Slashed Clothes

Image from NY Times

Today on Facebook, a former classmate of mine posted a link to this NY Times Article;

A Clothing Clearance Where More Than Just the Prices Have Been Slashed

At the back entrance on 35th Street, awaiting trash haulers, were bags of garments that appear to have never been worn. And to make sure that they never would be worn or sold, someone had slashed most of them with box cutters or razors, a familiar sight outside H & M’s back door. The man and woman were there to salvage what had not been destroyed…

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/nyregion/06about.html?scp=1&sq=h%20&%20M&st=cse

The article basically describes how H & M discards of old clothing by slashing them up before throwing them out in the dumpster.  A reference is even made to Wal-Mart doing a similar thing via a third party.  With some outrage, my Facebook friend said that she will not give H & M her business while they continue this practice.  I agree with her on the moral implications of what is happening here.  A clothing store is destroying and throwing away clothes that could be used by the poor and the homeless.  To add to the insult, this is happening at a time where millions of Americans are unemployed and the economy is still waiting for the recovery to begin.  Never has there been a time where more people would be able to benefit from a coat that might have a broken zipper and therefore they couldn’t sell in the store.

Take caution, however, when making a statement that says you will not give them business while they participate in this practice, for they are far from the only company that does this.  Back when I was an undergrad, I worked for the clothing retail chain Eddie Bauer.  I started out working on the floor, but I also spent time working in the stock room and the shipping desk for the store.  That is when I first saw this practice happen, because I was the one that was forced to do it.  When clothes were out of seasons, we shipped them back the distribution center which then intern sent them to the Outlet stores.  But if clothing had some kind of damage, it was destroyed.  Damage could be a little rip on the sleeve, and ink stain from an old security tag, or anything that made it so we could not sell it.  The manager told me that once we damaged out the merchandise, we then had to destroy it so that way people wouldn’t go diving in the dumpster later.  I did question as to why we didn’t do something else with the clothing, but the answer was less of an reason aside from just saying that, it’s policy.  It wasn’t just clothing I had to destroy.  Watches and gadgets where also on the list.

These are wasteful practices, and we should be outraged.  Sadly though, we wouldn’t be doing much shopping if we boycotted every store that participated in the destruction of clothing and other ‘damaged’ merchandise.  If this story does give you that sense of outrage, then do something about.  Ask every store you shop at what they do with the ‘damaged’ goods.  If you want to make a difference you can, but not by contacting the company.  They can ignore the customer that has a problem.  I don’t say this much, but call your congressman (or woman) and get the legal system going.  If they find that this is a wide spread practice that waste millions of dollars and resources, than they can enact laws that will force these companies to do something useful with what they view as trash.  Then one day, the mis printed H & M jacket will be worn in Africa along side the losing NFL Super Bowl shirts.

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