Inbrief

Corporate donations of surplus products to charity rose by 50 per cent in the UK last year. In Kind Direct, a charity that channels companies’ surplus products to good causes, saw the value of goods it received increase to £9million ($16.4m) in 2004 from £6m in 2003. Among last year’s biggest donors were the Alliance & Leicester bank, which donated all its old staff uniforms after a design change. First-time donors included Mothercare and sports clothing company Saucony.