When it comes to looking after your donations we mean business. We are members of the Institute of Fundraising and follow the Code of Fundraising Practice without exception. We are governed by UK fundraising regulations concerning licencing and charity acts. We adhere to all UK Charity Commission regulations concerning the collection and sale of used clothing. But we know that some collectors don’t.
Our Customer Service lines are open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm and answer over 20,000 calls each year to help with collection enquiries.
If you have received what you think is a suspicious leaflet or clothes collection bag, please contact us. Alternatively contact Action Fraud www.actionfraud.police.uk on 0300 123 2040.
Our strong connections with local constabularies allow us to provide useful information on criminal activity, gathered by our diligent collection teams. And in more recent times, this has resulted in prosecution of unlawful theft of clothes collections.
“WRAP estimate that between 1.1 and 1.4 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away each year in the UK. Of this, about 430,000 tonnes are good quality clothing items that could be re-used. That’s why we believe there is room for both charity shops and clothing collections. Both raise money for charities whilst helping to reduce our environmental impact at the same time. Clothes Aid collects many 1,000s of tonnes of clothing a year and converts this into cash for UK charities."
Detective Constable Gary Thomas
Organised Crime Unit
Derbyshire Constabulary
How do you spot a genuine charity bag? By checking off these simple points you can be sure your doorstep donations go to where they’re intended.
- Registered charity number – all legitimate charities have one. This can be checked with the Charity Commission: www.charity-commission.gov.uk
- ‘give with confidence’ tick – this approval from the Fundraising Standard Board (FRSB) is a stamp of assurance that the charity measures up to their high standards and are regularly monitored
- Working landline phone number – there should always be contact details on the charity bag. Ring if you’re in doubt to check they are collecting in your area.
- Amount per tonne – It’s a legal requirement that every charity bag must state how much is given to charity per tonne
- Local authority licence – all charities need to obtain either a National Exemption Order or a local authority licence to collect in any area. To check whether a collection is genuine, look on www.gov.uk for a list of National Exemption Order holders or check with your local authority Licensing department.
