What happens to items that do not go on the sales floor to sell?

Thanks to generous people in the community, Goodwill receives thousands of donations each year. We inspect items for quality and safety before they make it to store shelves. Our priority is to recycle items we cannot sell. Clothing and many other items are sorted and recycled if they do not meet quality standards or if they do not sell after a period on our store shelves. A very small percentage of items donated do not meet recycling guidelines and go to the landfill at a cost to Goodwill. Goodwill partners with Shift2 to responsibly recycle computers at no charge to donors.

After being on the floor for a time, items like clothing, books, furniture, and household goods are pulled for our Good Neighbor program. Through our partnerships with schools, churches, other local nonprofits, care managers, and social workers, Good Neighbor redistributes these items to community members in need of some help.