The used clothing collection operations of the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) in Upper Bavaria remain under sustained pressure. Developments vary markedly across districts: some have removed all collection bins, while others maintain dozens of locations.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen District Has Removed All Bins

According to the district branch, Garmisch-Partenkirchen has dismantled its last batch of BRK used clothing bins, with the direct cause being serious problems in the collection and transport process. Currently, there are no longer any BRK-operated bins in the area.

However, BRK has not completely withdrawn from used clothing collection: well-preserved, higher-quality garments are still collected and sold through its social store "Die Kleiderretter." Weilheim-Schongau district also stopped operating its own bins years ago; surplus clothing from the local apparel market is taken over by the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district branch for continued use.

Landsberg am Lech and Starnberg Maintain Collection

The situation differs in neighboring districts. Landsberg am Lech still has approximately 60 BRK used clothing bins, Starnberg has 56, and Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen has another 18.

Landsberg district previously faced difficulties: the original bin operator changed, and according to BRK, a successor was found to continue collection without additional fees, thus avoiding a shutdown. Starnberg's bin count has declined slightly; BRK says the main reasons include construction work reducing placement sites, but local collection and utilization continue to operate normally.

Why Bins Keep Being Removed

Behind this is an overall crisis in the German used clothing market. For BRK, used clothing collection has not been a profitable business for years; at the same time, utilizing used clothing and finding suitable partners have become more difficult. In addition, some garments can no longer be worn or have lost their usable value due to incorrect disposal—severely soiled textiles and even household waste repeatedly appear in the bins, and disposing of these unusable materials costs money. Therefore, the core question for district branches now is: under what conditions can collection work still be maintained responsibly.

BRK and Local Governments Seek Solutions Together

BRK emphasizes that a complete withdrawal from used clothing collection is not currently on the table, and conditions vary greatly from district to district. Where conditions permit, BRK strives to preserve existing structures, including agreements with processors, cooperation between district branches, and discussions with municipalities and districts, while also evaluating alternative forms of collection and reuse.

What the Public Should Note

Residents with clothing to donate should place clean, intact garments in designated collection points; severely soiled textiles or those no longer usable must not be casually thrown into used clothing bins. Where BRK bins have been removed, residents can learn about local channels through recycling centers, municipal collection points, or used clothing stores still in operation.

For the used clothing trade, this news once again confirms that the European domestic collection end is shrinking: rising sorting costs and disposal fees for unusable materials are pushing the traditional charitable collection model to a critical point, and ultimately those able to sustain operations are often branches supported by high-value channels such as social stores.

Source: Altkleidersammlung beim BRK weiter unter Druck - So ist die Lage im Oberland / Radio Oberland News · Originally published on 2026-09-18