Is my local charity shop genuine?

Charity shops in Ireland totally rely on the general public’s generosity for donations. The revenue from these donations funds the charity’s much-needed services in your community and beyond.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where not everyone is genuine. Shops that look and feel like charity shops accepting donations can be bogus. This page is here to help you donate to a legal charity shop run by a registered charity.

All our charity shop members have registered charities and follow the CRI Code of Charity Retailing. So, if you see our membership badge (featured here) in a charity shop window, you know they are a genuine charity shop.

If they are not members of Charity Retail Ireland, you can ask if the charity runs the charity shop. You can also check their registration with the Charities Regulator.

If they donate some of their profits to charity and call themselves a charity shop, under the Charities Act 2009, they are not a registered charity shop.

Door to Door Collections

5 ways to check if a clothes collection bag/sticker is genuine

  1. Is the Charity Retail Ireland/Irish Charity Shops Association logo on the bag or sticker (either our new or old logo)?
  2. Do you recognise the charity’s name? Sometimes leaflets appear connected to a well-known charity, using a similar name and logo.
  3. Is there a Charities Regulator number on the label? Numbers start with 2000. You can check them on the search page on the CR website.
  4. Does the bag or leaflet have an address and landline (not mobile) number printed on it?
  5. Is there a CHY number? Legitimate numbers issued by the Revenue Commissioners run up to about 22,400. They publish an up-to-date list downloadable from this page of their website.

What to do if you are still unsure if a bag/sticker is from a registered charity

  • Bring your donation to a Charity Retail Ireland member charity shop near you. There are 500 member shops nationwide. Click here to find a shop near you.
  • Wait until a charity that you know is legitimate delivers a collection bag to your door (see list of our members who do door-to-door collections below)
  • Contact the registered charity you wish to support and ask them how you can make your donation.

Charity Retail Ireland members who do Door-to-Door Clothes Collections:

  • Barnardos
  • Enable Ireland
  • Irish Cancer Society
  • Oxfam Ireland
  • Society of St Vincent de Paul
  • The Simon Community

The member charities listed here collect clothing donations from your home. These are bulk collections organised by each charity to cover a particular area.

Most are not able to do individual house collections. Please contact your local charity shop here.

Reporting suspicious activity

You can report any suspicious activity on this simple form.

This can be:

  • Unregistered and bogus charity shops where it is unclear who benefits from the money raised by the shop
  • Clothes collectors give the impression that they are supporting a charitable cause
  • Clothing banks where it is unclear how much of the money raised is being donated to the charity partner

If you are suspicious of any activity, fill in a simple form with the details. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

Click here for our online reporting form.

Any information you give will be handled in the strictest confidence and not divulged to any third party without your consent.

If you have any queries, please email info@charityretail.ie.