Thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit clothes seized by the Council’s trading standards inspectors are getting a new lease of life helping vulnerable people.
The council has linked with the charity His Church to distribute the items to homeless centres and women’s shelters.
In raids over the last year trading standards inspectors have confiscated hundreds of items from hats to jumpers with fake brands.
Storing the fake clothes while waiting for a court decision can incur costs for customs and trading standards.
Once the items have been proved to be fake the authorities then have to pay for incineration or landfill costs.
Now Bath & North East Somerset Council has linked up with the His Church charity. It takes the clothing away, removes the false labels and rebrands them with the charity’s logo before recycling the garments to good causes.
Cllr David Dixon (Lib Dem, Oldfield) Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council’s trading standards team do an excellent job stopping these counterfeit goods.
“Now we’re putting the clothes to good use and saving the council from paying the cost of destroying them. This is a great idea where everyone wins – except the criminals.”
The clothes are taken to the charity’s Lincolnshire headquarters to be processed. Richard Humphrey, Senior Coordinator of His Church, said: “We are very grateful to work with Bath & North East Somerset trading standards, who put in a lot of hard work and dedication to take counterfeit clothing off the streets.
“This is not a victimless crime; their work is essential in fighting counterfeiting and the sale of counterfeit goods which has a negative impact on local businesses.
“The great thing about this partnership is that it not only takes profit away from criminals, it also helps some of the most vulnerable people in society to have new clothing, which can be crucial in helping conserve dignity and open up new work opportunities.”
Robin Wood, Public Protection Team Leader with Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “We are very pleased to have been able to benefit charitable causes at the same time as stopping criminal activity. We hope to maintain our relationship with the charity and continue to benefit vulnerable people.”
