www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | papers@parliament.uk | @commonslibrary

BRIEFING PAPER

Number 04638, 22 January 2020

Bogus charity clothing collections

By Catherine Fairbairn

Contents: 1. Clothing collections 2. How to ensure donations go

to a genuine charity 3. Fundraising regulation 4. Advertising Standards

Authority guidance

2 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 2020

6 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 2020

7 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 2020

9 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 guidance19 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 Ibid

BRIEFING PAPER Number 04638 22 January 2020

About the Library The House of Commons Library research service provides MPs and their staff with the impartial briefing and evidence base they need to do their work in scrutinising Government, proposing legislation, and supporting constituents.

As well as providing MPs with a confidential service we publish open briefing papers, which are available on the Parliament website.

Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in these publicly available research briefings is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware however that briefings are not necessarily updated or otherwise amended to reflect subsequent changes.

If you have any comments on our briefings please email papers@parliament.uk. Authors are available to discuss the content of this briefing only with Members and their staff.

If you have any general questions about the work of the House of Commons you can email hcenquiries@parliament.uk.

Disclaimer This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties. It is a general briefing only and should not be relied on as a substitute for specific advice. The House of Commons or the author(s) shall not be liable for any errors or omissions, or for any loss or damage of any kind arising from its use, and may remove, vary or amend any information at any time without prior notice.

The House of Commons accepts no responsibility for any references or links to, or the content of, information maintained by third parties. This information is provided subject to the conditions of the Open Parliament Licence.