Charity collection bags

Ms-Pacman

I used to work for a help the ages in east sussex.
the vans were owned by hta and the drivers were employed so there was none of the self employed drivers.

but when I was working at Shelter, all drivers were self employed and were paid by total weight which usally averaged from £3 - £4 a bag.
we then sorted out the bags in the shop and the useable clothes got sold to the ragman for £1 a bag - (again weighed).

I can see how some charities may now opt for the bags to be presorted so all they have coming in are desirable items and means you don't have storage space filled with unsorted bags that could have rags or rubbish in. At the end of the day most of the charity shops are small sized, run with minimal paid staff and obviously whatever volunteers can be found so I can see how this way would be suitable for some.

In all three charity shops I have worked in there is a very tight check on van collectors and they don't get to just do as they like.

ahai1

Thanks for the info.

DKLS wrote: »

Most of it does, some charities licence their names and logos to the rag mills, the rag mil then pays then charity between 6-12pence per KG.

The clothes are sorted and graded, Vintage Dealers and Market traders buy some stuff, whats still wearable is shipped off to Nigeria etc, and the rest ground up for industrial wipers, mattress stuffing etc.

Ultimate in recycling, and hugely profitable business.

lamb7994

Ms-Pacman wrote: »

I used to work for a help the ages in east sussex.
the vans were owned by hta and the drivers were employed so there was none of the self employed drivers.

.

Since then the berkshire area has been contracted out to a commercial company- splitting it 50-50.


James

mte51

meester wrote: »

Any idea about these? We got one from Help The Aged (apparently) through the letterbox, in the small print it say the stuff is being collected by a commercial company which gives half the proceeds to the charity.

How do they sell the stuff? Will they get a better price than the charity shop would?

I collect bogs for a well known childrens charity! I put out the bags and i collect them and return them to the designated shop. I get £1 for every bag i return. Saying that i have to pay my own stamp, pay for the fuel and running costs of the van! I feel the charity is the winner here (As it should be i guess)

sweetnskint

i seem to get them every week and im starting to get suspisious are they really going to charity?
i think next one i get i will ring the number and check.
i always try to find things to put in.does anyone think i should donate straight to the shops ?-as i know they earn a commision on each bag which takes from the charity really.

wornoutmumoftwo

I never put anything in the bags, we sometimes average one a week and I'm never sure if they are genuine or not.

I take anything decent to the charity shop and the less good quality clothing goes to the nursery when they have a rag bag day.

skint-student-nurse

i get bags and leaflets that i should staple to bags for door step collection - i never do this and if i give anything to charity, i take it into the shop myself. i dont even put items in the salvation army bin or oxfam bin at my recycling centre as i have seen people go through these bins (someone reported them to the police).

Dizzie77

Some of the bags are from proper charities but others are less honest...
There are quite a lot of "clothing collections" where the organisers take out all the good stuff to sell for themselves and dump the rest. In the small print, it will often say that a percentage of the amount will go to the charity.

If you take your own stuff to the charity shop, remember to take bag any bags that you might've had through the door, as the charities can reuse them.
If you aren't able to take stuff to the shop, if you call then, most of them will be able to collect it from you.

soolin

Read them carefully, many show a charity logo but then go on to say that the items are actually sold and a 'proportion' of th eprofits given to the stated charity.

If they don't show a full charity registration number then best assume it is a private company and avoid them.

li'l_p

We get tonnes of these... sometimes it can be about 3 or 4 per week, not to mention the scam leaflet type ones. They are getting out of hand now. I appreciate not everyone can get to the shops with their unwanted items.

I just put the bags in my cupboard and use them as bin bags now.

If I have anything to go to the charity shop, I take it there myself, and at least I know where it's gone. Otherwise I use freecycle and ebay, depending on what I am getting rid of.