unworn clothing destroyed by retailers

**Ceashels** · 01-08-2010, 08:28 AM

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beaut...-goods-562909/

H&M and Wal-Mart destroy and trash unsold goods

This week the New York Times reported a disheartening story about two of the largest retail chains. You see, instead of taking unsold items to sample sales or donating them to people in need, H&M and Wal-Mart have been throwing them out in giant trash bags. And in the case that someone may stumble on these bags and try to keep or re-sell the items, these companies have gone ahead and slashed up garments, cut off the sleeves of coats, and sliced holes in shoes so they are unwearable.

This unsettling discovery was made by graduate student Cynthia Magnus outside the back entrance of H&M on 35th street in New York City. Just a few doors down, she also found hundreds of Wal-Mart tagged items with holes made in them that were dumped by a contractor. On December 7, she spotted 20 bags of clothing outside of H&M including, "gloves with the fingers cut off, warm socks, cute patent leather Mary Jane school shoes, maybe for fourth graders, with the instep cut up with a scissor, men’s jackets, slashed across the body and the arms. The puffy fiber fill was coming out in big white cotton balls.”

The New York Times points out that one-third of the city's population is poor, which makes this behavior not only wasteful and sad, but downright irresponsible. Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Melissa Hill, acted surprised that these items were found, claiming they typically donate all unworn merchandise to charity. When reporters went around the corner from H&M to a collections drop-off for charity organization New York Cares, spokesperson Colleen Farrell said, “We’d be glad to take unworn coats, and companies often send them to us."

After several days of no response from H&M, the company made a statement today, promising to stop destroying the garments at the midtown Manhattan location. They said they will donate the items to charity. H&M spokeswoman Nicole Christie said, "It will not happen again," and that the company would make sure none of the other locations would do so either. Hopefully that's the final word. [NY Times][Huff Post]

This just floors me!

**imagine** · 01-08-2010, 08:41 AM

When I worked at Wal-mart a few decades ago I had to cut up returned swim wear and underwear as they could not be resold. Something to do with a state law about underwear and swimsuits not being resold.We had to cut them up so if anyone found them in the dumpster that they could not wear them. Which I found weird as the dumpster was inside the store and was like a trash compactor.

I'm pretty sure our Wal-mart sells almost everything as clearance sometimes goes as low as 25 cents.

The Target in the big city near me drops their unsold stuff off at the Goodwill for which the Goodwill originally prices it higher then it had been on clearance for at Target

**rosey7415** · 01-08-2010, 08:42 AM

the waste out there is just terrible!!! my dh worked at home depot for a while and was sooo shocked at the waste. they grind everything up so no one can get it. i am sure that there are others on here that worked in places that do the same thing. until you work there and find out....you would have never imagined it.

**WV_mom_of2** · 01-08-2010, 08:53 AM

It floors me too. With so many people doing without right now it's a shame that big companies can't help out by donating that stuff!

**jlaporte** · 01-08-2010, 08:56 AM

it is a sad state of affairs. so much waist its crazy.the whole thing makes me sad and really mad.

**shoiji** · 01-08-2010, 09:10 AM

What an incredibly wasteful practice! There are so many people out there that could have used the items destroyed.

**NikoSan999** · 01-08-2010, 09:11 AM

Idiots...some judge ought to put these people out on the streets over the next week coming and make them fend for themselves. With only the clothes on their backs and what food they can scavenge. INCLUDING the CEO's and top people. The peons doing the slashing and cutting are only doing what it takes to keep their minimum wage job but the top people...put them on the street for the next week. Let's see...how cold is it supposed to get and how long can you go without food...hmmmm

**frugalwarrior2** · 01-08-2010, 09:20 AM

Figures.Our Salvation Army got Walmart stuff but had to buy it. Goodwill gets Targets discards free. I noticed they had a lot less this year. Now I know why. They would rather clog the landfill w/ it than let people have it. they are a PR nightmare. I watched JIBJAB and the BigBox video and now it's all too real. They should be fined. I can't imagine the volume. It's not like they'd lose money giving it to the poor. They can't afford clothes at Walmart or anywhere else.

**Greebo** · 01-08-2010, 09:21 AM

It's terribly wasteful, it's even OBSCENELY wasteful...

But I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that any retailer has an obligation to give their unsold merchandise away. Nor would I suggest some kind of punishment for what they're doing. Remember that the garments are the property of the stores, and they have every right to be wasteful idiots with their property.

Charitable donations would be nice for tax purposes as well as public good will, of course.

Even selling them to an overstock store - C-Mart or the like - would allow them to write off the loss on their taxes and not waste the goods.

**frugalwarrior2** · 01-08-2010, 09:34 AM

Clothing is a real prob. in landfills. While we have no actual way to measure exactly how much each company contributes, I think a "little" pressure put on them by the public might change some behaviors and policies. They could turn this around and really make themselves look great by just making discards available to charity groups. It costs them money for someone to destroy the clothes and money to haul it away via garbage service. Target gets great PR. I'm sure they have bad practices but everyone is distracted by Goodwill donations. Please don't make me become a freegan.

**NikoSan999** · 01-08-2010, 09:39 AM

Maybe not a financial obligation but a moral one. Especially now.

**Greebo** · 01-08-2010, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by NikoSan999

Maybe not a financial obligation but a moral one. Especially now.

Can't bring myself to even go that far. But not gonna get into a debate on it either.

**ri*smom** · 01-08-2010, 10:56 AM

By all means, stop the people rifling through your dumpster from wearing your unwanted clothes . . . why the thought hasn't occurred to me before I don't know. Seriously, they should be ashamed. They need to be less worried that someone is going to grab a sack of shoes and re-sell them and more concerned that someone in the world has.NO.shoes.to.wear! And like a pp said, just donate them! That is what our Target does; our Goodwill is full of once-clearanced Target items. Gah.