In-kind giving "increased 50%" in 2004
In Kind Direct’s Annual Impact Review 2004 reports a 50% increase in in-kind giving over the previous year: as a result, new products worth £9 million were diverted from landfill last year and distributed instead to hundreds of UK charities working at home and abroad.
According to In Kind Direct’s review, top in-kind donors in 2004 were Corporate Express, Early Learning Centre, Hasbro, Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble, Reebok, Sara Lee Intimates, The Body Shop, The Disney Store and Unilever. Substantial new donors included Crabtree & Evelyn, Mothercare, Robert Bosch, Saucony and The Consortium.
Despite the significant increase in goods donated, the charity believes many more companies could and should choose the in-kind option when disposing of surplus.
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Chief executive Robin Boles explained: “our view is that it is the only socially and environmentally responsible choice, a practical solution to community need.”
In Kind Direct channels companies’ surplus products to good causes all over the UK through a single point of contact, freeing up warehouse space, saving on management and disposal costs and reducing environmental damage.
Plans for 2005 including publishing In Kind Direct’s catalogue online for the first time.