Those Plastic Bag Charities Stick Through Your Door For Filling

[Pupsiecola]

We get at least one a week, usually more. Who has that much surplus stuff? Sure, they don't count on all of them being filled, but are any of them? It must cost them more to produce them (in £, and effect on environment) and pay people to deliver and collect them. Mine go straight in the bin. What a waste!

Had ours nicked during the night when left out for collection. Feel weirded out that some of our neighbors have rifling through our stuff, at least it was all washed and pockets emptied etc. Still think it's pretty cuntish though, won't leave out ever again now.

I hardly ever receive these - maybe once or twice a year. I never fill them. I take stuff to the charity shops themselves - just a five-minute walk away - so that's much easier.

Round our way there are organised groups that drive round taking anything they can find, so we dotn get the charity bags any more.

We live in a fairly nice area and get them constantly. 4 or 5 a week. Some from proper, genuine charities but mostly those "clothing collection" people who say they may or may not pay a miniscule percentage of the profits to a charity.

I volunteer in a charity shop so everything goes there - so the bags which come through the door are used as bin bags.

In my area they're a complete scam - the people who collect them from your doorstep take them to the nearest big city where they have those shops where they weigh the bags and you get money per kg or something. Throw the bags in the bin and give your clothes directly to charity shops!

I generally consider them scammy but if I need to get rid of some crap and don't have time to do a charity shop run or the stuff isn't in great condition, then I will put them out for the doorstep collectors. But I consider they are doing me a favour in those circ so if they can make a bit of money out of it, they can knock themselves out. Anything decent gets taken to local hospice or Fara charity shops.

I use them as bin liners.
I've usually got one in the process of being filled but I read through small print and only use certain collections

Ive stopped bothering to fill them as the last few times i've bothered to lug them out to the top of the drive no-one has bothered to collect so I've had to lug them back (ususally after a downpour)

Check the small print very thoroughly. It's often something ridiculous like 50p per tonne or something going to the charity.
I use them as standard plastic bags.

You'd often do better to pick one decent item out of what you'd put out and ebay it and give half to the charity and chuck the rest. That's how bad value it is for the charity.

I get them occasionally.

I keep one for filling with clothes that aren't actually quite good enough for the charity shop (pop them in the next to arrive when I have a bag-load).

If I'm sure it's a genuine charity (not 'collection on behalf of') I might put out nicer stuff.

But generally I turn them inside out and fill with stuff that I then take to a local charity shop.

They're hardly ever from actual charities, even if the charity number is on the bag. Almost always they are a commercial business which will donate something to the named charity out of their profits. You can always search the Companies House website and look at their previously filed accounts (and do a search on the named directors as well - sometimes they have fingers in many pies).

I use them for taking stuff to a real charity shop, and for bagging stuff up for freegling, taking stuff to the tip or putting in the loft.
I agree that most are a scam.

They split the money with the named charity. Charities do make money from it. And the textile companies don't waste a scrap. What isn't wearable is shredded down for industrial rags and stuffing.

Yes but if you take bags of stuff to a charity shop the charities will make a LOT more. Anything which is sellable will be sold and the charity will keep all of the money, anything which is ripped, stained, torn or just not good enough to sell will be sent textile companies for recycling.

It annoys me that in light of the plastic bag tax designed to reduce waste, these companies are allowed to put their bags through any door. I don't have a use for them and as they aren't actual charities, have no wish to support them.

I use them to put clothes in when clearing out, then put them in the clothes bin ast supermarket

We use ours as bin liners too. They only pass on a small amount of money to the charity. I take our stuff to the charity shops in our town instead.

I use them for cleaning out the degu cage...

I stopped a chap who was putting bags through doors in my street to check something with him. He was Eastern European and couldn't answer any questions!! I was told that, the majority of the bags are a scam and always take my bags to a charity shop direct. Horrible to think that some will use people's generosity to steal goods meant to do good. I warned the local police that these scammers were about and told neighbours.

When DD2 was small she used to get really excited when we got one through the door 'FREE BIN BAG MUUUUUUMMMMM!' generally was screamed before the poster had got back down the path.

I wish we got more!

We used to live in a very naice area of SW London where I imagine the charities were collecting loads of nice things to sell. (They were the 'proper' bags from BHF).

We then bought a house in a much, much, much less nice area and only get about one every other month, and it's from one of those companies who only pay the charity per tonne of clothes donated, which I refuse to use as I don't think it's right.

So I'm stuck with bin bags full of stuff I want to give to charity - currently waiting until I've got more then will drop it somewhere.

I keep hold of them, have a bit of a clear out every now and again, and either stick them in the charity bins in the supermarket car park, or take them to the charity shop. I wouldn't trust leaving them out.

I always use them as bin liners and take stuff for charity to the actual shops.

The ones we get are nearly always a scam
Some charities actually contract direct with individuals to collect for them in this way then it does go direct to the charity but the goods go to be sorted centrally first and are then distributed to their shops
I prefer to donate to small local charities who also seem to charge more reasonable prices in their shops, hospice shops etc

Don't fill them. They're not from charities. They SELL the items to people and pocket the profits. Any valuable items will be creamed off and sold to 'vintage' stalls - been in Topshop lately? At the back there's a 'vintage' bit. All second-hand stuff people probably donated in good faith.