Wear it Pink

We had a fantastic Wear it Pink day here at BCR Global in aid of Breast Cancer Campaign on 28th October.

Everyone really made an effort to find their wildest pink clothes and pop a pound in the donation tin. We had pink tutus, a bikini, a ball gown and that was just the men! We raised a good few hundred pounds for the cause as part of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and there was a fab Friday feeling at work.

To see some of the outrageous costumes, you can see a video clip of us showing off on You Tube.

Maxine Sault, MD BCR Global Textiles

Pink Ribbon Ball

I had a great time at The Pink Ribbon Ball at the Dorchester Hotel on 8th October. Such a wonderful event in support of Breast Cancer Campaign on whose behalf we have been collecting and recycling textiles for the past few years and donating to the cause.

We met so many interesting people and a huge amount was raised especially from the auction charmingly staged by Jeffrey Archer. Of course the real reason we were all there was for those affected by the disease, some of them survivors others still fighting their battle. It was emotional and yet empowering to hear their personal accounts and gave so much meaning to why the money was being raised and how it was helping.

We are planning our own fundraising event with a Pink Day later in the month as a further contribution and hope that everyone will be logging on to our site during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to recycle a bag of clothing so we can donate even more to this worthy cause.

Maxine Sault, MD BCR Global Textiles.

Check Your Bags

Yet again charity bag theft has been in the spotlight this time on The One Show where the presenter went along with the police to raid a warehouse stacked with bags from recognisable charities and plenty from fake organisations.

This time the public have been called on to make sure they are responding to genuine requests for donations by taking a good look at the parcelled up bags that drop on their doorsteps.

It really is important to check that the bag has a charity number on it, a landline number you can contact in case you want to check the charity is staging a legitimate collection in your area.

It is only with the help of the public that we can continue to stay on top of these tricksters.

Maxine Sault, MD BCR Global Textiles.

Shoe Amnesty for Schools

Between now and half term we will be asking Dudley Schools to work hard on their three ‘R’s to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Bottoms of wardrobes and shoe racks will be emptied of their old but wearable summer shoes – the ones that don’t fit anymore, the ones which are out of season - and handed over to us. We will save them from the scrapheap and give them a new life overseas and we will be paying the school for their trouble.

It’s a great way for the schools and children to do their bit for sustainability and raise funds for their school by passing on their footwear to feet across the world which can’t wait to walk in their shoes and enjoy some quality at an affordable price.

Some 2 million pairs of shoes end up being disposed of every year and it breaks our hearts to know that so many serviceable shoes are going to waste. That is why we are holding the Shoe Amnesty so schoolchildren local to us can help us take a step in the right direction!

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - important lessons to learn.

Maxine Sault, MD, BCR Global Textiles

Winning Against the Clothing Collection Cheats

Thank goodness that we seem to be making headway in the fight against the bogus collectors.  Now that the authorities are aware of the scale of the problem, how it really harms the business of legitimate commercial collectors like us and ultimately the charities they have instigated a national strategy to tackle it.  Theft or fraud relating to charity bag collections is now officially recognised as a serious crime and the perpetrators are being caught and punished.

The biggest raid of stolen charity bag donations to date in Essex was recently reported in the press and we too have been involved in 5 successful prosecutions, notably in Surrey and Gloucestershire.  Not surprisingly this has revealed that far from being an opportunist offence, there are connections with more unpleasant illegal activities involving gangs and organised crime.

I would encourage others to report any suspected activity to their local police.

Maxine Sault, MD BCR Global Textiles.

Zero Waste

Interesting to hear about the family on Woman’s Hour and their experiment to achieve Zero Waste in the home. The barriers they are up against to make progress like what to do with the stuff that can’t be recycled and how to get the rest of the family on board with the idea of giving up favourite things which are likely to generate too much waste packaging, present an honest view of the challenges.

Meanwhile at BCR Global from the office point of view at least we have stopped any waste arising from our textiles recycling facility ending up in the waste stream and clogging up over-stretched and dwindling landfill. We manage this by sorting and grading all textiles and categorising them into any one of 200 grades to establish which proportion is high enough quality for reuse, which will serve for secondary reuse – mattress stuffing, industrial wipes – and which is suitable for incineration and can be converted via Waste 2 Energy.

I shall continue to listen with interest how the family deals with various materials around the home in the coming weeks.

Maxine Sault, BCR Global Textiles.

Commercial Clothing Collections on the Spot

I was a bit uncomfortable listening to the Today programme on Radio 4 (Wednesday 31st August) as a major charity and a social business went head to head about who was giving more to charity from their clothing collection activities, after all they are both doing good work.

The charity with its own retail shops was concerned that the public needed absolute transparency about the proportion of the funds arising from donated clothing being returned to the charity which turned out to be about 18% after costs were taken out, whereas the social business was giving back about half of that.

I think the important point is the difference between a business with a charity element and a charity with clothing collections as an additional income stream - both have a commercial aspect but the business is providing a service (collecting, recycling and reusing unwanted clothing) which has to be paid for and derive income for the business in order for it to operate in a sustainable fashion.

Not to mention that commercial collectors unlike charities have to pay for the clothing in the first place and there is a premium for unsorted clothes that must be borne!

In the end both parties were able to prove their activities were completely open to consumer scrutiny and they were both united in the fight against bogus clothing collectors who benefit no one but themselves. Hurray for solidarity!

Maxine Sault, MD BCR Global Textiles