Queries over Clothes Collections

5.08.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 12th Nov 2007

Vincent Cable, MP, has asked Trading Standards officers to investigate the clothes collection companies who leaflet local residents, after receiving complaints that some of them are claiming to have a charitable function when they are commercial operations. Typically, the fly sheets claim to be helping people in poorer countries and in one case claims to be helping breast cancer sufferers but supplies are evidence of this.

Vincent Cable said: "residents have asked my advice since they are troubled by the leaflets. There is a perfectly legitimate business to be done collecting unwanted old clothes, many of which will not be accepted in charity shops, sorting them and shipping them out to countries where there is a market for very cheap goods. What is not legitimate is to pretend that the activity is charitable or to trade on people's natural sympathy for breast cancer sufferers. The companies have also ventured into second-hand cosmetics, CDs, toys, jewellery and mobile phones and I suspect there is a fair amount of mis-selling going on in the receiving countries".

"Nonetheless, I don't want to put people off who understand the commercial nature of the business. One company in particular calls itself the Straight Forward Company and is entirely clear about the service it is offering. Some of the others really should be avoided".