Humana People-to-People Alert

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  Who runs Garson & Shaw? 

Allan Foighel. Garson and Shaw Inc in Atlanta is run by Allan Foighel, a Dane and long-time member of the Teachers Group. Foighel (born 1959) is the son of a high-ranking former Danish government minister.

Ann Jonsson. Another Teachers Group member associated with Garson & Shaw is Ann Jonsson. We believe this is the same Ann Margaret Jonsson who has worked for the TG used-clothes trading all over the world: in Tbilisi, Georgia, Russia; as a director of Green World Recycling in the UK; and with U'SAgain.

At one time she shared living accommodation in Atlanta with Foighel and with TG member Poul Joergensen, who runs U'SAgain (but not the same PJ as is currently facing Danish fraud charges).

  A part of the 'Tvind empire'  

Garson and Shaw is a Teachers Group company based in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

It is an important and growing part of the $860 million Tvind commercial empire and its network of 'charity' clothes collections, for-profit businesses, offshore companies and tax haven bank accounts.

We believe Garson and Shaw's real purpose is to trade the used clothes freely collected from the public by Humana, Gaia, Planet Aid and U'SAgain - and sell them again for the biggest possible profit, which can then be passed to the immensely wealthy 'Teachers Group treasury'.

The garments are bought from the Teachers Group's own charity recyclers and resold after export to commercial outlets in eastern Europe and many other countries worldwide.

Its role as a 'middleman' company between Teachers Group charities and the shops puts it in the ideal position to manipulate prices, inflate profits and evade tax.

"Garson & Shaw, Inc is the exclusive sales office for 3 collectors currently collecting in 18 cities in the United States. The names of the collectors are The Gaia Movement, U'SAgain, and Planet Aid."

- Garson & Shaw web site

www.garsonshaw.com

  The trading partners round the world  

Holland: Was ConMore BV - Teachers Group company that went bankrupt in 2000

United Kingdom: Garson & Shaw Ltd, Canary Wharf

Gibraltar: Garson & Shaw, Garrison House, Library Ramp, Gibraltar

Romania: Trade Link

Ukraine: Kiev Trade and Trade Link Ukraine Dniepro

Slovakia: Textile House for Euro Trade

Russia: Trade Link and Istwood

Ghana and Benin: Tropical Trading

Kazakhstan: Trade Link

India: Acacia Enterprises

Other countries (partners unknown):

Canada, Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Malaysia, UAE (United Arab Emirates), Turkey (Mersim), Iran, Iraq, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain.

Source: G&S websites

  The money-go-round  

We believe Garson & Shaw is central to the Teachers Group 'money-go-round', which allows it to collect used clothes from the public, but pass most of the profits to the Teachers Group 'treasury' instead of charity.

The key to this is that the Teachers Group operates both the collection and trading arms. One branch of the Teachers Group collects the clothes (for free) while another, closely linked, sells them.

One correspondent told us: "The thing you don't write about Garson and Shaw is the most upsetting bit.

"They get the clothes cheap from Humana [Planet Aid, U'SAgain and Gaia], then they go to the clients of Humana and sell them at the normal price.

"Even though for example Planet Aid in the States could sell its clothes directly, it chooses to make less money for the charity and instead take this money which they would have to account for being a registered charity and give it to Garson and Shaw which is a private company.

"In this way they can take 100% of the profit they could have made to help people and put it directly into Teachers Group coffers. They actually run in direct competition undercutting the charities' sales network"  'Sceptic Al', 2002

  A simple explanation  

Confused? We think it works like this. G&S buys the clothes cheap from the Humana charities - at less than market value - so the Humana end of the Teachers Group only has to declare a small sum and gives very little to charity.

But the clothes are worth much more than G&S bought them for. So G&S sells them for the real price to its customers in Europe and the Third World, and makes a lot more money. All the real profit goes into the Teachers Group 'treasury', not to charity.

Factor in the offshore tax haven accounts and the opportunities for mis-stating weights and figures, tax evasion and lost paperwork, and you have a recipe for an excellent hidden profit.

For a clear explanation of how the system works in Europe, read Michael Bjerre's article on Humana Holland in the Danish newspaper, Berlingske Tidende (24th Aug 2002). Bjerre says in a single year, one Tvind-controlled used clothes company turned over £11 million.