Council gives goods to charity

The items were given to the charity after the council’s trading standards department seized them as part of operations against traders of counterfeit goods. Among the items were thousands of imitation-branded garments and a number of dangerous power tools.

The goods have now been taken to Barnardo’s recycling centre, where all counterfeit branding will be removed. As the items are illegal and cannot be resold in charity stores, all reusable materials such as zippers and linings will be sold to textile companies. Left over fabric will be sold per kilo to be used as stuffing, while the power tools, which are unusable in the current state, will be dismantled and recycled.

Councillor Ranjit Dheer, cabinet member for community services and safety, said: “We have a duty to protect businesses both locally and internationally. The sale of dangerous goods is unacceptable and by selling fake brand name items retailers are avoiding taxes and legitimate overheads, not to mention undermining genuine products and profiting from established brands.

“It’s important these illegal items are not put back on the market, so it is great we are able to offer the items to Barnardo’s who can recycling them appropriately.”

Barnardo’s work with more than 190,000 children, young people and their families each year, providing support and helping them to turn their lives around.

Tina Arnold, area branch manager at Barnardo’s, said: “We are extremely grateful for the support from Ealing Council and we hope our relationship with the council will continue to develop. We plan on coming back to collect more items on a regular basis.