You make a good point, Laura, about cash donations often being more useful. I know that much of the donated women's wear at our local woman's shelter was just bundled up and taken to Goodwill, or, even worse, put in the disposal bins. Woman's clothing and footwear was especially tricky because so many of the styles and sizes were just not useful or appropriate. Being picky about, or refusing, clothing donations was difficult so it was easier to just accept the items and then dispose of them later. Cash donations, on the other hand, were great because they let us take a woman to a store to do her own shopping for herself and her kids which helped restore her feelings of normalcy and control.
As someone who is lucky enough to have enough disposable income be able to buy and purge my clothing on whim, I still feel conflicted about my own behavior. If another woman is overjoyed to find my purged sweater in a thrift shop, that image makes me feel better about my own behavior. But I can't help but shake the feeling that I'm putting on blinders when I'm assuming that image is the reality of the bulk of my clothes that are "donated".
My grandmother owned three dresses--one for good, two for everyday, two pairs of shoes--one for church and one for everyday, a winter coat, a couple of sweaters, and an apron. She mended and wore her clothes until they were truly worn out and then she turned them into household rags and handwoven rugs. As a child, I loved seeing the fabric from a dress I'd worn in one of her rugs. I think my grandmother would be appalled by my attitude towards purging wearable clothing from my closet and assuming that sending things off for "donation" was somehow a service to others. And, for some reason, that makes me sad.