Duvets

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Do you really need to pass your duvet on?

A quarter of British people have never washed their duvet (according to some silly marketing survey). When they start looking tired and grubby, we tend to just buy a new one. Maybe yours hasn't actually reached the end of its useful life, it just needs a wash! If it won't fit in the washing machine at home, some laundrettes have extra-big machines for precisely this kind of thing. Or you could wash it in the bath. If you're tumble-drying it, try putting tennis balls in the machine with it to keep it fluffed up. If you're planning to line-dry it, pick a sunny day!

Who will take used duvets?

Some animal shelters Some animal shelters will take duvets and pillows that are no longer suitable for human use, to keep the animals comfortable. But please do not assume that any given animal shelter will take your duvet - most don't.. There are lots of good reasons for this: duvets are hard to wash and dry, hygiene is an issue and some shelters are concerned that the stuffing represents a choking hazard (if you're a dog whose hobbies include tearing up textiles with your teeth). As ever, please check with the shelter before donating anything - and if they say yes, get in touch with us on griffinkate@gmail.com so we can add them to this page!

Not taking/no longer taking duvets
 * Most charity shops won't take used duvets. They take up a lot of space, they're hard to sell and there may be hygiene concerns.
 * Duvets are not recyclable, so don't put them in textile recycling bins or put them out for recycling. If you can't find a way to pass it on, it should go in the general waste.
 * The flagship textile recycling/reuse scheme in the Cardiff branch of IKEA will not take duvets because "they're not really textiles". (Source: phone call, Dec 2020)