Volunteers Begged Donors To ‘Stop Giving Trash’ During LA Fires

Donations have been rolling in as the combined communities of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena continue the long process of recovery from the wildfires.

Having lost everything, these families and businesses are in need of clothing, toiletries, baby supplies and more. Volunteers and state officials alike are asking the public to reconsider what they’re donating. Initially, there was an outpouring of donations, including clothing. Over the past few weeks, however, crews are now dealing with an excess of junk.

While most people have good intentions, others are using the opportunity to offload stuff that is collecting dust in their homes, ranging from random household items to damaged and dirty clothing. Officials are pleading with the public to stop bringing what is essentially trash to donation sites.

The excess not only slows down the process of filtering through the donations, but it wastes precious time given by the volunteers. Not to mention, those who have suffered in losing their homes deserve better than clothing that is raggedy.

This also brings to light the extreme consumerism we see as a society. Clothing and household items purchased from “fast fashion” sites like Temu and Shein make it tempting to buy en masse. Items are created quickly and cheaply and then sold for a very affordable price, enticing shoppers to buy. Cheaply made and sold makes it much easier to part with an item that isn’t in good condition and one you didn’t pay much for to begin with.

If not donated and used properly, the items inevitably end up in a landfill, a problem that was already an ongoing concern prior to the wildfires. Over 100 million pounds of clothing is discarded. According to the UN Environment Program, the fashion industry is responsible for approximately 5% of planet-warming emissions.

Organizations like Trashie, Black Pearl and Suay Sew Shop all recycle and place clothing donations. During the height of the donations, Trashie collected over 70,000 pounds of clothing to relocate. Chief Strategy Officer of Trashie, Annie Gullingsrud, says of the donations, “This is what happens during a natural disaster. There’s excess clothing donations. They’re mishandled, right? They’re put into some storage or they’re set somewhere. They get moldy, they end up in a landfill.”

To help clear up the piles, trucks were packed to the brim and sent to Santa Anita. Gullingsrud says of your good-intended donation, “What we recommend is, donate what you would wear.”

In an effort to raise funds, musicians from every genre gathered on January 30 to put on a concert for fans. The FireAid Benefit Concert featured artists like Billie Eilish, Greenday, Gwen Stefani, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Jelly Roll.

They split their performances between two locations in order to maximize the number of performances. The Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum hosted the event.