What happens to Manitobans' used clothing donations?

Manitobans wanting to donate their used clothes to a worthy cause have many optionsto choose from.Theyincludelocalcharities with smallshops to larger organizations that make millions of dollars a year in thrift store sales.

Smaller thrift stores, like the North End Women's Centre, use the proceeds from their thrift stores towards store operations and community programs and services.

"The revenues go back to the store or programs for women," says Eliyana Angelova, a community economic development manager with the women's centre, which operates the Up Shoppe on Selkirk Avenue.

Angelova said all of the approximately $75,000 that the Up Shoppe makes in sales annually goes back into store operations and programs. The used clothing store provides a service to the neighbourhood by keeping prices low, she added.

Other local groups, such as the Osborne House women's shelter and the Centre Flavie St.-Laurent, say they give donated clothing and household goods directly to people in need, free of charge.

MCC records $5M in sales last year

The Mennonite Central Committee took in $5 million in thrift shop sales last year in Manitoba alone.

Those sales amount to a profit of about $2.5 million, which the organization says goes mostly to its international relief and development programs.

"After expenses, everything comes to MCC and those funds will go into our general MCC fund.... Probably 80 per cent will go overseas," said Brad Reimer, the Mennonite Central Committee's resource generation director in Manitoba.

The Salvation Army made about $12.1 million in net profit last year from its thrift stores nationwide, and all the money stays within the organization for programming.

But not all charities with thrift stores keep all the profits. For example, clothing and household goods that are donated to the Canadian Diabetes Association and the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Winnipeg are sold to Value Village.

Value Village seeks 'modest' return

Value Village officials would not tell CBC News how much it makes from selling the used clothing, but they say they aim to make "a modest 10 per cent return."

Nationally, The Canadian Diabetes Association received about $33.5 million from Value Village for donated items in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, according to its financial statements.

The association spent about $22.5 million to run its pickup services, translating into $11 million in profit.

The Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Winnipeg uses the money it collects from Value Village towards the screening, matching and monitoring of mentors and youth, according to the organization's website.

Big Brothers and Big Sisters says it raised $220,000 in the first two years of its donation collection program, which is currently in its third year.

There are also small private operations in Winnipeg like Global Recycling and Aid, which owns a thrift store in St. Vital.

Company staff told CBC News a portion of the store's sales profits go to the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation. However, neither the foundation nor the company would say exactly how much is donated to charity.