You Can Donate Clothes Without Leaving Your Doorstep This Week

The Australian Red Cross and Uber are teaming up to run a clothing drive this November in the hope that they might help make it a little easier for Australians to donate clothes for folks in need this year.

If you have a pile of clothes sitting in a corner somewhere waiting to be donated (we’ve all been there), here is what you need to know about taking advantage of this free service in the coming days.

The deal with donating clothes

According to research conducted by Censuswide, which surveyed 1,000 Australians, it was found that some 63 per cent of people experience “barriers” to donating clothes to charity.

This varies from “not being bothered to donate” or finding it difficult to travel to op shops to “finding it emotionally challenging to part with” clothing items. Whatever the reason, though, the end result is often the same: a selection of good-quality clothes, ready to make their way to someone in need, just sitting there.

Per the survey data collated for Uber and Red Cross, it takes Aussies an average of 24 days to actually donate clothes they have set aside.

With the ongoing impacts of La Niña and the general threat of extreme weather events in the summer months, at-risk communities can’t really afford to wait. That’s where the Australian Red Cross and Uber partnership comes in.

How to donate with Red Cross and Uber

On November 19, the Australian Red Cross and Uber will be giving Aussies in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth the opportunity to have their clothes picked up and donated on their behalf – for free.

You’ll only get one opportunity to use this service, so make sure you get it right the first time. Here is a guide to donating your clothes with Uber and Red Cross via a statement from the brands.

1. Shift it to thrift it: Be realistic with your wardrobe clear out – if you haven’t worn it in years, or if it doesn’t fit, but it’s still in great quality, shift it to thrift it. Red Cross is looking for quality, saleable clothing and accessories in particular, but does not accept homewares, underwear, worn out and/ or dirty clothing. If it’s good enough quality to give to a friend, then it’s something Red Cross would love!
2. Package up the pre-love: Gather your pre-loved items into a bag or box, no heavier than 20kg, so it comfortably sits in the boot of a midsize car.
3. Push for pick up: Open the Uber app between 10:00 to 16:00 local time  on 19 November 2022, navigate to the “Package” option. Click “Send a package”, enter “Red Cross Clothing Drive” as the destination, and select one of the “Red Cross Clothing Drive” locations shown. You may also see a banner in the app relating to the Clothing Drive, which, when clicked on, will allow you to select one of the Red Cross Clothing Drive locations shown.
   Remember, you need to be located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth or Sydney to redeem the free delivery, and it is only redeemable once. Eligible customers will see a $0 amount payable when they book an Uber Package with the drop-off location set to one of the Red Cross Clothing Drive Drop off locations.
4. Donate from your doorstep: You’ll have real-time tracking of the delivery person’s arrival in the Uber app, so you can easily meet them at your doorstep or curbside to hand over your donation. You can also follow the trip status live once the delivery person picks it up and enjoy that feel-good buzz of donating as they transport it to Red Cross sorting centres!

If you’d like to see more ways to support communities like those impacted by flooding – here are some more ideas.