So A&P Collection Ltd Third World Clothing Collection. If I let them take away all my old unwanted clothes....

[Caligula]

... of which there are many, will I be contributing to people and drug smuggling, or a worthy cause?

They will probably sell your the clothes so you would be better to give them to a charity than a Ltd company. What does the small print on their leaflet say?

There was something on telly about this last week - If it is not a charity you have heard of, don't give them anything. It's a scam, apparently.

Think this is a scam, try Googling the co. I can't open any of the google links at work at the moment!

Have just googled A&P- doesn't look good. They sell on the clothes for profit.

I collect clothes (and nappies) for a charity called faith in Action - they get packed into crates and containered over to Malawi where they are distributed foc to those in need - see if there is a packing group near you -
www.rejuvenateworldwide.org.uk/about.html - their web page

the group I know is based in Darlington but they are all over the country usually in Christian churches.

I'm suspicious of these companies and they don't tend to answer polite, enquiring emails.

They say they're a "collection company who provide people in third world countries with clothes for their families they can afford. .. jobs in third wolrd countries, sorting the clothes for distribution..." etc.

It's quite upfront about not being a charity, but a registered business, but just not sure if it's one of those dodgy fronts for sex-trafficers and the like

And I have a sacks full of clothes too many to take to a charity shop and too disorganised to e-bay or car boot... so tempting, but don't want to give money to drug runners etc.

The thing I saw on telly was about people pretending to be charities. Yours isn't so I would be tempted to think it's ok.

freecycle them?

Why too many for a charity shop? You could always phone first to find out which are needy and which are full.
Or there's Freecycle...

don't give - these are companies not charities and like other companies out to make a profit. If you call first, most charity shops will come and collect from your home so you do not need to worry if there is lots of stuff.

As far as I understand it, a lot of these companies are what they say they are - they're not a registered charity but a registered business. And they do collect clothes for third world countries ... but unlike charities, they don't donate the clothes to the poor or sell them to raise money for the poor, they sell them to the poor in third world countries to make a profit from them.

So while they may not be financing sex traffickers, if you want your clothes to raise money for the third world, or to really benefit charities, you're better off sending them to a charity you recognise.

Another thing to bear in mind: if the company says it is selling on the clothes cheaply to people in Africa, this may have a huge effect on the clothes-makers in Africa.

They may not be able to sell their clothes if the market is flooded with cheaper castoffs from Europe.

Ooh, good point porpoise. had forgotten about that

A pleasure, Caligula!
(Although it's not exactly a pleasure to hump great sacks of clothes down to the charity shop instead, is it?)

Porpoise, as taylormama says, most charity shops will, staffing levels permitting, collect a large volume donation from you if this is pre arranged. I did this with my local Oxfam (?) just before we moved while I was heavily preg with no.4.

sorry I meant Caligula !

That's handy to know ws, i might call them tomorrow

I've given loads of stuff to the women's refuge and the night shelter, they are always in need.

But how do you know where the women's refuge is? Surely it's a secret?

You're right, I don't know where the refuge is. I knew via work which organisation runs it and was told that they would take stuff at their HQ. Dh's neice works at the refuge and night shelter now so it makes it easier.

Your local social services would know how to get stuff to them I would have thought.