Guardian investigates unwanted clothes collecting firm
Howard Lake | 12 August 2005 | News
The Guardian today reports on Lunetex Ltd, a firm that advertises for unwanted clothes to “send to the third world”, which many people assume is a charitable operation.
Lunetex is one of a number of companies that promote themselves with leaflets through doors appealing for old clothes which, they say, will be distributed to people in poor countries.
Other companies running similar activities have in the past been the subject of investigations by trading standards departments. Some, including Lunetex have, according to the Guardian, amended their leaflets to state that they are not charities.
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The Association of Charity Shops estimates that the charity sector loses about £1 million each year as a result of non-charitable clothing firms activities.
Simply stating that an organisation is not a charity might not, however, be enough if the leaflet still gives the impression that it is promoting a charitable activity. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that another collection company, Kraslava Services Seven, had to withdraw its leaflet immediately, even though their small print stated that they were not charitable, because they “gave the impression that the advertisers were involved in charitable activities.”
Lunetex remains in operation, with residents in south London receiving their leaflets earlier this week, according to the Guardian.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.