H&M, Wal-Mart Destroy Unsold Clothing

Pepe SilviaPepe Silvia Posts: 3,758
edited January 2010 in A Moving Train
how sad, couldn't they have just donated the clothing??

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/0 ... 13234.html

H&M, Wal-Mart Destroy Unsold Clothing: Report
Amid the recession and the cold winter months, Cynthia Magnus made a shocking discovery at the H&M in Manhattan's Herald Square. It wasn't a sale on the season's hottest trends--it was garbage bags upon garbage bags of unsold merchandise, most of it slashed with razors to ensure that no one would ever wear or sell it, the New York Times reports.

"Gloves with the fingers cut off," Ms. Magnus said, reciting the inventory of ruined items. "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 jackets were tagged $59, $79 and $129.

And right around the corner from this particular H&M is a popular collection point for New York Cares' coat drive. The organization's spokeswoman Colleen Farrell told the Times, "We'd be glad to take unworn coats, and companies often send them to us."

While H&M's destroy-and-discard policy is a missed opportunity in this time of need, the fast fashion retailer isn't the only one to practice these extreme measures. Magnus also found bags full of clothes priced with Wal-Mart tags, and each item had a hole punched through it.

Melissa Hill, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart told the Times that the company typically donates its unsold pieces to charity and would investigate why those bags was discarded.
don't compete; coexist

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i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
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Comments

  • A company has the right do whatever they want with their shit. I rather see it donated but over all I read that and don't really care. I think they should have reduce the price to sell it because thats a smart business decision.
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    The jackets were tagged $59, $79 and $129.

    And were made in China with gross expenses of $1, $2 and $3.

    Just another reason to not shop at Wal-Mart and contribute to the downward spiral of society.
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    JB811 wrote:
    The jackets were tagged $59, $79 and $129.

    And were made in China with gross expenses of $1, $2 and $3.

    Just another reason to not shop at Wal-Mart and contribute to the downward spiral of society.

    Exactly. Another reason to boycott Walmart, and now H&M.
  • JB811 wrote:
    The jackets were tagged $59, $79 and $129.

    And were made in China with gross expenses of $1, $2 and $3.

    Just another reason to not shop at Wal-Mart and contribute to the downward spiral of society.
    +1
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  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    A company has the right do whatever they want with their shit. I rather see it donated but over all I read that and don't really care. I think they should have reduce the price to sell it because thats a smart business decision.

    Absolutely. A company has the LEGAL right to do whatever they want with their shit. When a company decides to destroy their shit, hats, gloves, coats etc. in the middle of the fucking winter rather than donating it, i have the right to say "fuck you!" Business decision or not, that's fucking disgusting.
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • StarfallStarfall Posts: 548
    Maybe it's not the right time to tell you guys they also deduct those as business losses come tax time. :o
    "It's not hard to own something. Or everything. You just have to know that it's yours, and then be willing to let it go." - Neil Gaiman, "Stardust"
  • Pepe SilviaPepe Silvia Posts: 3,758
    A company has the right do whatever they want with their shit. I rather see it donated but over all I read that and don't really care. I think they should have reduce the price to sell it because thats a smart business decision.


    clearly they have the right to do what they want with their merchandise.

    i was going more towards the 'what a sad society we live in that they'd rather destroy perfectly good clothes many people could use just to claim it on their taxes' side of it...profit over people
    don't compete; coexist

    what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?

    "I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama

    when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
    i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    A company has the right do whatever they want with their shit. I rather see it donated but over all I read that and don't really care. I think they should have reduce the price to sell it because thats a smart business decision.


    clearly they have the right to do what they want with their merchandise.

    i was going more towards the 'what a sad society we live in that they'd rather destroy perfectly good clothes many people could use just to claim it on their taxes' side of it...profit over people

    Yeah. Its just sick. The more i sit and think about it, and i'm in no way defending Wal-Mart or anyone else, those who have been around this forum for a significant amount of time know i'm not a fan of Wal-Mart for many reasons, but this goes well beyond Wal-Mart. What do you suppose Aeropostale, Abercrombie, Hollister or the fucking GAP do with their unsold merchandise? They probably aren't donating it.
    i used to work for a very large book retailer that i'll leave nameless (i'll give you two guesses). Unsold books were destroyed. Mass market paperbacks, many of them children's books, were torn in half with the two halves being put in separate boxes and sent off for destruction. Whenever i got on my soapbox about it i was told it was per publisher demand. i didn't believe it. Still don't.
    We live in a nation that stores food until it rots and the government, at times, pays farmers NOT to grow food.
    Again, i'm not defending Wal-Mart at all. i'm just pointing out that this kind of thing is not limited to Wal-Mart or H&M. Its flat out disgusting.
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    cornnifer wrote:
    Yeah. Its just sick. The more i sit and think about it, and i'm in no way defending Wal-Mart or anyone else, those who have been around this forum for a significant amount of time know i'm not a fan of Wal-Mart for many reasons, but this goes well beyond Wal-Mart. What do you suppose Aeropostale, Abercrombie, Hollister or the fucking GAP do with their unsold merchandise? They probably aren't donating it.
    i used to work for a very large book retailer that i'll leave nameless (i'll give you two guesses). Unsold books were destroyed. Mass market paperbacks, many of them children's books, were torn in half with the two halves being put in separate boxes and sent off for destruction. Whenever i got on my soapbox about it i was told it was per publisher demand. i didn't believe it. Still don't.
    We live in a nation that stores food until it rots and the government, at times, pays farmers NOT to grow food.
    Again, i'm not defending Wal-Mart at all. i'm just pointing out that this kind of thing is not limited to Wal-Mart or H&M. Its flat out disgusting.

    And if you want to count restaurants...The fast food chains are notorious for throwing what's left in the bins at the end of the day (or past their sit time) in the trash. I used to ask if I could bring that food home to hungry college roommates, or the homeless guy on the street, and they refused. It HAS to be thrown out.
  • cornnifer wrote:
    A company has the right do whatever they want with their shit. I rather see it donated but over all I read that and don't really care. I think they should have reduce the price to sell it because thats a smart business decision.


    clearly they have the right to do what they want with their merchandise.

    i was going more towards the 'what a sad society we live in that they'd rather destroy perfectly good clothes many people could use just to claim it on their taxes' side of it...profit over people

    Yeah. Its just sick. The more i sit and think about it, and i'm in no way defending Wal-Mart or anyone else, those who have been around this forum for a significant amount of time know i'm not a fan of Wal-Mart for many reasons, but this goes well beyond Wal-Mart. What do you suppose Aeropostale, Abercrombie, Hollister or the fucking GAP do with their unsold merchandise? They probably aren't donating it.
    i used to work for a very large book retailer that i'll leave nameless (i'll give you two guesses). Unsold books were destroyed. Mass market paperbacks, many of them children's books, were torn in half with the two halves being put in separate boxes and sent off for destruction. Whenever i got on my soapbox about it i was told it was per publisher demand. i didn't believe it. Still don't.

    It might be a publisher demand, they don't want thousands of free copies of their books out there.

    Same with designer clothing stores... as heartless as an idea is that they would rather throw it out then donate it, they are protecting their brand. If there were countless Abercrombie shirts out there to every poor kid, and everyone had them, it would cheapen the image of their brand. Part of the "draw" that those high end stores have, is that the snobby, trendy kids who buy their crap can basically say "I have this shirt and you don't"... sameful materialistic society we live in, but it is what it is.

    Now walmart destroying their crap clothes makes no sense to me...
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • LizardLizard So Cal Posts: 12,091
    that's total bullshit.
    So I'll just lie down and wait for the dream
    Where I'm not ugly and you're lookin' at me
  • Starfall wrote:
    Maybe it's not the right time to tell you guys they also deduct those as business losses come tax time. :o
    wouldn't they get a deduction for a donation?
    "I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me. Guaranteed."

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  • aerialaerial Posts: 2,319
    I work for a Grocery store that is high end with a very good reputation....they do lots of work for United Way.....and encourage the employees to volunteer for charity work....yet they trash 4hr old rotisserie and fried chicken....then in the produce department and bakery you would not believe the food we trash....so when I first started I asked why they didn’t donate it....they said they used to but caught people reselling it at flea markets....so I asked why don’t they at least let the employees buy it at a discount? We have single moms and dads that I am sure would help out and make it a little easer on there grocery bill ....There answer for that was because people would cook to much or order to much product so that there would be left overs.....It used to kill me to trash the stuff but now I hate to say after 5 years there, it’s all in a days work......I racked my brains trying to figure away to keep employees honest or some type of procedure that could be used to make sure a food discount could be done to benefit the company and the employees but I have never been able to come up with a plan...so if anyone out there can come up with a plan. I would love to take it to the company because they are really good about implementing new ideas....
    “We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Abraham Lincoln
  • youngsteryoungster Boston Posts: 6,576
    Why does this not surprise me?
    He who forgets will be destined to remember.

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  • just another reason why everyone should boycott walmart.
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    I seriously wish people would. If I had one wish dealing with our economy that would be fulfilled it would be to have people stop shopping there. So much would seriously change.

    Wal-Mart has cost this country countless jobs. Before someone chimes in how they employ so many, they employ them at low rates. The jobs lost were good manufacturing jobs that paid Americans benefits. Wal-Mart is singlehandedly responsible for the huge increase in goods made in China. Companies were forced to move overseas so that they could stay in business, BECAUSE of Wal-Mart.

    Seriously read what almost happened to Rubbermaid, it is sick.
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    Another thing...start shopping local. Buy from Mom and Pop stores. So what the shampoo costs a dime more there.

    Check your labels too. I used Colgate toothpaste for years until I noticed it is made in Mexico. We need to bring back jobs to this country and force employers to employ Americans and have their products made here. At least when you buy Made in USA it keep Americans employed. That helps all of us.
  • g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
    JB811 wrote:
    Another thing...start shopping local. Buy from Mom and Pop stores. So what the shampoo costs a dime more there.

    Check your labels too. I used Colgate toothpaste for years until I noticed it is made in Mexico. We need to bring back jobs to this country and force employers to employ Americans and have their products made here. At least when you buy Made in USA it keep Americans employed. That helps all of us.

    Try what I use Tom's of Maine which is made up in Kennebunk, Maine or just salt and baking soda. It helps to keep the teeth white. :D

    Peace
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    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    [

    It might be a publisher demand, they don't want thousands of free copies of their books out there.

    Same with designer clothing stores... as heartless as an idea is that they would rather throw it out then donate it, they are protecting their brand. If there were countless Abercrombie shirts out there to every poor kid, and everyone had them, it would cheapen the image of their brand. Part of the "draw" that those high end stores have, is that the snobby, trendy kids who buy their crap can basically say "I have this shirt and you don't"... sameful materialistic society we live in, but it is what it is.

    Now walmart destroying their crap clothes makes no sense to me...

    ???
    Aren't you the same guy who started a thread bitching about people on public assistance "living off everyone else" ?
    So, by your standards, Burger King should give away their unused food at the end of the day but fancy restaurants should not?
    What makes no sense to me is the social Darwinism you seem to endorse.
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • CommyCommy Posts: 4,984
    cornnifer wrote:
    [

    It might be a publisher demand, they don't want thousands of free copies of their books out there.

    Same with designer clothing stores... as heartless as an idea is that they would rather throw it out then donate it, they are protecting their brand. If there were countless Abercrombie shirts out there to every poor kid, and everyone had them, it would cheapen the image of their brand. Part of the "draw" that those high end stores have, is that the snobby, trendy kids who buy their crap can basically say "I have this shirt and you don't"... sameful materialistic society we live in, but it is what it is.

    Now walmart destroying their crap clothes makes no sense to me...


    So, by your standards, Burger King should give away their unused food at the end of the day but fancy restaurants should not?



    seems to be exactly the situation
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    I can see why a restaurant wouldn't give away food. It is less than fresh so someone could get sick, claim food poisoning, and file a lawsuit.

    Now if the food is canned and not past an expiration date that's different.
  • redrockredrock Posts: 18,341
    JB811 wrote:
    I can see why a restaurant wouldn't give away food. It is less than fresh so someone could get sick, claim food poisoning, and file a lawsuit. .

    That's their excuse. There is no difference in the freshness of the food that was good enough to serve a few minutes before the restaurant closed and a few minutes after it closed.

    There are actually charities that go around participating restaurants (and I use the term loosely) to collect food, transport it appropriately and use it in soup kitchens,etc. It's not difficult - it takes time an organisation and less of all this 'let's sue/I'm going to be sued' culture.
  • cornnifer wrote:
    [

    It might be a publisher demand, they don't want thousands of free copies of their books out there.

    Same with designer clothing stores... as heartless as an idea is that they would rather throw it out then donate it, they are protecting their brand. If there were countless Abercrombie shirts out there to every poor kid, and everyone had them, it would cheapen the image of their brand. Part of the "draw" that those high end stores have, is that the snobby, trendy kids who buy their crap can basically say "I have this shirt and you don't"... sameful materialistic society we live in, but it is what it is.

    Now walmart destroying their crap clothes makes no sense to me...

    ???
    Aren't you the same guy who started a thread bitching about people on public assistance "living off everyone else" ?
    So, by your standards, Burger King should give away their unused food at the end of the day but fancy restaurants should not?
    What makes no sense to me is the social Darwinism you seem to endorse.

    I never said what these stores were doing was the least bit right, but was trying to explain their thought process behind it.
    My whole life
    was like a picture
    of a sunny day
    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    JB811 wrote:
    Another thing...start shopping local. Buy from Mom and Pop stores. So what the shampoo costs a dime more there.

    Check your labels too. I used Colgate toothpaste for years until I noticed it is made in Mexico. We need to bring back jobs to this country and force employers to employ Americans and have their products made here. At least when you buy Made in USA it keep Americans employed. That helps all of us.

    Granted, we all vote with our dollars every day in what we support (local vs. China made goods), but it's the responsibility of the corporations and companies of THIS country in supporting the national economy. By exporting their manufacturing, they are deliberately sticking it to our own economy, and collectively causing it to fail. I know a lot of people disagree with regulations, but there should be regulations for US companies to actually support and uphold the health of our economy, not focus on their individual bottom line.
  • Kel VarnsenKel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    JB811 wrote:
    Another thing...start shopping local. Buy from Mom and Pop stores. So what the shampoo costs a dime more there.

    Check your labels too. I used Colgate toothpaste for years until I noticed it is made in Mexico. We need to bring back jobs to this country and force employers to employ Americans and have their products made here. At least when you buy Made in USA it keep Americans employed. That helps all of us.

    Is it that simple though. I mean personally I don't have a problem with toothpaste being made in Mexico since why shouldn't people in Mexico have access to manufacturing jobs? I mean you hear all the time in the US about people complaining about people from Mexico sneaking across the border. Yet if those people could find good jobs in their country they probably wouldn't need to illegally cross the border in the US. Not to mention the fact that someone unemployed living in Mexico probably is a lot worse off then someone unemployed living in the United States.
  • Kel VarnsenKel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    JB811 wrote:
    I seriously wish people would. If I had one wish dealing with our economy that would be fulfilled it would be to have people stop shopping there. So much would seriously change.

    Wal-Mart has cost this country countless jobs. Before someone chimes in how they employ so many, they employ them at low rates. The jobs lost were good manufacturing jobs that paid Americans benefits. Wal-Mart is singlehandedly responsible for the huge increase in goods made in China. Companies were forced to move overseas so that they could stay in business, BECAUSE of Wal-Mart.

    Seriously read what almost happened to Rubbermaid, it is sick.

    The walmarts I go to may employ people at low rates. But at the same time it seems a lot of the people who work at walmart don't seem to have the skills to work anywhere else. I mean the ones in Canada at least don't seem to have the customer service skills to work in grocery stores or other higher end department stores. So on the bright side at least walmart is providing jobs for people who probably couldn't find jobs anywhere else.
  • I think many of you don't realize that just about every kind of retail does this in one form or another. I work for a major sporting goods chain named after a human organ. We did inventory a couple of months ago and you wouldn't believe all the bicycles we threw away. Some were just missing a part or two. It all boils down to the almighty dollar in way or another.
    As far as Wal-mart goes I do shop there for my groceries and for hygene products. Sometimes I will shop at Target. I would by my food somewhwer else if it were'nt so much more expensive. I can get 2 weeks worth of food from Wal mart and only about a week (if there are some good sales) on the same amount of money from other stores. Just an example: a cannister of Maxwell house coffee is about $2.68 at wal mart and it's over $5.00 at other stores.
    Don't get me wrong I would rather support mom & pop but until I start making over 50k,prices go down, or if anyone on here wants to buy my food for me I'll continue to shop there.

    Any takers ?
  • GTFLYGIRLGTFLYGIRL NewYork Posts: 760
    prfctlefts wrote:
    As far as Wal-mart goes I do shop there for my groceries and for hygene products.
    Any takers ?

    My three year old son needs to drink Pediasure. He goes through about 4-5 bottles a day; about five to six "six packs'" a week. At the drug store near my house (It's a CVS) six bottles of pediasure cost $15.99. At the nearby supermarket it is 12.99. Closer to my house than all of them is Walmart. They charge $9.99 for six bottles.

    The other day i went to walmart and bought three "six packs."

    I generally dont shop at Walmart. But sometimes, when your kid goes through about 25 sixpacks of Pediasure a month.... a savings of $3-$5 a sixpack is ENORMOUS! And... they have never been out of the chocolate, while many many of the supermarkets are out of it frequently.

    Sad but true.
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    prfctlefts wrote:

    Any takers ?

    I would rather make do with less, than support that scumbag operation called Wal-Mart.
  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    prfctlefts wrote:
    I work for a major sporting goods chain named after a human organ.
    I'm sorry, that made me laugh.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
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