FAQ
If you’ve got a question about the TIN Wardrobe, it’s likely that someone’s asked it before! Check out answers to our most frequently asked questions below.
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The TIN Wardrobe started with two friends raiding rejected items from clothing banks and taking clothing donations from local students moving house and has flourished into a registered charity that has sent over 300 parcels to people all around the uk and has donation offers almost every day. If this seems like the kind of project you could take on we highly encourage you to give it a go. There are a few things you should consider:
Storage: Where will you keep the inventory and how will it be stored? In boxes? On racks? In draws? Will you be storing it at home or in a separate location
Team: You certainly can sort, store, list, package and post all by yourself, however we have learned for the service to have any level of consistency over time it’s good to have a team of at least three people working at one time.
Catalogue: How will you list items and take orders? We started out using Instagram to list items and take orders, plus an external Trello account to put together orders. This system was difficult and prone to human error, which is why we committed to making a website, however if you don’t want to take on the fees of a website it is entirely possible to run a community wardrobe through social media.
General
What does the ‘TIN’ in TIN Wardrobe mean?
We use TIN to mean trans, intersex and non-binary people. The TIN Wardrobe is primarily made for these communities, to help everyone free their gender expression.
We recognise that the service will also benefit those who are gender non-conforming in general and welcome their orders too.
Is it really free?
Yes. All clothing orders are free.
We add a flat postage fee of £5 to all orders, but this is not mandatory. If you can't afford shipping, please use the discount code FREEGENDER at checkout.
If you can afford it, please consider donating to help cover the postage costs of others.
All donations help us to keep providing free clothes to those who most need them. As an entirely volunteer-run organisation, all donations go directly towards postage, storage costs and getting the word out to more of our community.
Postage costs are approximately £5 per small parcel and £8-10 for a larger parcel (typically containing coats or shoes).
Why free clothes?
When you start embracing fluidity in your gender expression, it’s a tough journey of both unlearning your internalised fears and learning the presentation that makes you truly happy. Whilst that’s not all about clothes, they are often the first freedoms that someone can enjoy.
The problem: clothes are expensive!
This is a financial barrier that many of the poorest cannot bear. The cost of living crisis and the lingering effects of austerity have driven many into financial hardship. This can trap people in situations that affect their mental health, or drive people to take on unsustainable debt in becoming their preferred self. Not only that, but a lack of access to gender congruent clothing can delay the award of a gender recognition certificate, if a person is pursuing one.
Beyond cost, free coats, shoes, socks and other essentials are integral to helping the un-housed members of our community stay healthy and warm.
Why secondhand clothes?
360,000 tonnes of clothes are thrown away in the UK each year.
Most items of clothes are only worn 10 times before being discarded.
We know that those experimenting with gender expression and exploring social transition will often have a full wardrobe of clothes that they are no longer comfortable wearing. This means that our communities are at risk of contributing to textile waste, but we can do something about it.
By helping to rehome clothes that might have otherwise ended up in landfill, we can do our bit both for the planet and for trans, intersex and non-binary communities. We hope that this helps to inspire more sustainable clothes choices in future as well.
We also encourage our users to pass any unwanted items they receive from us to someone in their local community, ensuring that items end up with someone who will make the best use of them.
Why not focus on something else?
With an increasingly serious situation in gender care and rising anti-trans and anti-queer hate crime, you might think that a group of volunteers could spend time more productively on other issues.
But one organisation cannot do everything. We know that trying to do so leads only to failure across many issues. We want to play our part in making the lives of many trans, intersex and non-binary people happier, healthier and more fulfilling in a tangible way.
How do I know if I qualify for this service?
The TIN Wardrobe is a service designed for the trans, intersex and non-binary communities in the UK.
But it is not our place to judge if you fall into any of these categories. We are not gatekeepers. You will never be challenged on your trans status or medical details.
If you’ve found your way here, the chances are you’re someone this service could help.
We understand that labels are not always simple, and provide free clothing every day to queer people who may not feel they fall into the categories of trans, intersex or non-binary, but do want to experiment with their clothing and gender presentation.
Although our focus will always be on supporting and uplifting these communities, we do not discriminate in who can access our services. We believe that whether it’s for practicality, comfort or expression, free clothing is a resource that can help everyone.
Orders and delivery
Why do you charge for postage? I thought it was free!
Posting orders across the UK costs an average of £5-10 each time.
We need to add a flat £5 fee to orders to help us cover this cost. This means we can keep providing clothes to more trans, intersex and non-binary people around the country.
We don't charge anyone for the donated clothes we provide and we never will.
Can't afford the postage cost?
Please use the discount code FREEGENDER at checkout.
Where’s my order?
We send our packages in bulk once a week on a Wednesday. Regardless of when you ordr your package will not be packed and shipped until the following Wednesday morning.
Once your order has been shipped, we will provide you with the Royal Mail tracking number. At this point, any issues are unfortunately out of our hands.
Please check the Royal Mail website to keep track of your package in transit.
I haven’t received a tracking number. Can you help?
If you have not received a shipping confirmation or tracking number for your order, please contact us and we will help.
Do you deliver to where I live?
We post to all locations in the mainland UK, including the Scottish Highlands, as well as Northern Ireland.
Since we are committed to local and sustainable systems for clothing, we do not post internationally or to any British Overseas Territories.
Clothes
Where do you get the clothing?
Our clothes are all donated by communities across the UK.
Most of the people who donate clothing are queer, often donating their pre-transition clothing to bring joy to a new owner.
We also welcome corporate donations of deadstock or factory errors to help encourage sustainable clothing use around the UK.
Do you have clothes that would make someone else’s day?
Find out if our donations are open and how to donate here.
Do you wash the clothes before sending?
We ask that all donations are washed before they are given to us and we wash any clothes that are visibly soiled or we suspect are dirty.
Because of the nature of donations and postage, we can never guarantee that all items are 100% clean when you receive them.
We’d always recommend washing received items at home before wearing.
Do you stock underwear?
We only stock underwear if it’s brand new, since these items are hard to sanitise for onward use.
Keep an eye out here for any items that become available.
Do you stock binders?
We don’t often have binders donated to us, but we do list them when received in useable condition.
As you’d expect, these are ordered extremely quickly, so it’s best to keep an eye out!
It’s important to note that whilst we do list label size on binder listings, the way that fabric distorts with prolonged wear means these are guidelines only. We highly recommend that you use our measurements to work out if a binder will safely fit.
If you’re planning on wearing a binder for the first time, please do so safely. For guidelines on the size you might need and how to safe wear binders, the LGBT Foundation has an excellent downloadable PDF.
Do you stock gaffs?
We are dependent on donations, so can never guarantee our stock.
We have stocked gaffs before, when donated and clearly machine washed or new.
Keep an eye on our Trans-specific items page to see if any come into stock!
Do you have _ in stock?
If the item is not listed on the website, we don’t have it in stock at the moment.
We’re wholly reliant on donations, so we’re unable to source specific items for you.
We recommend that you check back every week to see if the item you’re looking for has been added.
Donations
How do I donate clothes?
Our guide to donating clothes is here.
Please wash all clothing before sending it to us.
Please note that we often have to limit or close donations due to capacity.
Check the website header and the top of our donations page to see our current status.
Are you taking clothing donations now?
Our capacity to store and process donations is limited, so we often need to close clothes donations to ensure we can manage our stock.
Our current donation status is listed in the website header and on our ‘Donate Clothes’ page here.
Why do you need to verify me to donate clothes?
With rising anti-queer hate crime in the UK, we need to protect our volunteers as much as possible.
The post has historically been a key channel for hate campaigns against groups such as ours.
This means we need to have a brief email exchange with yourself to verify that you’re looking to genuinely donate. We try to make this as painless as possible whilst maximising security.
Do you take donations from businesses?
We do!
We have previously worked with companies to find new homes for their deadstock, which helps them to clear their storage whilst bring joy to queer people across the UK.