Eight charity shops in Sidmouth rely on donations of goods from us - many of them, like the British Heart Foundation, make regular door-to door collections.
Over the past two years, you will have received collection bags from commercial companies, all asking for clothing and other items of value. These companies fall into three categories: the strictly commercial, offering 40p per kilo for clothes, and those purporting to support known and obscure charities, saying that they give �50 or �60 per tonne to the charities for clothing collected.
Does all the clothing get sold as ‘rags’? Of course not. After sorting, the better items are sold into the second-hand market. The remainder is sold as rags for 65p per kilo.
Do the sums. If all the clothing collected was sold as rags, the companies would receive �650. This is at least 10 times the amount given to the charities.
Who would you like to benefit most from your generosity? Please support your local charity shops.
Roger D’Albertanson
2 Cambridge Villas, Salcombe Road, Sidmouth
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