Push to recover billions wasted in unsold goods

Small luxuries such as electric blankets and Lego can quickly fall off the shopping lists of families with seriously sick kids who are struggling with the rising cost of living, steep medical bills and caring responsibilities.

But that doesn't mean they have to go without.

Little Wings charity flies thousands of kids from the bush living with cancer, burns and other conditions to life-saving medical treatment each year for free thanks to volunteers, but their help doesn't stop there.

Families receive packages of essentials and gifts designed to ease the emotional and financial stress of commuting from the regions to major hospitals.

"Sometimes, just turning up with a parcel of personal products and a small gift just to say we see you and you're doing a great job, that changes someone's day," Little Wings chief executive Clare Pearson told AAP.

"When you're really struggling, these little things are game changers for people".

Demand for their help has soared fourfold in recent years which is why it was upsetting to learn a $4.5 billion worth of retail stock becomes waste each year, even though it could go to charity.

"It's heartbreaking, isn't it?" Ms Pearson said.

"Not only for the families, but for the planet."

Some $2.9 billion worth of unsold goods from retailers are thrown out each year while more than $1.5 billion worth of online shopping returns are discarded, according to a Deloitte Access Economics report for not-for-profit Good360.

It's a 17 per cent jump since 2021, despite continual charity demand for clothing, homewares, hygiene products and other essentials.

Little Wings is among more than 4500 schools and charities that Good360 supports, providing unsold products from retailers such as IKEA, Harvey Norman, Colgate and Nestle.

"The need has never been greater," the organisation's Australian managing director Alison Covington said.

"People are so focused on food, but I always talk about as individuals we need more than food.

"I ask you to think about what you used since the moment you woke up in your warm bed."

Ms Covington believes a growing amount of stock is going to waste due to tough economic times, as fewer sales means more products are left on shelves and binned.

While the retailers her organisation works with are grateful for stock being taken off their hands while also doing the right thing, it can be an uphill battle for the not-for-profit.

Businesses responses to their customers and the feedback from some who don't work with Good360 is that shoppers aren't asking to know what happens to unsold products in the same way they demand recycling schemes.

"Everybody's been asked to bring back their goods and recycle them, but first we all need to be asking ourselves, what happened if this didn't sell?" Ms Covington said.

"There's nothing about saying, did the business actually sell through their clothing and what are they doing about it? I'd like to see more about the reporting of what happened to all the items."

While Ms Covington is focused on advocating to businesses and government for funding, she says individual shoppers can vote with their feet.