Shame, H&M, shame. Last week we learned that both the trend-forward retailer and Wal-Mart engage in the odd and wasteful practice of destroying unsold merchandise, and throwing it in the trash. Both companies scrambled to come up with apologetic statements, a rep for H&M vowing that it was an anomalous error that wouldn’t reoccur: “It will not happen again. We are committed 100 percent to make sure this practice is not happening anywhere else, as it is not our standard practice.”
Yet when New York’s WPIX recently returned to the scene of the crime, reporters came across an employee hauling bag after bag of shoes into a truck. When asked where the bags were going, the employee clearly stated, “In the trash,” as if it should be obvious. When they questioned if he was aware of H&M’s wasteful shredding and trashing method, he got shy, repeatedly saying, “I can’t comment on that.”
Of course, all of us are watching this, completely appalled. Why wouldn’t H&M or Wal-Mart drop the clothes off at a charity? It would require the same manpower and resources. Yet, there is a reason why retailers wouldn’t want their merchandise going back into circulation. Keep reading »
