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by kern.justin

Dumping for Charity?


Image by Alan Stanton
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Above are two photos from 14 April 2009, in Seymour Avenue, Tottenham.
Zena found these dumped bags filled with clothes donated to a ‘good cause’.

Locally we have a problem of dumped clothes – some bagged; some not. But sometimes it’s not a few selfish, uncaring residents leaving rubbish on the street. It may be the exact opposite.

People are responding to leaflets from companies which claim to be collecting for good causes. They supply a plastic bag and ask for old clothes and other unwanted items. A few are charities; many are not. The leaflets can have photos of small children. Or mention sending garments to "the Third World".

Over about two years I collected the leaflets we got through our door. I’ve posted some of them here, with information about particular companies. Plus a few links which may be useful.

For a quick overview, read on. Or click to see my set Good Cause Collections.

Are the leaflets for Charity or a Commercial Company?

Most of the leaflets we get are from commercial recycling companies. (Although some of these have agreements with a charity.) For a UK registered company you can look up its name or registration number online using Companies House website. The initial search is free and will tell you whether and when a company was registered; if it files reports and accounts; and if it’s been dissolved. To get further details – e.g. of company directors – there are fees.)

The Charity Commission is the official body which registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its website warns against misleading and bogus clothing collections. How can people tell?

On the Charity Commission website you can look up a charity by name or its registered charity number. (Not the same as the company number.) All UK charities’ published accounts are available online without fee.

I spoke to the Charity Commission helpline on 19 January 2011. They told me they have many inquiries about such leaflets; but their remit covers only the charity involvement. They said that charities need a licence to carry out collections; commercial companies do not.

They also mentioned charities which have an agreement with a commercial collecting company. The company makes a donation to the charity of part of the income from the recycling business.

I raised the problem that leaflets may not be truthful. (Please see Links below for examples I’ve posted.) The Charity Commission advisor said they could contact a charity asking to see a formal agreement between a charity and a commercial company.

I asked about commercial companies who imply they’re collecting for "good causes", rather than simply running a commercial recycling business. The Charity Commission advisor said this was normally a matter for local councils’ Trading Standards, or in some cases the Police could take action.

Cherry Picking

There’s a further problem – shown in Zena’s photo above of bags dumped in the street. Even when the leaflets are delivered by legitimate organisations which do what they claim, bags are sometimes stolen from outside homes. The best items are taken and unwanted stuff discarded.

Ideas and suggestions

For the UK this seems a national problem. Major charities have complained about losing millions of pounds to commercial companies which exploit people’s charitable impulses.

On its website, Haringey Council advises residents about donating unwanted clothes and other items. In brief, it suggests we take them to a local charity shop. Good advice. But partly missing the point.

Reading about this problem, there’s one question which I haven’t seen asked. Why are a few commercial companies so successful in these door-to-door collections? There seem to be at least two factors which are worth copying.
1 - The companies make it as easy and simple as possible for residents. Some companies even leave a bag. So the householder has to do nothing more than fill it and leave it by their door.
2 - They effectively engage people’s enthusiasm and sympathy. So residents feel good about their recycling. They think their old stuff is going to a good cause.

But exploiting people’s goodwill is an abuse. And especially when it means the loss of income for legitimate charities. Investigations by The Guardian, The Observer and The Independent newspapers (see below) report that clothing collection scams are depriving charities of millions.

Can local councils work with charities to out-think and out-manoeuvre the bogus collectors?

My suggestions for Haringey Council

► Because this is a nationwide problem, almost certainly somebody, somewhere has come up with good ideas which work. So start by finding out the best ideas and effective measures from other local councils. And from the major charities which are losing money.
► Solutions which work are likely to be along the same lines as the most successful bogus collectors. Keep it simple; make it easy; go ‘with the flow’ of our residents’ charitable impulses.
► A key issue is letting Haringey residents know that many collectors are bogus. Recognising the difference between them and genuine charities will help prevent street dumping of the leftover stuff.
► Donated bags of clothing are often left and sometimes stolen from outside charity shops when they’re closed. We need the cooperation of the charities to stop some of this being discarded on the street.

__________________________________________
Links

§ CharityBags is a must visit website for anyone interested in this problem. A mine of information put together by volunteers. (Link from Value Hunter’s blog on 26 January 2011. Many thanks; wish I’d seen it before.)
§ 4 January 2011 The Independent reported that "Charities lose thousands as crime gangs target clothing donations". (Thanks to the website of Vartry Community Residents’ Association for this link.)
§ "Charities lose out in textile tussle" The Observer 23 July 2003.
§ "The great charity collection scam" The Guardian 18 August 2007. "Charity shops and good causes are losing millions of pounds a year to bogus second-hand goods collectors who profit from our desire to help others."
§ "Charity Cheats Laid Bare". The Guardian 25 August 2007.
§ Haringey Council’s website has a page on Textile Recycling.
§ The local community website HarringayOnline reported on the Children’s Welfare Foundation which distributed a flyer locally. [ You need to join the website - it's free.]
§ Liz Ixer, an admin of HarringayOnline website commented on the general issue; and gave a link to an item from Wales Online about police action. Liz also linked to a Press Release in 2009 on this issue from the Association of Charity Shops.
§ More comments on the problem from Mrs Eds (Liz Ixer), Cyberchrome and Phil Lane.
§ Untruthful leaflet: Clothman Ltd falsely claimed a link with the cancer charity Breakthrough.
§ Untruthful leaflet: my ward colleague Cllr Lorna Reith discovered that leaflets delivered on her Council Estate had no connection whatever with the Winnicott Foundation – the charity which had its name used on the leaflet.
§ Human Relief Foundation have delivered leaflets and plastic bags to Tottenham homes. Their addess, 755 Romford Road E12 is a charity shop. I checked (April 2009) on the Charity Commission website and it is a registered charity.
§ The Charity Commission warns against misleading and bogus clothing collections.
§ On 7 September 2010 the issue was raised in Parliament by Tracey Crouch MP in an Early Day Motion. She focused on some of the companies responsible.
§ Third Sector magazine reported on an internal report by Julian Fifield, then in Oxfam. ( More below.)
§ Wikipedia link to Rag and bone man.
§ The website CharityBags gives a link to a report by the Charity Commission in 2005.


-§- A link not working? Please let me know by adding a comment below.

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