The Charity Retail Association has launched a campaign to get the public donating goods directly to charity shops, citing strong sales but low stock.

The ‘Choose Charity Shops’ campaign, which launched today and ends on Friday, is calling on people to take their unwanted goods directly to their local charity shops, and to pledge to do so for the remainder of the year.

Earlier this month the British Heart Foundation reported record profits for its shops in the last financial year, and joins other charities, such as Barnardo’s, Children's Society and Shelter, in planning to expand its  shop network. The Charity Shops Survey 2011  showed that, buoyed by the recession, profits across all charity shops were up 12 per cent last year. However, demand is outstripping supply as more people frequent charity shops and not enough give away goods to stock them. The 2011 survey also found that a shortage of donated stock ranked as charities’ top concern regarding their shops.

On a microsite dedicated to the campaign, the Charity Retail Association says that in-store donations are needed to counter a decline in stock, thwart bogus collectors and because “more and more commercial companies are now collecting second-hand clothing and selling it abroad for profit”.

But while the campaign calls for the bypassing of door-to-door charity collections, Alan Wheeler, national liaison manager for the Textile Recycling Association, backed the campaign. “We’ve always supported any means to donate by any route,” he said. “It’s a positive campaign. We wish them the best of luck.”

Politicians have also backed the donation push, with minister for civil society Nick Hurd dropping off a bag at his local RSPCA shop and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg due to donate later in the week.

Hurd pledged his full support for the campaign. "I would encourage everyone else to make the effort to take unwanted textiles, together with resalable small household goods, to one of their local charity shops. Low stock levels mean that charity shops need people’s generous donations now more than ever,” he said.