Protecting TRAID charity donation banks with Peak Technology

Traid is a charity retailer on a mission to change fashion for the better.

In the UK, Traid collects and sorts second-hand clothes at their London warehouse for resale in their charity shops across the city, giving fashion a new lease of life. It is the only charity in the UK that generates all its funds through the sale of second-hand clothing.

Further afield, Traid funds global projects supporting organic cotton farmers and garment workers to make fashion fairer for everyone. Their purpose is to advocate for a more conscientious fashion industry – one where your clothes look good and do good.

To date, Traid has put over 228 million garments back into use, saving 622,059 tonnes of CO2 and 105.3 million m3 of water – and counting. Through the donations and store sales they have been able to commit £7.5 million to supporting 50 projects in over 30 countries around the world.

Traid collects donations through clothes banks distributed across the greater London area, allowing the public to deposit donations for collection.

Manufactured from steel, these banks have increasingly become a target for theft, sometimes for the contents inside but more often for the bank itself which could be sold for scrap, or even repainted and sold to another charity. With several hundred clothes banks to manage, each to the value of up to £1,000, this is an extensive and valuable asset estate.

As the level of thefts increased, as many as 20 in two months, Traid decided to take action to find a solution. Determined to mitigate these losses and facilitate the recovery of stolen assets, they sought the expertise of Peak Technologies.

The team at Peak Technologies recommended a GPS tracking solution from Sensolus. The Sensolus solution was chosen due to several factors, notably:
It’s a small, self-contained unit – easily hidden on the bank – with a long battery life and no maintenance requirements.

The web-based solution provides a map view of the bank’s location, with supporting alerts generated by the device’s sensors should the bank move unexpectedly.
A mobile app supports the team sent out to track and recover a stolen asset.
After a short trial to prove the viability of the solution, Traid invested in an initial deployment and, having successfully thwarted attempts to steal their clothes banks, have purchased additional devices which are fitted to all new clothes banks as they are deployed.

In addition to the tackling the theft problem, Traid also has better managed visibility of their clothes banks in the field and when they are collected for emptying or maintenance.

“I am thrilled to see the positive impact that our partnership with Sensolus has had on our operations. Prior to implementing this technology, we faced a growing challenge with the theft of our clothes banks, which not only disrupted our collection process but also resulted in substantial financial losses. The Sensolus GPS tracking solution has proven to be a game-changer for us.

The discreet and self-contained units are easily hidden on the banks, offering a robust layer of security without requiring any ongoing maintenance. This has not only deterred theft but also provided us with real-time visibility of our assets. The web-based management platform and mobile app have made it simple for our team to monitor the locations of our banks and respond quickly if one is moved unexpectedly.

The investment in Sensolus has been worthwhile, offering us a positive return by protecting our valuable resources and enhancing our operational efficiency. We are grateful for the support from Peak Technologies and look forward to continuing our partnership.”