Unwanted clothes can help others

ALMOST a third of people in Wales have clothes in their cupboards they’ve never worn, and there can’t be too many of us who haven’t got things tucked away we no longer wear.

In fact a YouGov poll has revealed that across the country we could be hoarding enough unworn clothing to stretch to the moon! But those unwanted items could be transforming the lives of some of our most vulnerable children.

Barnardo’s Cymru helps thousands of children, young people and families each year and our shops found across Wales are a vital part in funding that support. So with a change in the seasons this could be the perfect time to make your spring clean count by packing up the clothes you no longer wear and even those you’ve never worn and letting us use them to help fund our work.

The same YouGov poll of almost 4,350 men and women across the UK found one in 20 (5%) people have more than 40 items of clothing tucked away in wardrobes and drawers that they no longer wear.

And of those hoarding “pre-loved” clothes in Wales, 23% admitted those items were worth a total of £200 or more and more than half of us admitted to feeling guilty, embarrassed or wasteful about our unworn clothes

By having a spring clean and donating to your local Barnardo’s store, you’ll be making a huge difference to your wardrobe and to the lives of others.

We provide almost 100 services around Wales ranging from fostering and adoption to help for care leavers, specialist support for the victims of abuse to counselling for the bereaved. We help young carers who have to look after sick or disabled parents or siblings and children with parents in prison.