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BRIEFING PAPER
Number 04638, 22 January 2020
Bogus charity clothing By Catherine Fairbairn
collections
Contents:
1. Clothing collections
2. How to ensure donations go
to a genuine charity
3. Fundraising regulation
4. Advertising Standards
Authority guidance
www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | papers@parliament.uk | @commonslibrary2 Bogus charity clothing collections
Contents
Summary 3
1. Clothing collections 4
1.1 Who collects clothing? 4
1.2 House to house collection licence 5
1.3 What is the issue? 5
2. How to ensure donations go to a genuine charity 7
2.1 Fundraising Regulator guidance 7
2.2 Further information 8
3. Fundraising regulation 9
3.1 Fundraising Regulator 9
3.2 The Code of Fundraising Practice 9
3.3 Complaints 9
4. Advertising Standards Authority guidance 10
Cover page image copyright Attribution:Donate clothes by trenttsd. Licensed under CC
BY 2.0 / image cropped.3 Commons Library Briefing, 22 January 2020
Summary
Many charities legitimately collect unwanted items of clothing to raise funds for their
cause. Some charities work with a commercial organisation to collect on their behalf. It is
generally necessary to seek a licence before conducting a house to house collection for a
charitable purpose.
Concerns have been raised about some organisations which appear to be collecting
clothing for a charitable cause but are not in fact doing so. Some people feel that they
have been misled by charity bags, typically being distributed through letterboxes. Another
problem is the theft of clothing bags.
The Fundraising Regulator has issued advice on how to ensure donations go to a genuine
charity. Its Code of Fundraising Practice sets out the standards expected of all charitable
fundraising organisations across the UK. It requires organisations operating house to
house bag collections for charitable purposes not to deliver bags to a property that that
displays a sticker or sign which includes the words ‘no charity bags’, ‘no clothing bags’ or
words to that effect.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK’s independent regulator of
advertising across all media. It applies the Advertising Codes, which are written by the
Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP).
In March 2017, the CAP issued new guidance instructing private companies and
individuals behind house to house charitable collection bags to ensure that they are
“upfront and clear” with consumers about the nature of the service they provide. CAP
said that it had issued guidance following a review of potentially misleading advertising
practices by private door-to-door collection companies. In addition, the guidance was a
response to an ASA ruling the previous year which found that a company’s charity
collection bag did not make sufficiently clear the commercial nature of its business.
Shahriar Coupal, Director of the Committees, said that “No-one should feel duped into
thinking they are donating directly to a charity if that’s not the case”.4 Bogus charity clothing collections
1. Clothing collections
1.1 Who collects clothing?
Many charities legitimately collect unwanted items of clothing to raise
funds for their cause. Some charities work with a commercial
organisation to collect on their behalf.
The Textile Recycling Association (TRA) is the UK’s trade association for
collectors, sorters, processors and exporters of used clothing and
textiles. It has launched a new accreditation standard for recyclers who
trade with charity shops (among others): TRUST – Trader Recycling
Universal Standard. 1
The TRA states that there are three main ways in which legitimate
charitable door to door clothing collections take place:
1.Charities which undertake collections in partnership with
commercial door to door collection businesses.
2.Charities that undertake their own door to door clothing
collections without the use of a commercial collection partner and
do not sell the items through a charity shop.
3.Charities that undertake their own door to door clothing
collections and which sell some of the collected items through
their charity shops.
In April 2018, in a written answer to a Parliamentary question, the
Government spoke of benefits of clothing collections:
Charity textile collections offer a convenient way for people to
reduce their environmental impact and contribute to the 650,000
tonnes of clothing reused or recycled which might otherwise be
sent to landfill, while also benefiting charitable causes. 2
Under the heading “Why support charitable door to door clothing
collections?”, the TRA states:
• They help to address the serious environmental and social impacts
of the global clothing supply chain.
• They are popular with the public and convenient to use.
• They help charities to raise significant funds and support
employment opportunities in the UK.
• They benefit local authorities and the local tax payer.
Further information about each of these reasons is provided on the TRA
website. 3
1
Textile Recycling Association press release, “TRUST: new accreditation standard for
recyclers trading with charity shops and local authorities launched
9 September 2019”, 9 September 2019 [accessed 21 January 2020]
2
PQ 135291 [on Plastic Bags: Charities], 20 April 2018
3
Textile Recycling Association, The main ways in which charitable door to door
clothing collections work and how charities benefit [accessed 21 January 2020]5 Commons Library Briefing, 22 January 2020
1.2 House to house collection licence
There is a general requirement for house to house charitable collections
to be licensed by the local authority. 4 In London, applications for a
licence are made to the Metropolitan Police. There is no charge for the
house to house collection permit. Gov.UK has further information,
House to house collection licence (England and Wales).
Holders of National Exemption Orders do not have to apply for licences
every time they wish to carry out house to house collections. 5
1.3 What is the issue?
Concerns have been raised about some organisations which appear to
be collecting clothing for a charitable cause but are not in fact doing so.
Some people feel that they are being misled by charity bags, typically
being distributed through letterboxes.
In a 2010 Westminster Hall debate on bogus charity bag collections,
Nick Hurd, who was then Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office,
spoke of three types of collection activity which would potentially
damage the sector's reputation: fraud, misleading literature and theft of
clothing bags:
The first is outright fraud, which involves fake charities adopting
the names of real charities for their collections, pretending to be
charitable and stealing clothes that are left on doorsteps; .... The
second area of activity involves misleading literature that gives the
impression that there is a charitable beneficiary, when that is not
in fact the case. The third area of concern is the actual theft of
bags of clothing left out for legitimate charities to collect. 6
The Charity Retail Association, which represents the interests of charity
retailers, identifies the type of organisation which, it says, conducts
“bogus collections”:
• Commercial organisations not working with any charity …
might lead you to believe they are helping people in
developing countries when what they are really doing is
selling the clothing for their own profit. These are what we
call bogus collections. 7
The Charity Bags website includes further information about the
problem of bogus collections. 8
Media coverage of the issue includes:
• Hugh Radojev, “NSPCC calls for investigation into 'rogue' charity
bag collectors”, Civil Society News, 6 February 2017;
• Hugh Radojev, “Unlicensed clothing collections costing charities
millions, regulator warned”, Civil Society News, 8 February 2018;
4
House to House Collections Act 1939 and the House to House Collections
Regulations 1947
5
Gov.UK, National exemption order scheme [accessed 22 January 2020]
6
HC Deb 13 October 2011 c104WH
7
Charity Retail Association, House-to-house collections [accessed 20 January 2020]
8
Accessed 20 January 20206 Bogus charity clothing collections
• Hugh Radojev, “Fundraising Regulator issues warning over charity
bag fraud”, Civil Society News, 27 September 2018;
• Gabriella Swerling, “Charity Commission warns over doorstep
collection scams as they publish advice for pensioners”,
Telegraph, 31 August 2019. 9
9
All links accessed 21 January 20207 Commons Library Briefing, 22 January 2020
2. How to ensure donations go to
a genuine charity
2.1 Fundraising Regulator guidance
In September 2018, the Fundraising Regulator published a checklist for
genuine charity collections (produced with the Local Government
Association):
• The law states that all clothing bag collections must be
licensed. If you’re not sure whether a bag collector has a
licence to collect in your area, contact the licensing team at
your local authority.
• If you think a bag might not be genuine, ring the charity
directly to see if they’ve authorised collections to take place
in your area.
• Before donating, check the charity’s name and registration
number on the register of charities.
• Charities and charity clothing collection companies can also
voluntarily register with the Fundraising Regulator to show
they support good fundraising practice. Check the directory
to see who has registered.
• If in doubt, ask the clothing bag collector for more
information. A genuine collector should be happy to
answer questions about their work.
• Be wary of donating if the wording on the bag has poor
spelling, punctuation or grammar.
• Be cautious if the bag collection is for general charitable
causes, such as ‘for local sick children’, instead of a named
charity.
• All clothing collectors working for a charity must state on
their bag how much the charity will make from the
donation. Usually, a donation is made to charity for every
tonne of items received. If there is no information on the
bag, do not donate.
• The bag should say when the collection is scheduled to
take place (either the day or the date). If you see someone
take the bag before this date, let the charity know.
• Collectors should display their logo on the vehicle that
they’re using to pick up donations. Contact the charity if
you see anyone collecting bags in an unmarked van.
• Collectors should be able to show you photo ID with their
name and organisation contact details, if you ask them.
• Clothing bag companies should include their name and
registered company number on both sides of the bag. This
information should be printed the same size or bigger on
the bag as the name of the charity they are collecting for.8 Bogus charity clothing collections
• If you suspect that a collection is not legitimate, contact
Action Fraud. 10
2.2 Further information
Information is also provided at:
• Charity Commission, How to give safely to charities; 11
• Charity Retail Association, House-to-house collections;
• Charity Bags, "How-to-tell" checklist, How to decide if a collector
or charity is (a) genuine, or (b) misleading/bogus;
• Textile Recycling Association, How can I be sure that the collection
leaflet or bag that has been posted through my door is
legitimate? 12
10
Fundraising Regulator, Charity clothing collections: genuine or not? [accessed
21 January 2020]
11
31 August 2019
12
Links accessed 21 January 20209 Commons Library Briefing, 22 January 2020
3. Fundraising regulation
3.1 Fundraising Regulator
Fundraising by charities is governed by a self-regulatory system,
although the Government has reserve powers to control fundraising if
self-regulation fails. 13
A new regulator, the Fundraising Regulator, launched on 7 July 2016.
The Fundraising Regulator regulates all fundraising in England, Wales
and Northern Ireland carried out by charitable institutions and third
party fundraisers. 14
3.2 The Code of Fundraising Practice
The Fundraising Regulator has taken over responsibility for the Code of
Fundraising Practice and its associated rule books. 15 The Code sets the
standards that apply to fundraising carried out by all charitable
institutions and third party fundraisers in the UK.
Section 8 of the Code deals with Collecting money or other property. It
sets out standards for house to house collections, and includes the
following in relation to charity bags:
8.4.9. You must not deliver charity collection bags to a property
that displays a sticker or sign which includes the words ‘no charity
bags’, ‘no clothing bags’ or any other words which clearly show
that the householder does not want to donate in this way.
3.3 Complaints
Where relevant, it is possible to complain to the Fundraising Regulator
about particular clothing bag collections. 16
The Funding Regulator’s website has summaries of its investigations
following complaints about clothing bag collections. 17
13
If exercised, the powers could compel charities to register and comply with the
requirements and guidance of a specified fundraising regulator, Charities Act 1992
sections 64A to 64C. New sections were inserted into the 1992 Act by the Charities
(Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016
14
Fundraising Regulator, Who we regulate [accessed 22 January 2020]
15
Current version effective October 2019
16
Fundraising Regulator, Make a complaint [accessed 21 January 2020]
17
Fundraising Regulator, Resource Library [accessed 22 January 2020]10 Bogus charity clothing collections
4. Advertising Standards
Authority guidance
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK’s independent
regulator of advertising across all media. It applies the
Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of Advertising
Practice (CAP). 18
In March 2017, the CAP issued new guidance 19 and instructed private
companies and individuals behind house to house charitable collection
bags to ensure that they are “upfront and clear” with consumers about
the nature of the service they provide:
That means making clear they are commercial enterprises and that
any donations consumers make will not go directly to a charity,
rather a proportion of the profits from the sale of donated goods
will instead. 20
CAP said that it had issued guidance following a review of potentially
misleading advertising practices by private door-to-door collection
companies. In addition, the guidance was a response to an ASA ruling
the previous year which found that a company’s charity collection bag
did not make sufficiently clear the commercial nature of its business.
The ASA outlined some problems with charitable collection bags issued
by commercial companies:
• Giving recipients the misleading impression they are
donating directly to a charity when they’re not
• Not providing their company name or commercial status on
the front of collection bags
• Giving undue prominence to a charity’s name and
registration number on the collection bags
• Not giving their company name equal prominence, where it
appears, as the charity’s name.
A CAP news release set out information about the new guidance and
where it was aimed:
The new guidance provides examples of the type of wording and
presentation on collection bags that is in line with the rules and
that will help advertisers to communicate fairly with consumers
and avoid an ASA investigation. Those businesses who are unable
or unwilling to follow the guidance have been warned that they
face being referred to Trading Standards for potential statutory
sanctions.
The work we have undertaken is targeted at legitimate collection
businesses. We are aware of concerns about charity bags left on
people’s doorsteps by fly-by-night or bogus operators who
masquerade as charities but who are, in fact, engaged in criminal
18
ASA, Who we are and what we do [accessed 21 January 2020]
19
Charitable door-to-door collection bags: CAP Compliance team guidance for
commercial participants, March 2017
20
ASA CAP News, New guidance for door-to-door charity collection bag companies,
23 March 2017 [accessed 21 January 2020]11 Commons Library Briefing, 22 January 2020
activity. These operators are best tackled by law enforcement
bodies and any consumers with concerns about the legitimacy of
a collection service should check with their local council or donate
directly to an official charity. 21
Companies were given until 2 June 2017 to bring their collection bags
into line with the new guidance.
Shahriar Coupal, Director of the Committees, said that “No-one should
feel duped into thinking they are donating directly to a charity if that’s
not the case”.
21
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Number 04638
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