I've been working with a few thrift stores in my town and have been appalled to find that a lot of useful donated things get tossed in their trash.

I have been working to come up with ways to make sure things stay out of the waste stream. One is to find out which thrifts have a downstream option for things that are not 'nice' enough for them to sell, but still find a way to send these things off to warehouse type thrifties or overseas charities.

Anyone have any knowledge of which thrift chains are better than others?

I don't know of any that are "better" Jilly, but I do find they are getting more expensive. A little "behind the scenes" birdy told me that some workers keep the best things to themselves, but that happens in regular stores too.

I would imagine they get so many donations - they would throw away a few things. There are a couple south of me that actually throw a bunch of stuff into a shopping cart and auction off the cart - like Storage Wars. You can't pick through the cart first, you have to bid. Once you've successfully "won" (and paid for) the cart, you get to pick through it - keep what you want and throw away the rest.

I have heard some goodwills and other thrifts will save old blankets, towels and other linens for animal shelters, which is a great gesture. And other stores will send the unadoptable clothes to outlets (there is one in Phoenix, for example), where people can buy the clothes or fabric very cheaply by the pound.

The last step some charities do is bushel up what fabric materials are left and ship them overseas. For some countries, this is a major industry. And it seems better than having children scour dumps and landfills for whatever rags they can scrounge.

Basically, I would like to see usable things continue to be usable until the very end. At my house, all unwearable clothes (stuff after donatable items are donated) get stacked up for possible sewing supplied or placed directly on the ground in my yard as a bottom layer of mulch.

My mom used to like to frequent goodwills that had tables wear you could buy clothing by the pound. The tables were piled with items that would otherwise be tossed aside. She found a lot of good stuff there, some needing minor repairs, but most didn't. This would also be great for those who make up cycled crafts from old clothing.
Unfortunately, she tells me that her local Goodwills stopped doing this. It was a good idea, though.

Actually one of those opened up in Fredericksburg, VA down by Massaponax. It's attached to a regular goodwill store. If you have the time dig, it can definitely be a savings.