Recycling boost to charities

18 January 2012

Since being established six years ago, textile recycling company Bag It Up has received thousands of tonnes of donated clothing, coats, hats, bags, shoes, trainers, boots and household textiles, generating over £3 million for its partner charities.

Bag It Up works with charities throughout the UK that do not have charity shops and do not have textile recycling provisions in place. The company places strategically positioned recycling banks in a wide variety of locations including supermarket car parks, household waste recycling sites, shopping centres, community and sports clubs, and other areas with a high footfall, in order to generate donations and raise money for its regional partner charities.

Partners include Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance. All funds raised are for the benefit of the general public in the UK, from life-saving missions to community projects, and hospices for the terminally ill. Good quality donated items, which can be re-used are sold to second-hand clothing traders in the UK and worldwide. 'End of life' garments are recycled into industrial wipers and cloths, mattress filling, insulation and new fibres. Funds from sales go to the regional partner charity where the donated items came from.

Louise Knapton of Bag It Up, said: “We work with regional charities up and down the country to help them collect discarded household clothing items. For many of them it has become the major source of income generation.”

Katie Collinson, at Yorkshire Air Ambulance, commented: “Sustainable income is vital to a modern charity, and recycling as an income stream helps and affects so many people, whilst fulfilling social responsibilities. Our successful ongoing relationship with Bag It Up over the years has helped us raise a fantastic £1million, and this income helps us save lives across the region. We are encouraging people to keep donating their unwanted textiles, clothing and shoes to help us save even more money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.”

The company welcomes interest from property owners, facilities management companies, supermarket managers, anyone who feels that they have a high foot-fall and would like to have a charity clothes bank on their premises as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme.