Perth Voice Interactive

A CLOTHING BIN operator will donate $100,000 to charity and issue a public apology after conceding he may have misled the public.

E’Co Australia has settled supreme court legal action taken by WA’s consumer protection commissioner, which claimed director Mark Brian Keay had engaged in misleading conduct and unfair trade practices.

The commission launched the action after concerns that 300 E’Co Kids charity bins in Perth—often positioned next to Sammy’s and ParaQuad bins—implied donated clothes would be given to poor children in Africa and that E’Co was a charity or not-for-profit organisation.

In fact the company sold donated clothes to second-hand merchants in Africa and made a profit.

In March 2011 Stirling city council banned E’Co Kids from placing 31 bins on council property, saying the company could disadvantage “benevolent institutions”.

‘the public has the right to know whether the collection bin is part of a business or a charity’

Council staffers reported that while “E’Co Kids Trust was a ‘charitable fund’ for tax purposes it is not clear as to the operation of the Trust”.

“Should the city permit those businesses that operate as a charitable trust, which could be numerous, it will make the operations of those benevolent institutions traditionally permitted to install clothing bins less viable.”

Mr Keay hit back at the time, saying it was part of a co-ordinated campaign by established charities to protect their turf.

He sent the Voice images of Sammy’s failing to clean rubbish at sites shared with E’Co Kids and ParaQuad, and of ParaQuad collectors shifting rubbish from the front of their bins to the front of E’Co Kids’ bins.

In November 2011 E’Co agreed to put stickers on its bins stating donated clothes may be sold for a profit.

Consumer protection commissioner Anne Driscoll says the public should not be misled: “Whether the donations are in the form of money or clothing, the public has the right to know whether the collection bin is part of a business or a charity. Donors need to have confidence that their donations are benefiting the people or purpose that they believe are being supported.

“Anyone engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct to take advantage of the generosity and goodwill of the community for commercial gain, will risk legal action and potential damage to their reputations.”

 by STEPHEN POLLOCK