sweaters

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Winter Wear
The Fred Rogers Company (yes, that's Mr. Rogers) will help you find or start a sweater drive in your neighborhood; the late, great, cardigan-wearing children's TV personality began the campaign to inspire kids to help others. (Email info@fredrogers.com for details.)

For pure cashmere or Merino wool pullovers, though, consider Babee Greens, which turns worn garments made of natural fibers into absorbent diaper covers. (Babee Greens, 2002 Riverside Drive, Ste. 42-K, Asheville, NC 28804)


shoes

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Shoes
ShareYourSoles.org sends casual footwear—1.25 million pairs and counting—to needy children and adults worldwide, from Appalachia to Sri Lanka. (Plus, they'll take those heels you're not so high on anymore and sell them to fund the group's distribution efforts.)

Pass along your old sneakers and a message of good health through GiveRunning.org, which encourages physical fitness by handing out rehabbed athletic shoes to disadvantaged youth.


shirts

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Casual Attire
Mid-Atlantic Clothing Recycling, a professional recycling organization, collects clothes and then sells them (proceeds benefit the antidrug program D.A.R.E. America) to companies that market the garments at deep discounts in the Third World. (info@mac-recyling.com to find out how to donate.)

Clothes4Souls cuts out the middleman by sending your castoffs directly to small-business owners in developing countries like Haiti, who refurbish and merchandise the items themselves.

dress

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Cocktail Dresses and Bags
Worn that fabulous frock to one too many parties? WGirls.org will gladly find a new owner at one of its prom dress giveaways-held nationwide for underprivileged young women.

Donate the beaded, sparkly clutch (or any other purse) that accompanied your dress to ChangePurse, which sells gently used bags to fund anti-human-trafficking efforts.

From the March 2012 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine