Deseret Industries is best known as a place to donate gently used items or find quality clothing, furniture, and home goods at a low cost. What many people don’t know is what their donations and purchases actually do. 

The primary purpose of Deseret Industries is to help individuals prepare for future employment through hands-on job training, workplace development, and personalized support—an effort that is accomplished through the funds earned by selling donated goods. Those who sort donations, price merchandise, stock shelves, and assist customers are associates employed in the DI job training program.

When You Donate to Deseret Industries

Your donation is more than an item. It creates hands-on learning opportunities that help associates build workplace skills and experience. When you donate used goods like clothing, furniture, or household goods, associates gain hands-on experience with warehousing, sorting and pricing items, stocking shelves, and serving customers.

Those skills transfer directly to future employment. An associate who learns to price and merchandise a clothing rack is learning inventory work. An associate who greets donors at the dock is learning customer service.

When You Shop at Deseret Industries 

Every purchase at DI also plays a part. When you shop for thrifted items at Deseret Industries, you give used items a second life instead of putting new ones into production. Your purchases also support the employment and job training in your local store. 

Donations never go to waste, either. In the event that a DI store receives too many donations to handle, those surplus donations are sent to other DI locations or to the Humanitarian Center, where associates sort them for humanitarian relief or recycling. Through recycling efforts, humanitarian donations, and in-store purchases, Deseret Industries kept more than 82 million pounds of materials out of landfills in 2025 alone.

The Impact of Donations and Purchases