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

Posted on 01/08/2010 7:02:35 AM PST by Scythian

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."

(Excerpt) Read more at shine.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: walmart
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1 posted on 01/08/2010 7:02:36 AM PST by Scythian
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To: Scythian

“Damaged” merchandise...somebodies getting paid...


2 posted on 01/08/2010 7:04:44 AM PST by Dallas59 (No To O -Time is going by really really really really slow.)
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To: Scythian

Mixed feelings. I’d hate to have a private company forced to donate, for nothing, stuff they couldn’t sell, devaluing my purchase of what they did sell. On the other hand, I hate waste—but maybe that’s what recycling is for.


3 posted on 01/08/2010 7:05:04 AM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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To: Scythian

I don’t know what W-M in N.Y. does with unsold and unwanted items but around here they are donated to charity.


4 posted on 01/08/2010 7:05:43 AM PST by Graybeard58 ("Get lost, Mitt. You're the Eddie Haskell of the Republican party." (Finny))
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To: Scythian

Seems pretty stupid and wasteful, but it’s their stuff, their decision.


5 posted on 01/08/2010 7:05:56 AM PST by perfect_rovian_storm (The worst is behind us. Unfortunately it is really well endowed.)
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To: Scythian
Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Melissa Hill, acted surprised that these items were found, claiming they typically donate all unworn merchandise to charity.

IF AND ONLY IF the Main Stream Media is watching us or IF the cameras are rolling.

6 posted on 01/08/2010 7:07:23 AM PST by pyx (Rule#1.The LEFT lies.Rule#2.See Rule#1. IF THE LEFT CONTROLS THE LANGUAGE, IT CONTROLS THE ARGUMENT.)
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To: Scythian

Wow. Too bad they couldn’t/didn’t think about voluntarily donating all those clothes to service member families or to charity.


7 posted on 01/08/2010 7:07:36 AM PST by Grumpybutt
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To: Dallas59

Nobodies getting paid. Retailers destroy much of what they cannot sell. Sometimes they are reimbursed by the manufacturer and sometimes they eat the costs.

They destroy because otherwise they get sued or find people returning the items for refunds.


8 posted on 01/08/2010 7:10:49 AM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Scythian
You can bet the other side of the coin is that if they "donate" them to the homeless, "poor", etc., in good condition, they will just get sold on the street for drug money.....it happens all the time with donations for the "needy", from Craigslist and elsewhere.....I'VE SEEN IT HAPPENINNG IN THIS AREA FOR A LONG TIME. Same thing at the Salvation Army and Goodwill sites; the city-dwellers come in droves to buy suburbanites' donations, so they can sell them on Ebay or on the street.
9 posted on 01/08/2010 7:11:21 AM PST by traditional1 ("Don't gotsta worry 'bout no mo'gage, don't gotsta worry 'bout no gas; Obama gonna take care o' me!)
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To: Scythian

The clothing contained trans-fats?

There’s some reason the stores did this. Possibly some onerous regulations.


10 posted on 01/08/2010 7:11:25 AM PST by decimon
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To: Scythian
There is no Walmart in NYC so I would like to know where they came from.

I bought a suit from H&M once. The thing was $100 and lasted me 9 years! Up until the pants split in the middle of a wedding dance floor. I loved that damn suit. Is there a point to that story? No. But I was out until 5am last night so bear with me.

11 posted on 01/08/2010 7:11:25 AM PST by thefactor (yes, as a matter of fact, i DID only read the excerpt)
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To: Scythian

This is similar to what bookstores do by tearing off the front cover and disposing the book. When you have unsold merchandise, it is more expensive to store it or send it back. Unfortunately with our highly litigious society, corporations can’t just give stuff away any more either. The vendors could sue the company for not meeting sales contracts (long story about that), people who the merchandise was given could sue if they get something as small as a paper cut, then of course, there is the IRS...


12 posted on 01/08/2010 7:11:44 AM PST by mnehring
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To: Scythian

Other stores do the same. Otherwise exploitation of a set of rules would degrade the value. It’s their stuff besides. Nothing to see here. Move along.


13 posted on 01/08/2010 7:12:20 AM PST by BipolarBob (The White House smoke from Bill Clintons cigar caused global warming.)
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To: Scythian
If it's my property, I'll dispose of it as I choose.

If it's Walmart’s property, it's their business to dispose of it as THEY choose.

It's not up to some busybody, under water basket weaving degree holding, dumpster diver to decide what they do with their property.

Mind your own business cinthia.

14 posted on 01/08/2010 7:12:44 AM PST by Dr.Zoidberg (Warning: Sarcasm/humor is always engaged. Failure to recognize this may lead to misunderstandings.)
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To: perfect_rovian_storm; Dallas59
Seems pretty stupid and wasteful, but it’s their stuff, their decision.

I agree. They bought it from the suppliers. Why can't they throw it out?

Maybe, as dallas59 suspects, some sort of con is going on. Short of that, I don't see why they can't destroy the stuff that they purchased.
15 posted on 01/08/2010 7:13:19 AM PST by mmichaels1970
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To: Scythian

In an ecomy in crisis.
Millions unemployed.
Freezing temps etc.

This type of behavour is a SIN.
Even IF they didn’t want to donate, they could have offered deep discounts so that people in need could have a chance to buy this stuff.

A tent sale anything.
OUTRAGEOUS


16 posted on 01/08/2010 7:13:38 AM PST by Marty62 (former Marty60)
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To: decimon

Possibly some onerous TAX regulations!...........................


17 posted on 01/08/2010 7:14:30 AM PST by Red Badger (Obama - The first ever elected lame duck..............)
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To: Pearls Before Swine
I don't think this is a matter of a private business being forced into doing something by a government agency. Rather it is one of those stories where big business often looks like a big Scrooge, dumping perfectly fine clothing while poor people go without. I am not sure what advantage WalMart or H&M has in doing this, and it seems like it was an isolated occurrence in NYC, but surely the managers who ordered the disposal should take a course in public relations. The David and Goliath archetype still runs strong.
18 posted on 01/08/2010 7:15:09 AM PST by sueuprising
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To: driftdiver; Dallas59

There are some other things they’re trying to avoid as well.

Remember, most “loss prevention” is aimed at the EMPLOYEES.

Someone would/could come up with a scam for stealing unsold or returned merchandise.

I worked retail while in college, and any returned item that could not be resold was required to be destroyed, with a witness.


19 posted on 01/08/2010 7:15:46 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: Scythian

I hope they give all those unbought Obama T-shirts away to people on welfare.


20 posted on 01/08/2010 7:16:20 AM PST by usmcobra (Your chances of dying in bed are reduced by getting out of it, but most people still die in bed)
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