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Clothing collections and clothing banks:
Planet Aid, Humana, the Tvind Teachers Group (TG), Gaia, Green World Recycling

BBC Radio 4 programme - 'Face the Facts'

Planet Aid clothes bank

Dubious charity clothing collections were the subject of BBC Radio 4's 'Face the Facts' programme at lunchtime on Fri 22 August 2008.

The programme focused on four related, controversial organisations :

• an unconventional international college near Hull (Yorkshire), which is using its students to deliver clothing collection leaflets
• Planet Aid (PA)- a clothing collection organisation
• Humana - a Danish organisation
• the Tvind network.

A transcript of the programme is on the BBC website, via the following link :
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/facethefacts/transcript_20080822.shtml  

Part of the BBC investigation concerned Planet Aid, who'd placed their clothing collection containers in the car parks of a number of Asda supermarkets without permission.  The containers were removed by Planet Aid after Asda threatened them with legal action.

Planet Aid isn't a registered charity.

Google lists hundreds of items on Planet Aid / Humana / Tvind.

Humana Alert / Tvind Alert

www.tvindalert.com  

This is a not-for-profit international website, run by volunteers (including investigative journalists).

The site alerts people to the controversial aspects of Planet Aid, Humana, the Tvind Teachers Group (TG) etc - including their clothing collections.  The content of the site is extraordinary and disturbing.

General points

There are several controversial organisations collecting second-hand clothes in the UK which have links to Planet Aid/Tvind, including :

• Gaia Movement
• Green World Recycling [Ltd] (GWR) - based in Dudley (West Midlands)
  - "revenue surplus is passed to a foundation in Switzerland"
• DAPP UK - a small registered charity
  DAPP is an abbreviation for "Development Aid from People to People".
  They have charity shops in Warrington and Northampton.
• "College of International Co-operation and Development" (CICD)

Our advice is :

• Steer clear of Planet Aid and its associated organisations - including the DAPP UK charity.
• If you come across any of their recycling banks, we suggest you campaign to have them removed - eg via local newspapers.  Have a word with the people who allowed them to place clothing banks on their land - and encourage the people to get clothing banks from reputable organisations (registered charities) such as Oxfam, Scope, Barnardo's, Salvation Army and British Heart Foundation.

Links

Tvind and related organisations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tvind  
- Wikipedia's page on Tvind

www.rickross.com  
The Rick A. Ross Institute (RI) of New Jersey.  "An Internet archive of information about cults, destructive cults, controversial groups and movements."  A non-profit public resource.

Planet Aid

www.planetaid-alert.org  
- describes the clothing collections operated by Planet Aid

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/.../retailing/article627128.ece  
- article headed: "Asda evicts recyclers that are not registered charities"
- on Planet Aid

www.BBC.co.uk/insideout/.../2009/02/10/west_midlands_clothes...video_feature.shtml  
- headed: "Second hand clothes:  We investigate the college which promises to give its students an education in International Development.  So why does it make them collect second hand clothes all day?"
- on Planet Aid (and CICD college and Tvind) - including four photographs.
Including unlicensed (illegal) house-to-house collections by CICD in Birmingham.

http://thebeaveronline.co.uk/2009/03/16/lse-resue-scheme-sends-fake-charity-to-recycling-bin-after-investigation/  
- on Planet Aid / DAPP UK book recycling bins at the London School of Economics (LSE).
The university told the organisations to remove their recycling bins.

www.bampton.org.uk/council-mins10.html  
- on Planet Aid placing a recycling bank in a car park without permission (Devon)

Gaia Movement / Green World Recycling [Ltd]

www.independent.co.uk/environment/charitys-recycling-claims-mislead-public-626444.html  
- headed: "Charity's recycling claims mislead public"
- on Green World Recycling

www.stonecothillnews.co.uk/2008/03/16/bogus-charity-clothes-bank-removed/  
- headed: "Bogus charity clothes bank removed"
- on the removal (by Sutton Council, London) of an unauthorised clothing bank operated by Green World Recycling (GWR) - with photograph

'Gaia Movement' clothes dropbox
Greenwich, London

www.fixmystreet.com/report/149791  
Headed "Fake charity scam dropbox".
On a "Gaia Movement" clothes bank in Woolwich, Greenwich (London).  Comments dated Dec 2010 to April 2011.
Includes a photograph.
"This `Gaia Movement` clothes dropbox is run by an international scam organisation that exists for its own profit."
"Gaia is an international crime syndicate that takes all donations into private offshore and swiss banks to fund millionaire lifestyles for its directors.  Give your clothes to Oxfam."
"Gaia is an international scam which portrays itself as an environmental charity.  Anyone who mistakenly puts donations in these boxes will be funding private yachts, islands and billionaire lifestyles for the `Tvind` directors."

'Gaia Movement' clothes bin
Weston-super-Mare
Somerset

www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Appearance-bins-Weston-leads-alert-charity/article-386289-detail/article.html  
- headed: "Appearance of bins in Weston [-super-Mare] leads to alert about charity".  Dated 9 Oct 2008.
- on a recycling bank operated by 'Gaia Movement'- in the car park of a Tesco store