An organisation called the Do Not Delay! Breast Cancer prevention programme has issued leaflets to houses around the country in the past four months, asking residents to donate "good quality" second-hand clothes. The sticker contains the official pink ribbon emblem of breast cancer charities, but it is not a registered charity in Ireland.

In the last few months, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) has received several calls a week from people who were "genuinely upset and angry" that such an emotive issue was being exploited.

The Do Not Delay! leaflet says the project was founded "to educate women who pursue a healthy way of living and won't allow their lives to be ruined by cancer." No charity or company number is provided, while the listed website address re-routes to a Lithuanian charity and the contact number given is Northern Irish.

"This leaflet is just one of approximately 80 that I have collected over the past two years, " said Paul Hughes of the society's charity shops section.

"It is impossible to know whether some or any of the funds raised by this 'group' go to the Lithuanian charity mentioned on the leaflet."

The leaflets have also made their way to parts of the UK, where householders have queried the legitimacy of the charity. When contacted, the organisation said it was a registered clothing company in Lithuania.

A recent Sunday Tribune probe into the deluge of clothing collection leaflets here in recent years found that the vast majority of organisations were not registered charities and did not have waste collection permits.

There is currently no legal framework for the registration of charities in Ireland and only those applying for tax exemption are registered with Revenue. The upcoming charities regulation bill will go some way towards policing bogus charities, but will not make it impossible for collections "If people wish to donate clothing and household goods to charity, they should look for a charity name they know, a landline phone number and address, and the Irish Charity Shops Association logo, " said Hughes.