> If you have clothing which you could still wear but don't want/don't fit in anymore then consider donating.
But please only to local homeless shelters/refugee assistance organizations, and only after checking if they actually accept the kind/size of clothes you want to bring, as most of them only have limited space. This is also valid for stuff like sleeping bags or food.
The "donation boxes" you see all over the streets in Germany (or those at charity organizations) are in fact often the worst of the worst - the charity organization may get money, yes, but the price of that money is the total and utter destruction of African textile industry. The "creme" aka first-class clothes goes to second-hand stores, the not-so-fine-anymore goes to Eastern Europe and the rest goes to Africa... and for local dealers it's hard to compete. Of course, the trade creates jobs, but the price of the countries not being able to produce anything locally and making them totally dependent on donations is enormous.
For homeless/refugees: at least this is what the Munich organizations regularly state within their calls (and especially during fall of 2015, where people brought in way too much stuff for the refugees and there were severe shortages of space and sorting manpower). Besides, asking someone if he can use donations before getting on the road is always better ;)
But please only to local homeless shelters/refugee assistance organizations, and only after checking if they actually accept the kind/size of clothes you want to bring, as most of them only have limited space. This is also valid for stuff like sleeping bags or food.
The "donation boxes" you see all over the streets in Germany (or those at charity organizations) are in fact often the worst of the worst - the charity organization may get money, yes, but the price of that money is the total and utter destruction of African textile industry. The "creme" aka first-class clothes goes to second-hand stores, the not-so-fine-anymore goes to Eastern Europe and the rest goes to Africa... and for local dealers it's hard to compete. Of course, the trade creates jobs, but the price of the countries not being able to produce anything locally and making them totally dependent on donations is enormous.