H&M and Walmart Throwing Clothes Away?

Clothing store H&M faced uproar Thursday over a report that one of its New York outlets is slashing and throwing out unsold clothing.

According to the New York Times, workers at the store in the heart of Manhattan's shopping district regularly throw away bags of clothing, most of the items having first been cut up with box cutters or razors.Clothes destroyed included gloves with fingers cut off and men's jackets opened so that insulating fiber was coming out.

With unemployment at more than 10 percent and the city's homeless population facing bitter temperatures the report sparked anger on H&M's Facebook page. Here's what some folks had to say:

"What??!! Throwing clothes away?? That does not make any sense... it's true they should be donating them instead or at least call some people up so we can pick them up and donate them!!" wrote Carolina De Jesus.

"Sorry H&M but until you find a better way to dispose of unsold clothing, I don't really want anything to do with you," another customer fumed.

H&M defended itself, saying the company donated half a million pieces of clothes to charity last year, but that not all items qualified. "We donate garments that do not meet our quality requirements to organizations such as Gifts in Kind, UNHCR, Caritas, the Red Cross and Helping Hands," the company said in a statement. "However, we do not donate clothes that do not meet our safety requirements, chemical restrictions or are damaged.... We are currently looking into if we can further improve our routines."

Unfortunately, Walmart and Kmart has been seen doing the same. An employee says, "I work at Kmart, and most Kmarts are supposed to lock their dumpsters. What's really sad is when we throw away finished goods just because they aren't selling." ManPac added, "They don't want poor people wearing their name-brand clothing. It creates a bad image for their apparel. I think they avoid donating food so they don't create a dependence on it for the shelters."

Your thoughts?

(Source: NYTimes and Yahoo)

-PeggyM.

Comments

[Eyesofpercept]

Oh so the items were good enough to sell in your stores but not good enough to be donated to the poor? I smell a bullshit excuse here.

[La-cardonation]

I think, it's better to donate it than to throw away the clothes. Many people out there are unfortunate. Help them.. We can also try california vehicle donation