Gifted an OP-PORTUNITY

Michèle gives her tips for giving and receiving donated goods

- MICHÈLE A'COURT

Over these past weeks, I've been having a rummage round in the pros and cons of buying secondhand clothes.

I am firmly in the pro camp for all the reasons - op-shopping's good for the planet and for the charities who run them, as well as for my wallet and my spirits.

But there's another conversation to be had about how we donate to op shops and other charities dealing in secondhand goods.

A decade ago, I learned a valuable lesson from Jackie Clark, the aunty in charge of registered charity The Aunties. The call would go out for clothing and linen for the group of indigenous women it walks alongside, bags of stuff would arrive and Jackie would staunchly refuse to take anything that wasn't in pristine condition.