Clothes Banks: undressing the truth
Far more textile banks than most people realise are run for commercial gain
TWO-THIRDS of people are aware that companies may be profiting from their donated clothes.
A report by charity TRAlD revealed that an overwhelming majority of people using textile banks in the UK prefer to donate to charity-led textile banks.
Yet 67% have no idea that some textile banks are run by commercial companies which profit from their donations.
During the last decade, the report said, the increase in the value of secondhand textiles seems to have led to an increase in commercial companies operating clothes banks.
It found that charities are being "squeezed out" by private companies - as they cannot afford the "substantial fees" charged by councils.
Most councils now allow more commercial companies than charities to operate the banks - with many looking to textile recycling contracts as a way of mitigating swingeing budget cuts.
Robin Ostelley, CEO at the Charity Retail Association said: "Such policies seem to be at odds with public awareness and public attitudes."
TRAID said that textile bank removals represented a financial loss to the charity of around £850,000 per year.
It called for councils to ensure that at least 60% of textile banks on council-owned land are charity-led.
Maria Chenoweth, CEO at TRAID said: "We are not asking councils to stop making commercial decisions.
"We are asking them to ensure that charities are not the victim of commercial decisions.
"These recommendations create a fairer solution to suit all parties while continuing to provide the UK public with the opportunity to support charities with their clothes donations, which they so dearly want."
According to DEFRA, the charity sector diverted more than 327,000 tonnes of textiles from landfill in 2017.
However, in 2015 (the most recent estimate) some 300,000 tonnes of clothing ended up in the bin.
Most of the clothes that we donate for re-use in the UK are exported for profit.
Figures from the UN Comtrade database show that 394,250 tonnes of used clothes were shipped abroad in 2018 - worth a trade value of £434.6m.
Some £77.9m worth of used garments went to Ghana, £55.4m worth went to Poland, and £51.2m worth went to Pakistan - the three largest recipients of used clothes from the UK.