If your experience abroad is over, you are moving out of your apartment in Madrid or you are just decluttering the wardrobe and you found some things that you don't use anymore, you should consider going for clothing donation in Madrid.  

INFORMATION: At helpHousing we DO NOT receive donations, but you can always get in touch with the organizations we collaborate with or contact with us at info@helphousing.com. Keep reading and discover more about them!

Before throwing your clothes (or household items and furniture) away, have a look at this article and discover the places where you can donate them.

Why you should donate your clothes 

Your tiny gesture is not that little: by donating clothes you can contribute to climate change. As you may know, the fashion and textile industries have a quite big role in the pollution that is currently destroying the environment (especially the fast fashion system).

This hectic cycle of throwing/buying clothes has such a bad impact on:

-  Air pollution: fashion factories produces tons of carbon emissions;

- Water use: producing clothes involves a huge amount of water;

- Water pollution: many synthetic fabrics end up in groundwater and in the ocean, harming marine wildlife.

Donating things that you don’t want or use anymore not only is an amazing contribution for our environment, but it also is a good gesture to help the community. Many people in need will benefit from this, finally receiving some clothes, shoes or a blanket. 

Spots for clothing donation in Madrid

If you decided to donate your clothes or items but still don’t know where to take them, here’s a brief list of places where you can carry out your donation.

1. In helpHousing we team up with Imágina Más, Bienvenidxs Refugiados and Asociación Mano Ayuda

When our tenants are about to leave their shared apartments to come back to their countries, often they have several clothes, blankets or other items they can’t bring on their journey back home.
Therefore, a long time ago we decided to team up with two non-profit organizations (Imágina Más and Bienvenidxs RefugiadXs) to donate those items for the ones who need them the most.

And recently we also started collaborating with Asociación Mano Ayuda, a non-profit organization linked to Obra Luz Madrid, by the Catholic church. Their aim is to help thousands of Venezuelans (but also other people from Latin America) offering them refuge, food, clothes and much more.

 *For more information you can contact us at info@helphousing.com

2. Authorized clothing containers in Madrid by the Ayuntamiento (city council)

Click here to find the addresses, the time of the collection and the geolocated points of each of the used clothes containers that are located in several sides of the city.
You will be able to find them in municipal offices and markets, fixed or mobile cleaning points.
Lately, the Ayuntamiento increased the number of containers for this selective collection, which will be located on public roads, municipal offices and street markets. 

After collecting the clothes, 50% of the usable material will be destined for recycling of textile material (for the production of new garments), while approximately 15 % of the material collected (in good condition) is destined for reuse, generally through sale in specific shops.

3. Humana: a famous used clothing store in Madrid

Humana is a Non Governmental Organization with several humanitarian projects in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. This NGO collects donated clothes and sells them in the stores throughout Spain in order to fund its projects. It also has been authorized to place some used clothes containers around the city.

Introduce your postal code or location here and check out the Humana stores in Madrid where you can donate your items! 

4. Cáritas Diocesana de Madrid 

If you have clothes that you no longer wear, you can also take them to the containers of Cáritas Madrid, installed throughout the city. With your donation you can contribute to the integration and socio-occupational training of people in situations of social exclusion as a transition to ordinary employment. Please, keep in mind that those containers are always identified with their logo. 

5. Other stores in Madrid

- Zara clothing donation program: You will be able to find here the closest Zara stores where you can donate your clothes in Madrid, by using your postal code. As part of their environmental and social commitment, the Spanish brand decided to develop a used clothing collection program.
You just have to hand over your items in the containers you find in the shops and the company will take care of delivering them to the Non-Profit organizations they collaborate with.

- H&M Group garment collecting initiative: Since 2013 H&M collects garments in their stores for reuse and recycling. You can drop off your clothes or other textiles in the garment-collecting boxes that you can find in the stores of the group business partners: H&M, & Other Stories, Weekday and Monki.

* Due to Covid-19 hygiene protocols, many of these donation programs may have changed or been temporarily disrupted.
Please, once you decide who to donate your items to, contact the customer service to make sure the initiative is still going on.