Have you read this article? Not looking good for H&M...

hanna

hi guys! haven't been around much, and am super busy at work these days, but read this today and was wondering what you guys thought of it:

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion.....t_per.html

if this is really true, the idea of so much waste makes me sort of sick to my stomach. is this common? does anyone know how other stores handle old stock? i know target donates/sells at a very low price to goodwill or the salvation army.

one of the comments on the article say that h&m have stated this isn't common practice and the one store is the only one at fault, but like a few other commenters stated, i'm having trouble believing that one manager would have the authority to make that decision without any word from higher-ups.

thoughts?

16 years ago

General

12 replies

Latest reply was from Eva

marianna

Veteran

The retail store I work at does it. Unsold items are "dimed out" (reduced to 10 cents but can't be sold) and then trashed. Anything that is damaged goes into a pile and then is trashed. Some damaged clothing items that can still be sold are reduced and marked accordingly, but if they don't sell they are "dimed out" and trashed. Damaged home goods are smashed and broken at the end of the night so that no one can steal them and reuse them.

16 years ago

Srujana

Veteran

That's really sad. I understand making a profit and having a bottom line or whatever...but going out of your way to destroy something (which surely costs money) rather than donating perfectly usable clothing to people who need it...I don't get it.

16 years ago

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I think that it's done to protect the name/copyright symbols of the company. If you can buy a brand new H&M jacket for $5 at Goodwill- why would you shop full price at the store?
When I wored in the costume dept at Disneyland, we also did this.
It is a terrible waste, though.

16 years ago

agrace

Active Member

Marianna, is that Anthropologie that does that? Dimes things out? As a consistent thrift store shopper, I can vouch that I see Target things there all the time! I think Target is wonderful for donating so much to goodwill.

16 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

This is shameful! They could easily take the tags off before they donate, clip the tag, or something... ship them to a 3rd world country or something, for crying out loud. Or if they still want to destroy them, then they could donate the fabric to design schools or something. This outright waste makes me really upset.

16 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

wow, I sure said "something" a lot! lol I guess I just feel that trashing good clothing is NEVER an option.

16 years ago

Maya

Veteran

I think all stores do this unfortunately. I remember I once found a perfect pair of sunglasses at Macy's, and I was so excited to buy them because my face is hard to fit. Anyway, long story short: They told me it was a "penny item" and could not be sold to me! Even though I wanted to buy them, was willing to pay for them, and it was sitting there on the sales rack. I wanted to scream at someone.

This article sort of disgusted me. But it's not just H&M.

16 years ago

bella

(website)

Veteran

Yes, I read about it this morning and I am completely disgusted! It is my favorite store, too! I really hope that this story gets a lot of bad press so that the company finally quits this appalling practice.

16 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Yup. This is common. It's MUCH cheaper to trash items then find homes for them. Logistics are expensive.

Some retailers have outlet facilities which really helps, like The Rack.

Khris is spot on about protecting copyrighting symbols. Sad but true.

16 years ago

Anonymous

Probably most places do this now. I used to work parttime next to a Hallmark store and am active in volunteering for various charities. At one time Hallmark would donate hundreds of items for Christmas. Then they stopped. At work we found the common dumpster we shared with them regularly filled with destroyed merchandise...collector Barbies with heads broken off, slashed stuffed animals, etc.
When I asked about donating them I was told that they no longer could. People who had received the items in the past tried to return them for cash, although tags had been snipped or removed.
Pizza Hut used to donate prepared but unsold pizzas to local teen group homes and the pizza was a real treat for the kids. Then lawyers got involved afraid someone would get sick and sue. Now perfectly good pizza is destroyed so no one can eat it. So much waste.

16 years ago

garmenta

Active Member

You can say whatever you like about Target, but they donate unsold and overstocks in clothing to Goodwill and the Salvation Army (at least in my locale). Our local Salvation Army has a basement full of Target overstocks with the tags still on. It doesn't hurt Target's regular business, it gives them a tax deduction and community goodwill, and it helps two charities that focus on selling goods to people on limited budgets. And it keeps the stuff out of landfills. I'm all for it.

16 years ago

Eva

Active Member

That is a sad waste. Maybe now that it is brought to the public these stores will be more mindful. Being environmentally conscious is more of the standard. I have a client that donates to 3rd world countries turns items into "rags" and sells them to be reused.

16 years ago

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