Mystery of charity clothes banks that just disappeared

HUNDREDS of clothes banks have gone missing across the UK, leading to the loss of thousands of pounds for charities, industry groups have said.

Ian Woods, president of the Textile Recycling Association (TRA), said up to 750 bins had been removed from areas such as supermarket car parks over the past 18 months. This is estimated to have cost the charities £370,000.

Clothing recycling bins are often placed in the car parks of supermarkets for customers to donate unwanted clothes and textiles, but have to be placed there with their permission.

The TRA and Crimedeter, a security firm that acts for its members, said that some of the bins had been rebranded with the logo of Wolverhampton-based Helping Our Future – which is the subject of an investigation by the Charity Commission – and placed in car parks without the supermarkets’ permission.

James Cook’s son, Dexter, had an undiagnosed heart condition and died when he was 13 months old. Mr Cook is now a director of Recycling Solutions North West, which donates between £5,000 and £6,000 a month to a charity that helps critically ill babies and children.

He told the BBC: “I just can’t understand why any individual would go out and take the clothing banks. The families, they’re relying on that charity to carry out a service for their child. It is a life-saving service.”

Helping Our Future is a registered charity that focuses on recycling and waste generation. The charity, which is thought to lease its banks via a third party, denies any wrongdoing, the BBC reported. It also alleged that some of its own banks had been taken and that this had been reported to the police. The Daily Telegraph has attempted to contact the charity for further comment.

A Charity Commission spokesman said: “The Commission is examining the charity Helping Our Future as part of a regulatory compliance case.

“We have serious concerns about its management and activities, and are examining trustees’ oversight of the charity, its relationship with third parties and whether the charity’s management and operations have given rise to inappropriate benefit on the part of private individuals or companies.”