mission Mart proceeds go towards the Soul Harbour Rescue Mission that supports the community by feeding over 300 hot meals a day.
They accept:
Clothing in good condition
Household items in good condition
Small furniture (no bigger than a dining room chair)
Non-perishable food, especially drinks and individually packaged snacks
New socks
Check it out here:
https://missionmart.ca/pages/faq
If you can’t make it work donating to these local initiatives, the Salvation Army and Value Village continue to accept a wide variety of items. They both have numerous locations scattered across the HRM:
https://www.thriftstore.ca/locations/
https://stores.savers.com/ns/halifax/valuevillage-thrift-store-2046.html
There are also numerous Diabetes Canada (who partners with Value Village) donation bins scattered across town that can be located through their website. This could be the best option if coming after-hours is necessary.
https://declutterfordiabetes.ca/donation-bin#panel-listTab
Wishing you all a conscience-free closet cleaning.
Lead Photo: Getty Images, Second Photo: Andrej Lisakov, Third Photo: Sarah Brown, Last Photo: Getty Images