Re. ClothesAid bags

[Greenkit]

So its bin collection day today, I am sat in the box room doing some work sat on facebook and mumsnet and watch a ClothesAid van go round stopping to pick up any bags of clothes which have been left out, this includes bags for other charities and clothes in black bags..

AIBU to think this is totally wrong and I should do something? or doesn't it matter as they are going to charity anyway?

? anyone

Maybe the ClothesAid van is collecting on it's own designated collection day?

I get charity bags all the time, I fill them as and when, and then put them out next time a collection is happening. That means that charity bags are collected by a different charity on occasions. So if I fill, say, a cancer charity bag, but then get another bag for, say, a heart charity, I will put out both bags together on a collection day, whether it is the heart or the cancer one. I sometimes put out black bags for collection too.

Certainly where I live, we don't get 2 different charities collecting on the same day.

Maybe 'clothes aid' are the people that collect bags on behalf of a range of charities

Good lord. I get 2-3 bags a week. I couldn't care less which charity takes them. I only get irritated when they aren't picked up and I have to take a (wet) bag back into the house.

Just googled and Gordy is right, they are a collection agent working for numerous charities.

You're lucky. I've had to collecting at the end of the day when no one has been to pick it up. I ended up taking the bags to a clothes bank instead.

Do I win a pony?

just be careful - and read the small print on the bags - some of these collection sacks are not from reputable charities - they are textile recycling firms (all well and good but not if you wanted a charity to benefit by ££ by selling on your posh frocks) and some are businesses that sell rather than give the clothes to people in the third world

Found this on google

Anonymous said...
Clothesaid are one of these companies that makes me sick. They come across as whiter than white, giving advice to anyone that will listen about how to stop bogus collectors and they seem to be on the tv every five minutes complaining, when they are the biggest collector in the country. There is no way in a million years that 90% of their profits go to charity. Someone should ask Clothesaid how their big boss can afford to have a £14 million home in France. Not bad from 10% of the profits! Someone should also look into what happened with Clothesaid and Great Ormond Street Hospital 3 years ago. GOSH stopped Clothesaid collecting on their behalf. WHY? Not because they were getting 90% of the profits. There is something very very smelly about the whole set up with them and I think it would be a very good thing if people started to look at Clothesaid as they really are.

We get several bags a week and I never use them. I take things personally to the charity shop.

Rags are at least 50p per kilo, so the average black bag is around £4 - £5 minimum.

The rag trade is becoming big business and we're seeing the same behaviours that we've seen in the various scrap metal/recycling schemes where money is involved.

If you want to give clothing to charity, the best thing to do is to take the bag to the shop yourself. Otherwise take it to a rag recycling place, get the money yourself, and then give that to charity (or spend it on yourself).

Hi All,

Clothes Aid would be happy to answer any questions about our work.

Firstly, if you have any queries about legit collections ask our Collection Protection team or Helpline who can confirm whether it is our vehicle in the area, feedback at clothesaid dot co dot UK or 020 7288 8545.

To clarify, our vans should ONLY be collecting bags for our own partners (see our website for list) and if they are not we'd like to know.

Not sure about the 'anonymous' comment, don't know to what it refers but I can say with confidence that our large well known charity names audit our books and are satisfied with the relation. We give 94-95% of the profit to our charities, we've raised over £8million for them all recently. And on top we feel our service is welcomed by many as we come to your doorstep to collect. We work mainly for charities that don't have shops giving their supporters an extra option.

I have to go to now to collect my little one, but I'll be around tomorrow to chat further if required.

regards

I once reported a bloke in a scraggy white van who was going round nicking all the BHF bags that were out. And I know it wasn't BHF because I checked with the manager for the area. I never put bags out now, I always take them to the charity shop.

Thank you clothesaid